Alf Hagon (born 3 October 1931 in Ilford,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is a former motorcycle speedway rider who later competed in

Grasstrack Motorcycle Grasstrack is a form of track racing which typically, in its current form, takes place on a flat track consisting of two straights and two bends usually constructed in a field. It is one of the oldest types of motorcycle sports in the ...

. He manufactured off-road competition frames, forks and other components, later developing into the production of shock absorbers, specialising in modern-replicas of the traditional Girlings used as original equipment and replacements for historic motorcycles.

Competition background

Over a 12-year career in Speedway, he rode for six teams. In four consecutive years - 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964 - he rode for teams that ended their seasons at the bottom of the table. He later found regular success when competing in Grasstrack. When riding in Grasstrack, Hagon started to develop a racing machine, with the assistance of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

motorcycle dealer and competition sponsor Tom Kirby, creating a lightweight bike powered by a JAP engine. In 1958 he established a business building speedway and grasstrack bike frames in his mother's garden shed, but progress was interrupted in 1960 when he went on tour in Australia with the national England team. He represented England on four occasions. On his return, the business transferred to

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

, East London. This proved successful with his bikes in good demand and he retired from racing in 1965 to concentrate on the business. However, Hagon had become involved in sprinting, appearing at the first International Dragfest in 1964, ''Motor Cycle'', 9 September 1965, p.383. ''2nd International Dragfest'' advert, Blackbushe 25/26 September, RAF Woodvale, 3 October, 1965. Accessed 1 April 2017 ''Motor Cycle'', 23 September 1965, pp.452-453. ''Americans get ready;Statesiders get going. "...Anglo-American practice session at Graveley, Cambs, last Saturday. A year ago the British Dragfest contingent managed to put it across the two visiting East Coast Americans, Don Hyland and Bill Wood ''". Accessed 1 April 2017 on his lightweight JAP-engined bike. Hagon's approach to weight-reduction included a custom-made frame also containing the

engine oil Motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant is any one of various substances used for the lubrication of internal combustion engines. They typically consist of base oils enhanced with various additives, particularly antiwear additives, detergen ...

, his own grasstrack front forks and brake intended for lightweight category machines, dispensing with the gearbox and seat, and avoidance of a supercharger, resulting in a wet weight of . For the 1964 Dragfest, a competition against Americans who were using large capacity, double-engined machines – he fitted oversize pistons and cylinders to take advantage of a maximum engine-size dispensation by the ACU, raising the J.A.P. engine's capacity from 996 cc to 1,100 cc, and the power output from 84 bhp to 91 bhp, compared to a blown Vincent's 130 bhp. In July 1967, riding a purpose-built sprint-bike powered by a supercharged

V-Twin A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Although widely associated with motorcycles (installed either transversely or longi ...

1,260 cc JAP engine, he became the first rider to record a sub-10 second time with a one-way-only 9.93 performance at

Duxford Duxford is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, about south of Cambridge. It is part of the Hundred Parishes area. History The village formed on the banks of the River Cam, a little below its emergence from the hills of north Essex. One of t ...

for the -mile distance. This was a strip-only record, as for official recognition of world and national records two qualifying runs have to be completed in opposite-directions within one-hour, to negate the effect of wind, with an average time resulting. In October 1967 he achieved an average time of 9.95 at Elvington, Yorkshire. He followed that by setting a long-standing record of 9.432 at 153 mph at

Santa Pod Santa Pod Raceway, located in Podington, Bedfordshire, England, is Europe's first permanent drag racing venue for 1/4 and 1/8 mile racing. It was built on a disused World War II, Second World War air base, (RAF Podington), once used by the USAA ...

. In 1968 he became the first British rider to complete a flying mile at over 200 mph (206.54 mph) at

RAF Honington Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. Although used as a bomber station during the Second World War, RAF Honington is now the RAF Regim ...

Business developments

Hagon's base from 1960 was a former stable block in Leyton, London. Specialising in wheel-building and accident damage repairs, he purchased the former Girling suspension operation in 1985, including the stock, manufacturing tools and drawings. He did not purchase the rights to the Girling name, instead naming his products as simply Hagon.Shock absorbers for any bike. ''Classic and Motorcycle Mechanics'', September 1992, pp.34-35. Accessed 28 April 2020

Personal life

Hagon, married with two children and five grandchildren, lives near

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and ...

in Hertfordshire.

References

Sources

* * Bamford,R & Shailes,G (2007). “The Story of Oxford Speedway”.
Alf Hagon
''Classic British Motorcycles''. 2013. Google Books.
Alf Hagon
page 43. ''Drag Bike Racing in Britain: From the Mid 60s to the Mid 80s''. 2010. Google Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hagon, Alf 1931 births Living people British motorcycle racers British speedway riders Wimbledon Dons riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Poole Pirates riders West Ham Hammers riders Harringay Racers riders Leicester Hunters riders