50 Years in the Making: Rickman Metisse Scrambler

James Russell’s Triumph Trophy-Powered Metisse… 

In the natural world, they call it imprinting — when a young animal comes to recognize another animal, person, or even a thing as a parent or prime figure of trust, and the impression remains for life. Not infrequently, a similar form of imprinting seems to take place in the mind and heart of the teenage motorcyclist. Such was the case with our friend James Russell back when he was the formative age of 13:

“One day in 1969 while riding my tiny Big Bear Scrambler minibike I saw and heard the most beautiful dirt bike I’d ever seen, a Rickman Metisse Scrambler with a Triumph 650 twin and open pipes. Absolutely stunning visually and aurally. I knew then that I wanted to own one of those one day.”

 

As many of you know — and is thoroughly documented in the excellent 2015 documentary Steve McQueen: Desert Racer — in the late 1950s, the Rickman brothers of England saw the need for a frame that couldn’t just withstand, but excel under the unique rigors of off-road racing. This was an era when big four-stroke British twins dominated everything from desert to motocross tracks, but the frames that housed them had been designed for the street, not the dirt.

Derek and Don Rickman designed a frame that carried the oil in the tubing to save weight and dissipate heat more efficiently, and the chassis boasted nickel-plated chromoly tubing, eccentric chain adjustment, accommodations for beefier suspension, and other innovations. They sold their Metisse (French for “Mongrel”) frame as a kit to suit a wide range of engines: BSA, Matchless, Montesa, Norton, Triumph, Zundapp, and more.

“The Metisse was an absolute game-changer in the desert, and soon serious racers were scrambling to get their mitts on a Rickman frame so they could build their own ‘sleds.” –BikeBound

Fast forward more than 40 years, and our buddy James finally had the resources, space, and skills to build himself such a machine…but the original Rickman workshops had quit production in 1975. Fortunately, James learned that a friend, fellow racer, and parts distributor of the Rickman brothers, Adrian Moss, had licensed the name (and since purchased the trademark) and continues building frame kits to this day under the name of Rickman Motorcycles.

With the blessing and encouragement of his wife, Robyn, James bought himself one of these lovely brazed and nickeled frames — an authentic continuation numbered 1965 Rickman Mark III model. Then he set to work building his own Metisse with a single-carb TR6C Trophy Competition unit-construction engine, working on the long, dark Alaskan winter nights in the one-car garage of his home workshop.

“I got some stickers made for my mythical shop name ‘SPD’ that is for ‘Special Projects Design’ and I pronounce it ‘Speedy,’ which is a joke because I’m not. “

While the build would take more than half a decade to complete, with many challenges along the way, the finished Metisse is everything James could have hope for and more:

“My modern dirt bikes and dual sports are lighter, faster, have far better suspension but none of them make me feel as good as rolling on the throttle of the Rickman and listening to it sing.”

Below, James gives us the full story on the nearly 50-year journey from that fateful afternoon in 1969 to his first ride on a Triumph-powered Rickman Metisse of his very own. No word of a lie, this story had us checking prices on Rickman Mark III frame kits ourselves!

My history with bikes:

I grew up riding small dirt bikes in the late ’60’s but only started really working on my bikes when we built our own house with a one-car garage in 2000. I had only basic tools at the time and slowly added a few more specialty tools over time. A 220v MIG welder and a drill press were the big items. We sold that house and moved into an older house but I finally got the 500 sq/ft shop I’ve wanted for years. In this shop I’ve built several project bikes and often had more than one project on the three build tables at the same time.

I got some stickers made for my mythical shop name “SPD” that is for “Special Projects Design” and I pronounce it “Speedy,” which is a joke because I’m not. I do not work on bikes for anyone else, just my own fun projects for an hour or so after work and maybe a total of 6 hours on the weekends. The winters here in Alaska are long, cold, and dark, so working in a warm shop with lots of lights and my favorite music or video playing makes the winter months much better.

One day in 1969 while riding my tiny Big Bear Scrambler minibike I saw and heard the most beautiful dirt bike I’d ever seen, a Rickman Metisse Scrambler with a Triumph 650 twin and open pipes. Absolutely stunning visually and aurally. I knew then that I wanted to own one of those one day.

That one-car garage became my workshop where I was finally able to order a frame kit from Rickman Motorcycles in England to build my own Rickman Metisse.

The Bike:

The Rickman Metisse Scrambler is a race bike designed by the two Rickman Brothers, Don and Derek, who were professional Scrambles/Moto-Cross racers and worked as engineers. Back then (late 50’s) all the scramblers were just street bikes with parts not needed removed. They were almost all four-stroke engines because the two-strokes didn’t make enough power to be competitive.

But the big four-strokes were heavy and didn’t handle well on the dirt tracks so the Rickman Brothers designed a much better handling, stronger, and lighter frame to put the engine into, then installed whatever suspension and wheels were the best at the time.

At first they built the frames they called a “Metisse” (mongrel in French) for themselves and a few close friends. Once they were satisfied with the frame design they offered it free to the British motorcycle manufacturers at no charge so the companies would build better race bikes. None of the manufacturers were at all interested so the brothers went into business building frame kits and selling them to racers. The frames were built specifically for each engine a buyer wanted to put in it.

Steve McQueen was probably the most famous owner/rider of a Rickman Metisse and he said in an article in Popular Mechanics (I think) that the Rickman is the best handling scrambler he has ever ridden. That was, of course, before he bought his first Husqvarna and parked his four-stroke machines. His Rickman was assembled by his friend and stuntman Bud (or Dave?) Ekins who also raced a Rickman Metisse.

The Rickman Metisse Mk III Scrambler was a kit bike that you bought to build your own race bike, the frame and swingarm are nickel-plated and the seat, fenders, and fuel tank are fiberglass. The frames are beautifully brazed (bronze welded) with very high strength steel tubing and are quite expensive. But the age of the two-stroke was coming on fast and would quickly push the four-stroke dinosaurs into extinction.

The interest in Vintage MX had revitalized the market for the Rickman Metisse and the Rickman brothers granted the rights to their name to Adrian Moss, a long time shop specializing in the Metisse bikes who restarted production of the bike frame kits. I had always wanted to build my own Rickman so when the internet opened up the world and I found Rickman Motorcycles was building new frame kits (and to any stage of completion) I finally was able to order one. Mine is an authentic continuation numbered 1965 Rickman Mk III frame kit built for a unit construction Triumph 650cc twin, the single carb TR6C Trophy Competition motor.

 

I received the frame kit in May of 2011 and immediately started searching for a motor, suspension, wheels, and the dozens of bits and pieces needed to build a bike from the frame out. The process took several years and resulted in several wheels and forks that would not work for one reason or another. That was especially expensive because of the cost of freight to Alaska.

I was able to buy an engine eventually from a 1971 TR6C and completely rebuilt it from the sludge tube in the crank all the way through with new everything installed internally, a new Amal carb, and a Pazon electronic ignition. I have a tiny Lithium battery that provides a hotter spark at idle for easy kick starting and steady idle. The first start came in 2017 followed soon by the first ride and it is magnificent!

The front forks are Spanish Betor 35mm, front wheel is a Honda MR 250, rear wheel is a BSA B50 hub with an 18″ aluminum rim. Shocks are NJB MX 13.5″. The motor is completely stock internally, just all new. I wanted an easy to start engine, not a hot rod.

Why the Bike was Built:

Dream bike since I was 13 years old that I wanted to build but never could afford before the company closed its doors. Then I found out that Rickman Motorcycles was back in business and I could finally build my own.

I also found out there is another company building the same machine, Metisse Motorcycles, but they were only interested in selling completed bikes for huge money. Rickman Motorcycles was very happy and helpful to build a frame kit for my project.

Other Info

The bike weighs 300 lbs with oil in the frame and gas in the tank. Never been to a dyno but it would have whatever a well-built stock TR6C puts out, it doesn’t matter to me, it runs strong and sounds even better. I just call it “The Rickman”.

It is an amazing machine to ride in so many ways; while the suspension was about as good as it got back then it is hard to imagine racing MX on a bike with maybe 6″ travel up front and maybe 3.5″ in the rear, drum brakes, and wrestling 300 lbs of weight through everything the tracks presented them.

Of course, back then they raced natural terrain, not the manmade tracks that are used now. They didn’t have the jumps common now. But watching videos of mid 60’s MX races is very exciting to see what they did deal with. I love riding mine on natural trails and at 70 I have decided to stay off the MX tracks on any bike. My modern dirt bikes and dual sports are lighter, faster, have far better suspension but none of them make me feel as good as rolling on the throttle of the Rickman and listening to it sing.

I always thank my wife, Robyn, because she talked me into buying the frame kit because she knew I would always regret it if I didn’t.