Any Info on rickman motorcycles

Klein or Mikuni is light years better.
I was a Montesa guy, Rickman used their motors,
that's why I know a little bit about them.

The motor thing kinda baffles me.

Joe, this is a Bing carb. Like the Amal has tickler. U just kept pushing it till fuel went everywhere.

Here is where the Cappra motors changed. Mid 1974. To waffle cylinders and heads. That's why it's call a Still Better model.
Pre 74, the motocross Montesa, Cappras, were called Grey Ghosts.
Look at the cases and heads.

And ya, stand back when u pull that front sprocket.

Always liked those wavy fins. Friend has a Rickman Metisse. I believe a triumph in that.

Sorry guy I had to check on something.
Ya that's a Klein
Push it down and u got choke. Get it running lift it up. I was thinking Amal because of the screw on top.
Fuel mix I think was 20-1. Best smelling was Blendzall. But that was a mineral oil and carbons up stuff real quick.
I know I was amazed when oils were coming out that ran up to 50/1.

U might want to put this up in old school.
I'm sure, well kinda sure there are guys running that motor today. They would know oil mix with today's oils better than me.

Would be cool if that thing has metal tank, like Reese said.
I dunno what guys run today in fiberglass tanks. I've heard aviation fuel doesn't have alcohol. Maybe VP doesn't.
But ya pm me if I can help in any way. I usually check every day.
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My dad has two 125's that escaped the fire that took most of his bikes in '17

1959 Don Rickman won the MXDN at Namur on a bike he built himself! Triumph Metisse. My Dad has this bike in his shed. He also has Derek Rickman's last Metisse which was a Matchless.

@Joe Sprocket: My older brother had a 1974 Rickman 250 VR back in the day and I loved riding it & probably worked on it more than he did. Motogrady & Reese are on point, let me add a few things I recall now:

1. Tap on the fiberglass tail section, then tap on the tank, and you can probably tell if the tank is steel like my brother's was, or just try a magnet on the tank.

2. If you file away exactly the right little bit of the right hand footpeg mount, the peg will fold back far enough that your kickstarter stroke will approach a glorious 180 degrees and it will start first kick hot or cold if the ignition & jetting are at all good. I would NOT use a power tool to remove the material in question because it's easy to go too far. Unbolt the peg, take the spring, then file, slipping the bolt in frequently to check. On my bro's, the peg would actually stick in the up position because I filed just right, but you can always loop a rubber band around the frame tube to hold the peg up during a kick.

3. Weight distribution on this bike is close to 40/60, which I think stems from the chassis deriving from their big four-strokes. Notice how short the swingarm is. It is kind of like an old-school flat track bike: the weight transfer & hookup under power are enhanced, but you have to ride it the way it demands. See that notch between the seat and tank? Going into a turn, you sit against the tank and the family jewels drop into that notch; weight the outside peg and rear-steer it, either with a brake slide or going in under power. Bob Hannah rode a big Rickman and said the front stuck better when the bike was sideways, and I agree. In the exit phase of the turn, as you roll on the throttle, snap the bike upright with the bars and let the acceleration slide you back till you hit the upward angled rear part of the seat. So forward & back on seat if you want each end to hook up optimally, just a rhythmic movement through the turn.

4. Turn method #2: these bikes will roll a flat turn well under neutral power if you weight the outside peg and don't hit the power till upright again-- if you have correct tires for the surface, you can lean over amazingly because the bike's so low overall. This is how you would cut inside in a turn, it won't front-steer like a Maico or CZ, you can't change line to cut in but it will roll a steady arc well.

5. Rickman brakes are excellent, there's a trick to them though. Usual drum brake rules--bike off stand under its own weight, hold on the brake to center the drum when tightening the axle--have one more step. Notice that the brake shoe pivots are bolts instead of solid? After you center the drums the usual way & tighten the axles, then you loosen each brake pivot nut, then apply the brake & tighten the pivot's nut down, which centers the brake shoes even better. If the shoes, drum surface & cables are in good shape, Rickman brakes should be excellent when set up correctly, but you have to take advantage of that centering system. Between the short cable, the rear weight bias, long wheelbase and that setup, my brother's rear brake was the best rear drum I ever used.

6. Put a passive chain tensioner roller under the bottom chain run under the swingarm pivot. Line up the countershaft center, swing arm pivot, and rear axle in a straight line w/ shocks off & adjust chain to roll freely; lined up like that is the chain's tightest point during rear wheel travel. Mount the roller so that it just touches the underside of the chain, and when you let the wheel back down, the roller will take up the extra slack in the chain automatically. You will have to make your own method of getting the chain adjusted right with shocks on; usually there's still a little slack in the chain & you can mark the frame as a reference point. I used a skateboard wheel on my bro's bike; DC Plastics sells nice rubber ones now, mount it with a steel or aluminum strap to the lower rear engine mount bolt that is handy.

7. As noted, Betors were good for damper-rod forks; they're designed to use fluid equivalent to Type F ATF, which by true measure is supposed to be about 14W, though not all fork fluids are indexed to that system. I think the heavy Honda fork fluid is 14W and their light is 7W; light oil & heavy springs were what truly fast guys used to do with damper rod forks. But my brother's bike was plush with Type F. They have spring-loaded check-ball vented breather caps, which will weep if working right, but I think the breathing makes them less spiky and harsh for damper-rod forks, because the breathers keep the air pressure from ramping up as quickly, another thing that made them plush by 1974 standards. So try to live with the seepage.

8. I think Speed & Sport can help with Rickman stuff in the States, to name one place. The NJB Expert shocks they sell would probably be better than Progressive brand and cheaper too. I don't think the 250 Rickman would benefit from the longer shocks people put on many vintage racers, due to the unusual weight distribution and short swingarm, but YMMV.

9. The original handlebars were probably way too tall and wide unless you stand up nearly all the time; something like a CR Low bend is probably in order if you want to weight the front right in turns. I forgot to say that the front is very, very light on jumps, be prepared for that, and lower bars help you get over the front to keep it down.

10. I agree with motogrady that the VR was the best stock 250 MX engine in 1974, but I don't know much about the King Scorpion at all. The 1973 straight-fin VR was a torquer, whereas the wrinkled 74 was a mid-top engine with terrific over rev, so I suspect they used the milder porting in the King Scorpion, and pretty sure it had a 32mm Bing instead of a 34 like the VR. You might check the ID of the intake manifold to be sure it's as big as that Keihin. Btw, the rule of thumb was that we'd replace a Bing with a 2mm bigger Mikuni if we wanted to keep low end, probably same with Keihin. That rear exhaust mount strap hanging loose in the photo looks exactly like my brother's VR one, and I think you probably need to get a real silencer for that pipe, plus some protection for that downpipe, as mentioned.

11. Flywheel weight on the VR was about perfect with the stock external rotor Motoplat, to where it was smart to have the correct tire for the track surface, so if running a PVL ignition or suchlike, the add-on weight might prove to be a good idea. If that barrel has milder porting, flywheel weight is less critical.

12. Watch the sprocket bolts, they don't thread into the hub, have long shoulders instead, so the nut does all the work. Those are good steel rims, don't weigh much more than aluminum and are strong, so maybe a PO didn't watch the front spokes; some folks had spoke problems, but my brother & I weighed zilch so no issues there.

That's plenty. Ours was a good honest race bike: strong engine & brakes, handled well if you rode it the way it wanted. Was not good for long rear travel due to the short swingarm, and the brazed Reynolds 531 frame had our local guy spooked, so he just moved the lower shock mount up on the swingarm, barely 5" of travel wasn't much of an update and my brother got an RM250 when they came out in 1976. But a Rickman VR should make a good vintage-rules racebike today.