One of the legends of off-road frame design, Eric Cheney started as one of Britain’s best MX riders. Unfortunately, he picked up a blood infection while racing in Algeria and it became so bad that he had to stop racing. That was good news for his competition, as he applied his skills to making better frames and suspension designs for everyone to enjoy. His list of successes is long, but my favorite story is that he ended up building a small run of Triumph powered bikes to compete in the ISDT because the British motorcycle industry was suffering and couldn’t support a national team in the late 60s/early 70s. In 1970 and 1971, Cheney won a manufacturer’s prize!
Cheney would go on to create a specialty model called the Cheney Victor, though he sold plenty of nickel-plated frame to people who went on to build their own specials – and that’s what appears to have happened here.
The seller of this example (Frame #: BSA MK5 N37 921 14 EC) acquired it in 2007 out of Fresno, California and since that time he raced it “5 or 6 times with AHRMA” – he notes that it was very competitive in the Classic 500 class. The seller notes some minor corrosion of the nickel plating on the frame in a couple of areas but it’s otherwise in excellent shape. In addition to the BSA Victor motor (which interestingly bears an engine number of B44RACE20), this build features CZ forks, Falcon shocks, Boyer electronic ignition, Renthal bars, alloy rims, CZ hubs, and much more.
Find this Victor for sale in Hillsboro, Oregon with an unmet opening bid of $8,000 here on eBay.