classic motorcycle forum

Somebody some day may discover an old bike with a rather large damping  mechanism controlling a rear swinging arm and which is bolted beneath the frame and hangs perilously close to the ground and if it also resembles one of those huge old fashioned door-closing units which used to be fixed above a heavy door to stop it slamming, congratulations, you probably have a very rare example of a CLAMIL REAR SUSPENSION UNIT!   As an aid to I.D. I can say from memory the barrel of it is approx 4" diameter and its length about 10".   This info may at some point be of use to a restorer and I saw one in action many years ago (about 1954) at the first Post-War Sprint held at a venue near Aldershot in Hampshire.   At the time I was a member  of the Mitcham Motorcycle Club and the unit was sold by Miller Motorcycles who had a showroom in Mitcham.   The designer of it was a Mr. Clark hence the choice of the unit's name -- CLA(rk)MIL(ler) -- CLAMIL! (ingenious).   Having watched the bike's progress down the staight-line sprint course, while crouching to observe the almost zero ground clearance and expecting 'sparks', I was happy for the rider that there was no "left-hander" for him to try to negotiate as that was the side of the frame the unit was bolted to.   (He turned right at the end to return to the pits)!