The Wallace & Gromit poster given away with the Radio Times featuring Cedric Lynch and his electric streamliner in 2011. PNB

Recently rediscovered in my archives: a large (A1-sized) pull-out poster that was given away with the Radio Times magazine in 2011, featuring ten interesting inventions, presented by Wallace & Gromit. Cedric Lynch's home-built electric streamliner is invention No.8, complete with a mention of the Agni motorcycle that won the first electric Isle of Man TT race in 2009, powered by an Agni motor that Cedric designed himself. It doesn't tell you that this streamliner was built way back in 1991.

Brilliant to see the legendary Cedric Lynch and his fantastic home-built (in 1991!) electric streamliner taking part in the London to Brighton Electric Vehicle Rally last weekend (18/9/2021). Having recently had its second upgrade to new lithium batteries, Cedric's 30-year-old machine is now capable of cruising for 500 miles at 55-60mph. It is of course powered by an Agni motor of his own design. He recently rode it from Potters Bar (north of London) to Somerset and back, on less than half a tankful!

Paul Blezard riding Cedric Lynch's home-made electric streamliner in December 2006. The machine was built 14 years earlier, and 12 years after this photo was taken, it's still going strong!
Photo: Paul Compton

This is Cedric Lynch’s letter to British Dealer News, as printed in the February 2018 edition of BDN and illustrated with a John Mockett cartoon and a photo of Cedric with his electric streamliner, (built in 1991 and on the road since 1992). Reproduced here with the kind permission of both Cedric and John Mockett.
You don't have to strain your eyes trying to read the small print. I have re-typed it in full for the blog section and added a further challenge of my own:

Yours Truly with Mark Wilsmore, the man who, with his partners, revived and runs the legendary Ace Cafe on the old North Circular Road in NW London.
On the left, the Peraves Monotracer that I drove to the Ace's first EV day; on the right, the veteran Lynchmobile, which Cedric Lynch drove to the event and which he's been using daily since he first put it on the road back in 1992. Behind the screen of the Monotracer you can see the article I wrote for the first electric TT programme in 2009, which is reproduced in full elsewhere in this folder. PNB

This is the second half of the article I wrote for the special, separate, programme that was produced for the inaugural 2009 electric TT, the TTXGP as it was called. (In 2010 it was re-named the TTZero).
If you can't read the photo captions, the top photo is double World Superbike Champion James Toseland with me at the 2009 Thundersprint, standing alongside the TTX01 electric machine built by Steve Labib for Azhar Hussain. This was in May 2009, just a few weeks before the first electric TT.
I believe that machine is still the only electric bike ever to be raced in the Thundersprint.

With Cedric Lynch's appearance at the Ace Café's inaugural Electric Vehicle event in March 2018, it seems appropriate to put up the article I wrote for the programme of the first electric TT, way back in 2009, which included a snap I took years earlier, of Cedric holding one of his electric motors. PNB
(The second half of this article, featuring the TTX01 'Agni-powered electric GSXR' and the Brusa-powered electric Ecomobile is here: http://bikeweb.com/node/3304 )
Text & Photo: © 2009 Paul Blezard

Cedric Lynch at the Ace Cafe during the famous venue's first ever Electric Vehicle Day. He is holding the article I wrote for the separate programme for the inaugural 2009 electric TTXGP, in which he features holding one of his motors, alongside the 2008 Electric Ecomobile. That article is now in this same folder, in two parts, starting here: http://www.bikeweb.com/node/3303

As electric motorcycles and scooters become increasingly popular, all of them manufactured with the same appalling aerodynamics as conventionally-powered machines, it seems appropriate to put up this ancient photo of Cedric Lynch and his pioneering electric streamliner soon after he built it, more than twenty years ago, back in September 1995. In those days it was powered by lead acid batteries. This photo was taken during a 12 hour electric event in Oxford, when Cedric's machine turned out to be the most efficient vehicle in the event.

Cedric Lynch holds open the 'gull wing' door of his home-built FF all-electric streamliner.
Photo: © Paul Blezard August 2009
2017 Update: See here for a photo of Cedric with two electric Saietta machines with different 'Funny Front Ends':
http://bikeweb.com/node/3276
PNB

The immortal Bob MacIntyre riding a Gilera 500-4 to the first 100mph lap in the Isle of Man TT Senior race of 1957. He did four of the eight laps at over 100mph, and averaged 101.12 on the fourth lap. This was the last year that dustbin fairings were allowed by the FIM, and they are still banned today in all classes except the TTXGP and TTzero electric races. In 2010 Rob Barber rode the dustbin-faired Agni machine to 2nd place in the TTzero race, the first time that such a fairing had been used in the 53 years since MacIntyre's dustbin-assisted record-breaking win. PNB

Rob Barber at Signpost corner, less than a minute from coming second in the second electric TT race on the dustbin-faired Agni. Barber had won the first electric race, called TTXGP, the year before, at a slightly slower speed, with a normal fairing. This was the first time that a dustbin-faired motorcycle had been raced on the Isle of Man since Bob McIntyre did the first 100mph lap on the Gilera 500-4 in 1957, over half a century before. Rob lapped at an average speed of 89.2mph (from a standing start) while winner Mark Miller lapped at 96.82 on the Moto Czysz.

Rob Barber on the 'dustbin' faired Agni electric machine, designed by Cedric Lynch, in the race paddock of the 2010 TTzero. Rob went quicker than he had when he won the inaugural TTXGP in 2009, but was beaten into second place in 2010 by Mark Miller on the completely re-designed Czysz. Jennie Tinmouth finished 4th on the second Agni machine, using a conventional fairing. Cedric says the dustbin-faired machine was slightly faster, but really needs to have more rear bodywork to improve its aerodynamics further.

Renowned and respected motorcycle designer John Keogh did a quick sketch of what Cedric Lynch's machine could look like with a bit of styling input, way back in 2010. I had hoped that something like this would be built in time for the second Brighton-London economy run in November 2011, but that didn't happen. Cedric says that the mirrors as drawn would add much more wind resistance than he would like; he would prefer them more like the ones he has mounted inside his existing machine.

Cedric Lynch and Julian Bond came to a presentation I gave about electric PTWs at the IMI (Institute of the Motor Industry) near Hertford in November 2010, to which I rode in Genesis. Afterwards we took a few snaps.

Cedric leaving the IMI in November 2010. He has recently upgraded his spokes, rims and tyres and all his steering connections. He says it's cured the slow-speed wobble tendencies, so I'm looking forward to riding it again. What a shame the organisers were too blinkered to accept his entry in the Brighton-London Future Car Challenge economy run on November 6th. I'm sure he would have beaten all the 'economy' cars by several factors.....PNB Photo: Paul Blezard

As you can see from this photo, Cedric always wears a crash helmet in his electric FF even though he sometimes rides it with bare feet! Cedric rarely wears shoes and consequently the soles of his feet are like leather.
Photo: © Paul Blezard, August 2009

Cedric Lynch with the Agni racer that he designed, shortly after Jenny Tinmouth sealed its victory in the first UK electric road race championship at Brands Hatch, October 2010. Behind is the Pegram Genesis, which is much closer to Cedric's idea of what a motorcycle should look like! PNB.
Photo: © Paul Blezard

A barefoot Cedric Lynch looks on while I go for my third spin in his all-electric streamliner, August 2009. Great fun! See action shots elsewhere in this folder. PNB
(Photo taken by Paul Compton, Paul Blez archive)