A brief chat with... PETER DUKE
Really, Peter? Super-tuning the DKW Hobby? “Yes, the cast-off remnants of dad’s hire fleet ended up in outbuildings behind the Arragon Hotel [owned by Geoff Duke› and my mate Dickie and I felt we could resurrect these hard-used machines to our benefit.” Peter went on to say the poor Deeks were abused by hirers determined to squeeze the last mph out of Geoff Duke’s machines but were in reality quite an impressive machine with their automatic variable drive.
“Getting them up to 70mph downhill was possible, though they were a little underpowered, until the day we discovered the cylinder head from a 50cc moped also discarded in the outbuildings had the same layout of stud holes as the DKW. Bolting it on provided a decent increase in compression, at least once we sorted out piston to head clearance with a gasket or two, and this thing actually put up quite
