Vincent 1951ca. “ Series C Comet” 499cc OHV single frame # RC/1/8662 rear frame # RC/1/8662 engine # F5AB/2A/4926 crankcase mating # 14N / 14N Since his schoolboy days Philip Vincent had been a great admirer of Howard Raymond Davies, who had begun manufacturing HRD machines at Wolverhampton in 1924. While studying mechanical engineering at Cambridge Vincent built his prototype Vincent Special that already incorporated the strong triangulated and braced sprung rear fork that would remain a featur ...
Zenith 1926 Model “6-80” 678 cc JAP side valve V-twin frame # 9590 engine # GT/A/44028 Zeith machines were manufactured from 1904 till 1950, in a variety of factories in or around London. From the early days proprietary engines were used, such as Fafnir, Green-Precision, JAP, Bradshaw and Villiers. The latter engines were used in most models from the thirties. In pre WW1 days Zenith machines gained many successes; driving force was chief engineer Freddy Barnes, who was responsible for the famous ...
Martinsyde 1922 “Type B” 6 HP 678 cc exhaust-over-inlet V-twin engine # 221434 The British firm of Martinsyde was founded in 1908 when Helmuth Paul Martin and George Harris Handasyde went into partnership to build aircraft. By the end of WWI Martinsyde was Britain’s third largest aircraft manufacturer, occupying sites at Brooklands and Maybury Hill in Woking. Faced with a sharp downturn in demand for its products, the firm turned to motorcycle production after the war’s end, having acquired the ...
Ariel 1930ca Model E “Standard OHV” 499cc OHV single frame # K7818 engine # H1574 The new line of Ariels, introduced at the end of 1925 and designed by engineering genius Val Page, becomes an instant success. Not so much because of its technical innovations, but mostly for its very attractive styling: lower saddle position, shortened wheel base and high saddle tank. Victor Mole is the new man in charge of sales at the Ariel works and he designs the new eye-catching emblem of the Ariel horse and ...
“Pidcock” 1942 electric motorcycle During the second world war petrol was hard to come by for civilian use in Britain, so Peterborough inhabitant Mr. J. Pidcock, from 99 Crown Street, designed and built a motorcycle that was not driven by petrol, but used electricity as driving power. He started by using a converted 1922 Douglas rolling chassis, but later designed a special frame that he coupled to a ca 1930 BSA headstock and front forks. He fitted 21“ wheels and power came from three 6 volt bat ...
Magnat-Debon 1914 4 HP 485 cc OHV V-twin frame # 8849 engine # 2531 In the year 1900 Joseph Magnat and Louis Debon found a firm in Grenoble that starts to produce bicycles. In 1902 the first motorcycle is built, equipped with a De Dion Bouton engine. From 1906 on there is a regular motorcycle production with own-brand engines. In the years before the first world war the firm prospers: the machines have many novel features such a telescopic front suspension and some models have overhead valves. B ...
Harley-Davidson 1929 “29 C” 493 cc side valve single frame & engine # 29C1781 After the discontinuation of the 565 cc singles in 1918 the company tries to win customers in the 600 cc class with the flat twin model W Sport Twin, produced from 1919 up to including 1923. Sales are relatively modest, but it’s clear that especially in the European markets a small-capacity H-D will be a selling point, if only to act as a “starter model”. Consequently, in 1926 350 cc class models are brought out; the O ...
Quadrant 1903 2HP ca. 225cc A.I.V. frame # 62114 engine # 577 Quadrant, founded as a bicycle factory by Walter and William Lloyd in 1883, was among the first British bicycle manufacturers to venture into motorcycle production. Their first model, the Quadrant Autocyclette was equipped with the then very popular 211 cc Minerva clip-on engine and appeared in 1901. The following year Walter took out a patent for an ‘all-in-one’ control lever to raise the exhaust valve, control the ignition switch an ...
FN 1914 “Type 700” 748 cc four cylinder T-head side valve frame # 70452 engine # 1274 At the Paris Salon at the end of 1914 a completely redesigned FN-4 is presented. Both engine and frame are totally new. The longer and sturdier frame now accommodates a 748 cc power source, with bore x stroke dimensions of 52 x 88 mm. The atmospheric intake system has been abandoned and the engine now has a full side valve layout, with valves on opposite sides of the cylinder, the so-called T-head configuration ...
Mondial 1962 “Nova” 123cc OHV frame & engine # 3926 Few marques have achieved so fine a competition record in so short a time as FB Mondial. FB Mondial was founded in the aftermath of WW2 by the Boselli family, whose first venture into powered transport had been with the FB (Fratelli Boselli) three-wheeled delivery van in the 1930s. The name ‘Mondial’ first appeared on a motorcycle in 1948, when the Boselli brothers introduced a revolutionary double-overhead-camshaft 125cc racer. Mondial’s minia ...
Zündapp 1940 KS 600 597 cc OHV transverse twin frame # 506813 engine # A1 6163 The Zündapp story begins in 1917 when the Nuremberg firm is founded by Dr. Fritz Neumeyer and Friedrich Krupp as a producer of detonators (Zünder- und Apparatebau is German for Igniter and Apparatus). After World War 1 the demand for war equipment declines and Neumeyer becomes the sole proprietor of the company. In 1921 he switches towards the construction of motorcycles. The early models are 211 and 246 cc two stroke ...
Martinsyde 1921 6 HP 678 cc exhaust-over-inlet V-twin frame # NO933 engine # H933 The British firm of Martinsyde was founded in 1908 when Helmuth Paul Martin and George Harris Handasyde went into partnership to build aircraft. By the end of WWI Martinsyde was Britain’s third largest aircraft manufacturer, occupying sites at Brooklands and Maybury Hill in Woking. Faced with a sharp downturn in demand for its products, the firm turned to motorcycle production after the war’s end, having acquired t ...
Scott 1938 498 cc “ Flying Squirrel” Ex-Steve McQueen water cooled two stroke twin combination frame # 4520M engine # DPZ4578 Bradford-born Alfred Angas Scott’s experiments with two-stroke motorcycle engines began in the closing years of the 19th century. The first complete Scott motorcycle followed in 1908, its twin-cylinder engine, two-speed foot-change gear and all-chain drive marking it out as an exceptionally advanced design for its day. Light weight, ample power and sure-footed handling th ...
Quickly detachable sidecar 1930s make unknown This sidecar model was popular in the thirties. The boot is in good condition and is constructed of wooden ribs with metal panelling and leatherette seat cover. The chassis can easily and quickly be fitted to and taken off a motorcycle, this was a handy feature when a machine was used both as a solo mount and as a combination. The chassis and mudguard are unrestored, the mudguard is adorned with a nicely designed Art-Deco-type lighting unit. The side ...
Sidecar 1920s Zeppelin design The Zeppelin airship inspired many sidecar designers and producers and from the early 1920s they were often seen attached to a motorcycle, often a sports machine. The chassis of the sidecar we offer here has both coil and leaf spring suspension, the wheel and mudguard are freshly painted. The boot is constructed of wooden ribs with plywood panels, that are covered with leatherette. Aluminium strips that run to the central “bullet point” In the front accentuate the s ...
Ordinary bicycle, ca1878, frame # 43709 50 This ordinary is equipped with several accessories such as a hub lamp, bicycle bell and cyclists whip (to scare off the dogs). The whip is marked with a “Deutscher Radfahrer Bund – All Heil” tag. There is a name tag on the top of the back bone carrying the name Arthur Renard 1878. She has a 50 inch driving wheel.
Honda C50 1971 49cc OHC frame # C50L003077 engine # 7101699 The history of the Honda C50 begins in the 1950s, a period of post-World War II reconstruction in Japan. The country needed an affordable, reliable, and efficient means of transportation. Honda’s founder, Soichiro Honda, and then-director Takeo Fujisawa saw an opportunity to address this need. Together, they decided to develop a motorcycle that would be easy to use, even for those with no experience with motor vehicles. In 1958, the fir ...
Norton 1957 Model 40 “International” 348cc OHC frame # 1174901 engine # 1676 gearbox # G102A4239 One of the most charismatic model names in motorcycling history, ‘International’ was first used by Norton for its top-of-the-range sports roadster in 1932. The Inter’s Arthur Carroll-designed overhead-camshaft engine had been developed in the works racers for the preceding two years, and although it retained the classic 79x100mm bore/stroke dimensions and shaft-and-bevels cam drive of the existing CS ...
Vincent HRD 1947 Touring Rapide 998 cc V-twin with Watsonian Monaco MK1 sidecar frame # F10AB4448 engine # F10AB/1/448 Introduced in 1946, the Vincent-HRD Series-B Rapide was immediately the fastest production motorcycle on sale anywhere, with a top speed of 110 mph. The basic design clearly had even greater potential though, which would be realised later in the form of the Black Shadow and Black Lightning models. In 1950 “HRD” disappeared from the logo; the machines were renamed “The Vincent”. ...
BSA 1913 “Model E” 3½ HP 499 cc side valve single frame # 4584 engine # 11791/13 BSA entered the motor cycle market with a sturdy 3½ HP belt driven single geared machine, that was displayed at the 1910 Olympia show. It was constructed almost entirely from BSA-made components and was produced from the company’s Redditch factory. Within six months from their launching the BSA’s with their distinctive green and cream tank colours were selling well. No less than 5 models were catalogued for 1913, al ...