Sunbeam 1918 4hp French Military Model 545cc side valve single frame # 7444 engine # 134 7291 gearbox # 8777 A Sunbeam with a difference! Over the years we have handled over 80 Sunbeam motorcycles, but this is the first to enter our premises that is fitted with belt drive. She’s a pretty rare bird, the Marston Sunbeam Register knows of only six survivors, including this one. When WWI broke out, some civilian 3½hp Sunbeams were used by the British Army but the biggest user of military machines on ...
Minerva 1907 4 ½ HP 577 cc side valve V-twin frame # 2081 engine # 30627 Mr Sylvain de Jong, born in Amsterdam on 5 January 1868, moved at the age of 13 with his parents and two brothers to Brussels. After working for some years as a journalist, he went to the U.K. to study the safety bicycle production. In 1895, S. de Jong, his brothers and other investors started a factory in Antwerp, to produce and repair bicycles. For these bicycles, they chose the name “Mercury”. Only two years later, after ...
FN 1925ca. “M50” 748cc four cylinder overhead inlet valve frame # 839 engine # 1756B Responding to demands from sidecarists for more power, FN introduces a 748cc, 7hp four – the Type 700 – for 1914. This new engine is a side valve of ‘T’-head layout, with mechanically operated valves and a mechanical oil pump, which drives the three-speed gearbox via a steel, multi-plate clutch. Pedal starting is dispensed with on the Type 700, a kick-start mechanism is added at the right-hand side of the engine ...
AJS 1933 model 33-7 “Trophy” Camshaft Competition Model 474 cc OHC single frame # 7/573 engine # 33/7 522 In 1931, in the middle of the economic depression, The Matchless Company takes over AJS Motorcycles and moves production from Wolverhampton to London. AJS machines keep their identity for some years, but from halfway the thirties rationalization is the keyword and Matchless and AJS models become almost identical, even to the engine numbering system, in which first the year and then the model ...
Norton 1959 Model 99 “Dominator” 596cc OHV twin frame & engine # P14.80933 “Powerful, good looking, comfortable to ride, the Dominator 99 is a big machine with a big performance. The 600cc vertical twin engine is the most powerful in the Norton range. This model has a large following of enthusiasts who demand, not only high performance , but the built-in stability of Norton roadholding and braking qualities”, says the introduction of the Dominator 99 in the 1961 catalogue. The model is first int ...
BMW 1955 R50 494cc transverse twin with Steib sidecar frame & engine # 552156 In 1955 BMW creates its R50, R60, and R69 models. These new models have a similar engine and the same shaft-drive as earlier models, but are fitted with modern swinging fork rear suspension for the first time. The telescopic front forks of earlier models are abandoned though, in favour of the swinging or “Earles Fork” system. The cycle parts are finished in BMW’s signature black scheme set off by white pin striping. Th ...
Velocette 1954 “MSS” 499cc OHV frame # 10974 engine # MSS 10413 The firm of Veloce Ltd. was formed in 1905 by Johann Goodman. It was a family business that concentrated on sound motorcycle engineering principles. Their first machines were lightweight four strokes; after that a line of top-class 250 cc two strokes was brought out. In 1924/25 Percy Goodman designed the 350 cc overhead camshaft model K, a machine destined to win many TTs and other races, starting with the 1926 Junior TT that was wo ...
1936 Norton CJ 348cc OHC frame # 65270 engine # 5506 The Norton OHC story starts as far back as 1927, when Walter Moore (formerly the Douglas chief designer) creates the first Norton overhead camshaft engine with bore and stroke dimensions of 79×100 mm, giving 490 cc capacity. Straight from the drawing board it provides Alec Bennett with a TT victory in 1927. Known as the CS 1 (Camshaft Senior one) it’s listed as a production machine for the 1928 season. The smaller 348 cc version ( 71×85 mm) is ...
Indian 1913 “4 H.P. Single Cylinder 30.50. Regular Model” 500 cc IOE engine # 42E142 Oscar Hedstrom and Oliver Hendee, both active in the cycle racing world, got together to found the Hendee Manufacturing Company and build the first prototype Indian motorcycle in 1901. That first machine was powered by a single-cylinder, ‘F-head’ (inlet over exhaust) engine that formed part of the ‘diamond’ frame, in the Indian’s case it sloped rearwards to act as the seat tube. An advanced feature in motorcycli ...
Norton 1958 Model 88 “Dominator” 497 cc OHV twin frame # N122 77652 engine # 76767 14P Inspired by the popular success of Triumph’s pre-war Speed Twin and aware that other factories were working on their own versions, Norton realised that if they were to have any future after World War 2, they too needed a twin engine. The job was undertaken by Bert Hopwood, who had worked on the development of Edward Turner’s original Speed Twin design and had vast experience in the industry. Chief design point ...
Norton 1930 ES 2 490cc OHV single frame # 38791 engine # 43580 The ES 2 is Norton’s second OHV model; the Model 18 was brought out in 1923 and for the 1928 season a new model OHV is presented, based on the successful new OHC racer that will be marketed as the CS 1. The new OHV basically uses the Model 18’s overhead-valve engine with its pushrod return springs enclosed in the cradle frame of the CS 1, and from then onwards the ‘Enclosed Springs2’ designation is always applied to Norton’s top-of-t ...
Moto Guzzi 1971 Falcone Nuovo 498 cc OHV single frame # CF*11460* engine # A5443 Moto Guzzi recommenced production post-WW2 with a range of updated pre-war designs, the ultimate expression of its classic, vintage-style single not arriving until 1950. This was the legendary Falcone, which took over as Guzzi’s top sports model, its tuneable engine being closely related to that of the Dondolino racer. Offered in Sport, Turismo and military/police specifications, the Falcone outlived all its fellows ...
Velocette 1963 “Venom Clubman” 499cc OHV frame # RS17306 engine # VM4166 Conceived by Velocette’s Eugene Goodman and designed by Charles Udall, the Venom’s 499 cc engine has a bi-metal cylinder with a cast-iron liner, high compression piston and a light alloy cylinder head. An unusual feature of the Venom design is that the clutch is positioned between the gearbox and gearbox sprocket. This makes the clutch less accessible but allows for easy gearing changes and a range of sprockets with differe ...
Harley-Davidson 1921ca. 989 cc IOE V-twin Model “F” frame # 20061engine # 21F 6919 It takes the Harley-Davidson Co. about 12 years to develop their motorcycles from a single cylinder belt driven single 3 HP machine to the 45 degree V-twin with 3-speed countershaft gearbox that is marketed in 1915. This sturdy 989 cc (84x89mm) machine becomes a popular choice for motorcycle buyers all over the world, private enthusiasts as well as police forces, postal services and other government bodies. The tw ...
Moto Guzzi 1967 V7 703 cc transverse OHV V-twin frame # VS*97FL* engine # VS*008745 In the late fifties brilliant Moto Guzzi engineer Giulio Cesare Carcano designed a 90° V-twin air-cooled engine intended for a sports version of the Fiat 500, capable of reaching 140 km/h. The Moto Guzzi company was exploring other markets because the interest in the relatively lightweight motorcycles of the time was waning; small cars like the Fiat 500 became affordable for more and more people and motorcycling ...
Thor 1912 Model “CT IV HP” ca. 488 cc aiv single engine # TL416 Thor motorcycles were made by The Aurora Machine and Tool Company, which began as a machine shop in 1886, providing forging, castings and parts for many bike manufacturers. The history of Thor is closely tied to the history of Indian motorcycles, as somewhere around 1901, Oscar Hedstrom of the Indian Motocycle Company accompanied an Indian prototype to the Aurora factory – Aurora had been supplying the Hendee company with castings f ...
Automoto 1929 AL9 Grand Tourisme Luxe 348 cc side valve single frame # 51896 engine # 30122 Automoto is one of the pioneer French makes: at the end of the 19th century a group of bicycle parts manufacturers in St. Etienne merges into one company that gets the name Automoto. Soon production of complete cycles, motorised tricycles and automobiles is taken up, next to various other products such as washing machines, hunting weapons and sundry agricultural machinery. During the 1914-1918 war the com ...
Indian 1919 “N-19 PowerPlus” 998 cc side valve V- twin combination frame & engine # 71M868 For model year 1919 only minor changes are made in The PowerPlus specifications: the gearbox gets larger bearings and an oil groove in the enlarged mainshaft improves lubrication. The valve chambers are larger and the engine main and big end bearings are made to closer tolerances for better wear resistance. The conspicuous black band striping edged with thin gold lines that was introduced for the 1917 mode ...
BMW 1940 R51 Sport 494 cc OHV horizontally opposed twin frame # 514025 engine # 506030 In the late thirties BMWs are sold in considerable numbers, in spite of their high prices. The make has built up an excellent reputation for quality and luxury: from 1938 on all BMWs have both front and rear springing, a feature which is at the time very uncommon for most other makes. From 1938 till the war stops production of civilian bikes all BMW twins share a common frame and cycle parts. All engines are i ...
Moto Guzzi 1972 V7 GT 850 844cc 90 degree transverse V-twin frame # VP 11371 engine # VP 51984 The first motorcycle to use Guzzi’s v-twin appeared in the late 1960s in the form of the 703cc V7, and this remarkable engine would prove exceptionally versatile, being enlarged beyond 1,000cc and powering machines of all kinds ranging from the super-sports Le Mans to the automatic transmission Convert tourer. The V7 was developed into the 748cc V7 Sport and in 1972 a heavier touring version of the V7 ...