“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 ...
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.
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”. ...
Yale 1912 “Model 27” 7 HP 998 cc AIV V-twin engine # 2403 Yale was a foremost player in the first decade of American motorcycling. The make was marketed by the Consolidated Manufacturing Company of Toledo, Ohio. Originally the company made bicycles under the brand names of “Snell” an “Yale”. To make a flying start in motorcycle production the California Motorcycle Company was bought in 1903 and for its first five years the motorcycle was sold as the Yale-California. In 1909 the big single grew t ...
Harley-Davidson 1942 “WLA” 750cc side valve V-twin frame & engine # 42WLA51423 Harley-Davidson began producing the WLA in small numbers in 1940, as part of a general military expansion. The later entry of the United States into World War II saw significantly increased production, with over 90,000 being produced during the war (along with spare parts the equivalent of many more). Harley Davidson would also produce a close WLA variant for the Canadian Army. This model was called the WLC. Productio ...
BSA 1925 6 HP Model E 27 770 cc side valve V-twin frame # N 2127 engine # A223 The Model E is BSA’s first V-twin, primarily intended as a sidecar machine. It is introduced in 1920 and remains in production up to 1932. In 1922 a somewhat scaled up version is brought out, the 986 cc model F. From 1932 on the 986 cc model will be BSA’s only V-twin. The 76×85 engine has the cylinders set at a 50 degree angle. The valves are interchangeable, with quickly adjustable tappets. The constant loss lubricat ...
Harley-Davidson 1963 FL “Duo-Glide” 1207cc OHV V-twin frame & engine # 63FL7298 The Duo-Glide was so-named because in 1958 Milwaukee’s 1207cc Panhead was equipped with both telescopic front forks and a swingarm rear suspension, the latter’s action controlled by a pair of outsized, chrome-covered shock absorbers. It was a big step forward in comfort for touring riders, who came to revel in the bike’s cushy ‘Glide Ride.’ Many mounted saddlebags and a windshield, and hit the road bound for points u ...
ILO ca1952 F60H 60cc two stroke cycle motor fitted to contemporary carrier bicycle engine # 43857 In 1911, Heinrich Christiansen starts a machine factory near Hamburg, in the north of Germany. Initially, the company is mainly active in the field of machines and tools for the railways. Christiansen chooses as brand name ILO (also spelled JLO, Esperanto for ”Good Tool”). From the 1920s the focus is mainly on building affordable and reliable two-stroke engines for a wide range of applications. Mope ...
Harley-Davidson 1921 Model “F” 989 cc IOE V-twin frame & engine # 21F3331 1909 marks the appearance of Harley-Davidson’s first v-twin, though it’s not until the adoption of mechanically operated inlet valves in 1911 (replacing the ‘atmospheric’ type inherited from the single) that production really takes off. This ‘F-head’ (inlet-over-exhaust) engine will remain in production for the next 19 years. Year by year the models are further developed and in 1921 a larger-capacity 1212 cc engine becomes ...
Coventry Machinists’ “Swift” Ladies Safety Bicycle ca. 1892 This Swift has been restored in the past but is currently incomplete. Tyres, front brake block and chain are not present. The wheels are 24-inch and the pedals arrear to be the original Coventry machinists’ items. This interesting bicycle comes with wickerwork handlebar-basket, front brake, chainguard and candle front light. The mounting points near the saddle tube and steering column suggest that it can be converted into a gents’ bicyc ...
Gentlemen’s Tricycle ca 1885 frame# 117318 This tricycle is an older restoration in nice condition. It’s fitted with 28-inch wheels with solid rubber tyres, a front brake and a chain guard. The handlebars have bone handgrips and lighting is provided by a “Germania” candle lamp.