Oldtimers

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 ...

Brough-Superior 1932 “Overhead 680” 677 cc OHV V-twin frame # 5/1188 engine # GTO/Y 26134/S* Gearbox # NIV 2578 With the SS80 and SS100 well established by the mid-1920s, it’s decided to add a smaller and cheaper alternative to these two 1-litre models to the range. The market for the expensive B-S machines is not large and in order to stay firmly in business an extension of the range in a more affordable part of the market is a logical step. And a smart one too: B-S historians have claimed that ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 1932 “Model R” 742 cc side valve V-twin frame & engine # 32R1205 The company introduced the side valve concept for the V-twins for the 1929 model year when the 742cc model D was presented. A year later the F head big twin was replaced by the side valve 121cc model V. The model D was sometimes referred to as the “three cylinder Harley“, because of the remarkable vertical position of the dynamo. For the 1932 model year a redesigned 750 was marketed as the Model R. It differed in ma ...

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 ...

Gilera 1947ca Saturno 499 cc ohv single frame & engine # 264002 The Gilera Saturno was shown for the first time at the Milan show in 1938, the single unit engine designed by Guiseppe Salmaggi being a departure from the norm of the day; besides having clean lines most components were easily removable without taking the engine out of the frame. The main production ran from 1946 till 1958. In that period only about 6000 Saturnos were produced. Through the years of production four types were availab ...

Sunbeam 1939 “High Camshaft” Standard model B 25 498 cc OHV frame # 925 engine# B 25 E637 In the mid-thirties Sunbeam parent company ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries) decides to dispose of the hardly profitable cycle and motorcycle side. AMC buys the business in 1937, their main interests being the bicycle dealer network and the well-established famous “Sunbeam” name. Production moves from Wolverhampton to Plumstead. That’s to say, there is so much stock that it’s enough to sustain production i ...

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 ...