Oldtimers

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Ariel 1929 Model E “ Two Port Standard” 499cc OHV single frame # H5807 engine # H4032 The new line of Ariels, introduced at the end of 1925 and designed by engineering genius Val Page, had been 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 was the new man in charge of sales at the Ariel works and he designed the new eye-catching emblem of the Ariel hor ...

BAT 1914 4½ HP 654 cc side valve V-twin frame # 789 engine # 32478 The company was started in 1902 by S.R. Batson in Kingswood Road, Penge, a district of South East London. The first BATs were fitted with sturdy De Dion Bouton engines which were positioned vertically in the frame. This showed foresight at a time when many manufacturers still clipped their engines to the frame tubes. By 1904 the business was sold to Theodore and Sidney Tessier, who went on to promote the make by taking part in sp ...

Triumph 1914 4HP 550 cc type “C” Roadster 3 speed Sturmey Archer combination frame # 2240MS engine # 35942 High quality of finish and workmanship were always very strong points with Triumph; year by year details in the design were improved. Some of the “important improvements” (as the company put it) listed in the 1914 catalogue were: 85×97 engine giving 550 cc, curved frame giving very low saddle position, semi-automatic drip feed lubrication and wider tank. No less than seven models were catal ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Indian 1919 “NE-19 PowerPlus” 998 cc side valve V- twin frame & engine # 83M774 The real landmark year for Indian was 1907 when the company introduced the first of its mighty V-twins, the rear cylinder of the early models continuing to form part of the frame until 1909. In that year the loop frame was adopted and continued development and innovation saw the development of the overhead valve, four-valves-per-cylinder racers in 1911. The hugely popular PowerPlus, a 61 cu.in. (998cc) flathead V-twi ...

Rover 1912 499 cc side valve with Armstrong 3-speed hub gear frame # S32715 engine # 1923 The Rover safety bicycle creates a breakthrough in bicycle design at the end of the 19th century. In November 1903 the company presents its first motorcycle, which is much ahead of its time: a well-designed side valve engine with mechanically operated valves, spray carburettor, strong frame with double front down tubes and excellent finish. It creates a lot of interest and a thousand or so are sold in 1904. ...

Martinsyde 1921 6 HP “ Series D” 678 cc exhaust-over-inlet V-twin frame # NO1080 engine # H1050 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 Woking. Faced with a sharp downturn in demand for its products, the firm turned to motorcycle production at the war’s end, having acquired the ri ...