Oldtimers

FN 1931 M 70 C “Sahara” 346 cc side valve frame # 69284 engine # 19209 video: https://youtu.be/Yt8Nq7II0gQ At the end of 1923 FN presents a 350 cc single cylinder ohv with unit construction engine. This model, the M60, is the start of a successful new line of models in a period in which the heavy and expensive four cylinder is quickly loosing ground. Two years later a bigger 500 cc brother is brought out, the M 67. Shortly after that FN four cylinder production is finished. The ohv singles are v ...

Harley-Davidson 1920 Model F 989 cc IOE V-twin engine & frame # 20T9120 video: https://youtu.be/FqXgDkCt_PU The 1920 catalogue gives some excellent arguments why one should choose a Harley-Davidson: ”Enthusiastic Harley-Davidson riders have often pointed out that it actually costs less to ride a Harley-Davidson than to walk. Considering the present cost of shoes, whether one figures his time worth anything at all or not, there is little doubt but that is true. But in figuring the cost of driving ...

Excelsior 1918 Series 19 998cc IOE V-twin frame # 18923 engine # 85883 video: https://youtu.be/w-L55_ON3wg 1911 was a landmark year in Excelsior’s history, for the firm was acquired by bicycle maker Ignaz Schwinn and introduced its first v-twin model that year. In 1913 a twin within the 61 ci displacement was offered with all-chain drive, while two-speed planetary transmission and a leaf-sprung, Indian-style front fork were two of the following season’s innovations. Alongside rivals Harley-David ...

Harley-Davidson 1934 “VFD” 1217 cc side valve V-twin frame # C188 engine # 34VFD1663 Video: https://youtu.be/sHnqjCt0sRY There are various new features for the 1934 model year, many being mainly cosmetic. The cylinders are modified and new tank graphics with “Flying Diamond” design are introduced. Frames and forks are now completely heat treated and the company states that this “adds full fifty per cent more strength”. The mudguards get a new shape and a new “Airflow” tail lamp is fitted. 1934 w ...

Douglas 1928ca “DT/ SW 5” 498 cc flat twin ohv racer frame # TF 257 engine # EL779 gearbox # YG1175 When speedway racing arrived in Britain in 1928, the new sport quickly caught the public’s imagination and before long many major UK manufacturers listed a dirt track model, Douglas being the first marque to establish dominance with its 500 cc DT 5 and 600 cc DT 6 overhead valve models. The company’s inline flat twins had benefited from much prior development on the Australian long tracks, but as ...

Harley-Davidson 1933 model RE 742 cc side valve V-twin combination frame # 33-1037 engine # 33RE1067 video: https://youtu.be/-3bfzcfV2TQ Introduced in 1931, the Model R series was the successor of the Model D. The latter had the generator mounted vertically, which proved a vulnerable design point. So with the new R the generator was placed horizontally in front of the engine and driven by a conventional gear drive directly from the timing gear train. Consequently, a newly designed and heavier fr ...

AJS 1912 “Model B” 2 ½ HP 315 cc side valve single frame # 636 engine # 1696 gearbox # 296 The Stevens brothers Harry, George, Joe Junior and Jack had been in motorcycle engine manufacturing for various clients since the final years of the 19th century. In the course of 1909 it was decided to start building complete motorcycles under their own name. In 1910 two models were developed and built, Model A with direct belt drive and model B with chain drive and 2-speed gearbox with cork inserted clut ...

BMW 1939ca R51 unfinished restoration 494cc ohv horizontally opposed twin frame # 512929 engine # not clearly visible In the late thirties BMWs are sold in considerable numbers, in spite of their high prices; in the UK a 1938 BMW R51 costs £123, while a Triumph Speed Twin can be had for less than £77. 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. Fr ...

Harley-Davidson 1947 model EL “ Knucklehead” 989 cc OHV V-twin engine # 47EL11283 video: https://youtu.be/i2cg_vsh9bM During the Depression years of the early Thirties Harley started the development of a new line of motorcycles, an up-to-date OHV model with sophisticated dry-sump recirculation lubrication system and a constant mesh four-speed gearbox. The frame was different of that of any other Harley: a duplex loop with twin down tubes. The new model was well-designed but hastily launched on t ...

Norton 1934 Model 40 “International” 348cc OHC in racing trim frame # 51699 engine # CJ2600 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. Th ...

Rudge Multi 1920 499cc IOE single frame # 769645 engine # 18785 Multi-gear # 12696 With the introduction of the Multi Gear in 1912Rudge was far ahead of the competition. They won the 1914 TT races with this system and Rudges were subsequently barred from certain speed events because of their “unfair head start”. The factory turned this to their advantage by using the “ barred” logo in a clever company advertising campaign. The Multi Gear system is based on the possibility to vary the diameters o ...

BMW 1961 R50S 494 cc transverse OHV twin frame & engine # 564463 video: https://youtu.be/mnsWk47U5Uc Bayerische Motoren-Werke is known in English as the Bavarian Motor Works, or more simply as BMW. The firm launched its first horizontally opposed twin in 1923, and has stood by this style of engine layout ever since. The opposed design offers riders buttery smooth performance as the engine has inherently good balance. In 1955 BMW created its R50, R60, and R69 models. These new models had a simila ...

Triumph 1949 Grand Prix production racer replica 498 cc OHV twin frame # 33291 engine # T100 31611 Triumph motorcycles were not keen to enter the world of road racing. However, right after the second world war, a surplus of generator motors Triumph built for the Royal Air Force turned out to have the key ingredient to solving the Speed Twins overheating problem when highly tuned: a square finned all-alloy barrel and head. The first T100 to employ the generator top end was built by Freddy Clarke ...

Laverda 1971 750 SF 744 cc OHC twin frame # LAV750F5132DGM.5934.0M engine # 750*5132* video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpGjbWrvggs Founded in 1873, Laverda started out making farm machinery, only turning to motorcycle manufacture in the immediate aftermath of WW2. Lightweights, scooters and mopeds formed the mainstay of Laverda production up to the late 1960s when the small Italian concern, hitherto little known outside its home country, astonished the motorcycling world by introducing a 6 ...

Royal Enfield 1937 Model JF “Bullet” 499 cc four-valve OHV single frame # 21785 engine # JF 2514 video: https://youtu.be/Wgb7PeQ4mWQ The famous “Bullet” model name came into existence in the 1933 model range, presented in September 1932 and is still carried on nowadays by a 650 cc model built by Royal Enfield India at Chennai. The 1933 model year catalogue introduced the Bullet models in the 250, 350 and 500 cc class: “ The vogue of the high-efficiency sports motor cycle has produced nothing fin ...

Aermacchi / Harley Davidson 1974 SS 350 344 cc ohv single frame & engine # 6AH412548 Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under license for the Italian military. With a factory located on the shores of Lake Varese, the firm originally manufactured a series of Nieuport designs, as well as seaplanes. After World War II, the company began producing utility three-whe ...

Hesketh 1982 “Vampire” 992cc 8-valve OHC V-twin frame # 055 engine # 0130 Brainchild of wealthy aristocrat and Formula 1 team owner Alexander Furmor-Hesketh, the Hesketh V1000 promised to be an all-new British superbike in the Vincent mould. The proposed design had all the right ingredients: 992cc 8-valve Weslake v-twin engine, nickel-plated Reynolds 531 frame, Brembo brakes, Marzocchi front forks, Dellorto carbs, Lucas Rita electronic ignition and Astralite wheels. In the spring of 1980 the fir ...

Velocette 1949/1950 KTT Mk VIII 348cc OHC frame # SF 231 engine # KTT1044 After the 1928 TT win Velocette marketed the KTT as the first British “over the counter” racer. Thus began the production of a competitive racing motorcycle that was very successful for almost 25 years. The final development of the Velocette KTT, the Mk VIII, was introduced in 1938 at that year’s Earls Court Show, and was the first motorcycle to use the now-conventional swinging-arm rear fork with a shock absorber unit. Th ...

Clément 1903 Type D Autocyclette 192 cc OHV frame # 105649 engine # 3633 In 1902 Adolphe Clément enters the field of motorized bicycles with a small engine of 126 cc capacity. This engine has an automatic inlet valve, an overhead exhaust valve and an external flywheel. The cylindrical tank with petrol and oil compartments and hand operated oil pump is fixed behind the saddle. The battery is stored in a leather case that is strapped to the horizontal frame tube and the ignition coil is fitted on ...

Harley-Davidson 1924 989 cc IOE V-twin model “FE” engine # 24FE12029 1924 is not a good year for the firm: the losses amount to almost $ 120,000 and the workforce is trimmed down from 2,500 to 1,000 employees. Sales in the USA have seriously diminished in the early twenties because of the competition of the cheap automobile. A positive thing is that export sales are still looking good. More than 6000 machines are exported oversees this year; this amounts to almost half of all Harleys manufacture ...