Oldtimers

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 ...

Monarch 1956ca SP-1 246 cc high camshaft single frame # SP-1-56-1019 One might say that both American and European influences have put their mark on the development of the Japanese motorcycle industry. Metallurgical know how, quality control, spare part management, dealer management and after sales management were subjects brought in by the licence agreement Harley-Davidson had made with Rikuo in 1929. The HD/Rikuo factory also became a laboratory for the whole Japanese manufacturing society wit ...

Pointer 1954ca “Comet ” 148 cc OHV two port single frame # 28-22665 engine # PLB 241 One might say that both American and European influences have put their mark on the development of the Japanese motorcycle industry. Metallurgical know how, quality control, spare part management, dealer management and after sales management were subjects brought in by the licence agreement Harley-Davidson had made with Rikuo in 1929. The HD/Rikuo factory also became a laboratory for the whole Japanese manufactu ...

Puch 1905ca 905 cc IOE V-twin in road racing trim From 1889 Johann Puch (1862–1914) worked as an agent for Humber and manufacturer of Styria safety bicycles in a small workshop in Graz and in 1890 he founded his first company Johann Puch & Comp., employing 34 workers. By 1895, Puch already employed more than 300 workers producing about 6000 bikes a year. In 1897 Puch left the company after a dispute with his business partners. Two years later he founded the Erste Steiermärkische Fahrradfabrik AG ...

Norton 1936ca Model 30 International “Composite” 490cc OHC single frame # B36775 engine # 65933 video: https://youtu.be/UVhMtVAX0Jo 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 overhead-camshaft engine had been developed in the works racers for the preceding two years, and although (in the case of the ‘500’) it retained the classic 79x100mm bore/stroke dimensions and shaft-a ...

Triumph 1921 Model “H” 549cc side valve single frame # 317225 engine # 63612 PTO The model H is announced late in 1914 as a logical development of the famous veteran “Trusty”. But it isn’t just a 1914 model with a countershaft gearbox: the engine differs from the veteran engine in various ways. It has a single camwheel with 2 cams instead of separate camwheels for the inlet and exhaust valves. The casting for the cylinder is entirely new, the valve head diameter is enlarged by ¼ inch and the val ...

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 ...

Cabton 1954ca “RTF” 500cc OHV vertical twin frame # 544914RC engine # TF4194 “ According to some people it was the licensing of HD to Rikuo in 1929 that gave the Japanese their first knowledge into modern mass-production technology. Harley didn’t only give them all their tooling and drawings; they also gave them the metallurgical know how, including metal hardening technologies. The Japanese also for the first time understood the importance of keeping the factories clean etc. Harley sent some su ...

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 ...

Triumph 1921 LW “Junior” 2 ¼ HP 225 cc two stroke single frame #602153 engine # 5981 gearbox # 7071 The Model LW, also known as the Junior, and nicknamed the ‘Baby’ for it’s the baby of Triumph’s models, breaks new ground for Triumph at its introduction to the press at the end of 1913. It’s Triumph’s first two-stroke model but it’s a success right from the start. With its weight of around 60 kg, ease of (paddle) starting and low saddle height the model gains immediate popularity amongst District ...

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 1938 R71 745 cc side valve horizontally opposed twin frame# 508593 engine # 700665 video: https://youtu.be/MCDzpKPeCPg In the late thirties BMWs were sold in considerable numbers, in spite of their high prices. The make had built up an excellent reputation for quality and luxury: from 1938 on all BMWs had both front and rear springing, a feature which was very uncommon for most other makes. From 1938 till the war stopped production of civilian bikes all BMW twins shared a common frame and co ...

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 ...

Harley-Davidson 1920 “F” 989 cc IOE V-twin frame # F11894 engine # 20 T 21887 video: https://youtu.be/l_63LFMUJOI In April 1920 the new Juneau Avenue factory building was completed; this made H-D the largest motorcycle factory in the world with 2,400 employees and established dealerships in 67 countries. There were 50,000 subscribers to “The Enthusiast” magazine. Harley-Davidsons were fast becoming famous for their power, comfort and reliability: more than 7,500 Model Fs with magneto and more th ...

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 1931 499 cc Model J31 De Luxe Two-Port OHV frame # 10620 engine # J4405 video: https://youtu.be/9I5bLaz39KE “The late Twenties had proved a difficult period for the British Motor Cycle Industry, with periods of industrial unrest, which saw many manufacturers go to the wall. British motorcycle production had fallen from a peak figure of 160,000 in 1927 to 126,000 in 1930, would drop to 74,700 in 1931 and to as low as 52,200 in 1933 before the turning point of the Great Depression. T ...

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 ...