Oldtimers

DOT 1927 Super Sports 350 cc OHV JAP frame# 3204T engine # IO / I 80041 The firm’s origins are obscure: founder Harry Reed stated many times in his sales brochures that the name Dot had been seen on motorcycles since 1903. He was certainly in business at this time as a cycle frame builder and dealer in a shop on Eccles New Road, Salford, and it was here that he fust became interested in motorcycles. But whether he was building motorcycles for sale then is not certain, as records of his early yea ...

Harley-Davidson 1942ca “WLC” 750cc side valve V-twin frame # 401169 engine # 42WLC9683 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. P ...

Douglas 1924 “SW/24” 349 cc side valve twin frame # 73857 engine# 75390 video: https://youtu.be/_aS_8PFMcR8 This Bristol-based firm developed the horizontally opposed fore-aft unit in about 1907 and continued utilizing this engine layout well into the thirties. The earliest Douglas models had direct belt drive, but in 1910 a two-speed gearbox was added, with the control on top of the petrol tank. Douglas machines became very popular because of their lightness, ease of starting and speed: in the ...

Norton 1968 “Commando MK 1“ 745 OHV twin frame # 128934 engine # 20M3 /128934 The new Commando was launched in 1967 and used the preceding Atlas model’s 750cc engine and AMC gearbox. It was an instant hit with the motorcycling public and was voted MCM’s “Machine of the year” for five consecutive years. The most important new feature of the Commando was its vibration-beating “Isolastic” frame. The canted-forward engine retained the 73 mm x 89 mm bore and stroke of the Atlas engine. Compression ra ...

HRD-Vincent 1949 “Black Shadow Series-C” 998 cc OHV v-twin frame # RC 4037/B engine # F10AB/1B/2137 The appeal of the Vincent, and the Black Shadow in particular, lays in its ability to out-perform just about every other vehicle on the road, and in the early post-war years there was nothing to compare with it. This was a time when the average family sedan was barely capable of reaching 70mph, and not until the advent of Jaguar’s XK120 was there a production sports car that could live with the th ...

Yamaha 1974 TZ 750A production racer 694 cc two stroke liquid cooled four cylinder frame & engine # 409 000 158 The Yamaha TZ750 is a series production two-stroke race motorcycle built by Yamaha to compete in the Formula 750 class in the 1970s. The engine was created on the idea of connecting two blocks of the 2-stroke, liquid-cooled, in-line 2-cylinder TZ350 engine together to make a 700cc in-line 4-cylinder engine and mounting it on a newly designed high-tensile steel pipe double cradle frame. ...

MV Agusta 1976 750 Sport America 789 cc DOHC four cylinder frame # 2210318 engine # 221-061 During the 1950s and the 1960s, MV Agusta produced small displacement bikes but as sales were starting to go down, the company decided to concentrate more on more powerful machines. The MV Agusta 600 debuted at the Milan Trade Fair in 1965. It featured final shaft drive and weighed 221 kg. It became the world’s first production motorcycle with a transverse 4-cylinder engine. But the public demanded someth ...

MV Agusta 1985 ca 750 S Magni 789 cc DOHC four cylinder frame # 2210451 engine # 214-0606 After the departure of MV Agusta from racing in 1976, the production of the street models was reduced. Although prototypes were developed until 1977, they were not implemented due to the financial situation of the company – MV made little profit from motorcycles. The production of the 750 S America was maintained until 1978. The last of the 540 machines made were sold officially during 1980. But effectively ...

MV Agusta 1976 750 Sport America 789 cc DOHC four cylinder frame # 2210451 engine # 221-073 During the 1950s and the 1960s, MV Agusta produced small displacement bikes but as sales were starting to go down, the company decided to concentrate more on more powerful machines. The MV Agusta 600 debuted at the Milan Trade Fair in 1965. It featured final shaft drive and weighed 221 kg. It became the world’s first production motorcycle with a transverse 4-cylinder engine. But the public demanded someth ...

Ducati 1982 900 Super Sport 864 cc OHC DESMO V-twin frame # DM860SS *091152 engine # 93411 Ducati were a relatively small motorcycle manufacturer in the 1960s, their road bikes focusing on single-cylinder machines of small capacity and didn’t start producing the first V-Twin engine until 1970, but it was British racer, Paul Smart, who established the firm winning the Imola 200 on a ‘round case’ 750cc bike which featured the now famous ‘Desmodromic’ valve system. The first production bike availab ...

Triumph 1979 T 140 “Bonneville” 744 cc OHV twin frame & engine # T140EKA13014 The Bonneville owes its creation to the 1937 Triumph Speed Twin, designed by Edward Turner. This breakthrough design served as a blueprint for future classic British motorbikes. Public demand for more power increased every year and in 1949, Turner upgraded the bike to become the 1950 6T Thunderbird. During the 1950s, Triumph racked up a number of victories on the Bonneville Salt Flats in the US. For example, in 1955, J ...

Rudge 1929 “350” 340 cc four-valve single frame # 34508 engine # 53991 video: https://youtu.be/CNhOtMcZzKg The Rudge-Whitworth company was an established bicycle factory that entered motorcycle production in 1911. Their first machines were 499 cc IOE singles. They developed the famous Multi gear, with a possibility of up to 21 gear positions. For the 1924 model year the factory introduced a new range of four-valve singles in the 350 and 500 cc class. These were fitted with four-speed gearboxes, ...

Triumph 1969 T150 “Trident” 740 cc 3-cylinder frame & engine # CC02584T150T Triumph’s eagerly awaited 3-cylinder T150 Trident was a radical new idea, introduced by the end of 1968, alongside BSA’s similarly powered A75 Rocket-3; both models were individually styled. The idea was wild, especially considering the conservative nature of BSA & Triumph management at the time. There were lots of singles & twins, and even some fours. But no one had a triple! The Triumph engine had its cylinders mounted ...

Gilera 1948 Saturno Sport 499 cc ohv single frame & engine # 269784 video: https://youtu.be/cm57A61lVTo 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 yea ...

Rudge 1922 “7/9 h.p. Three speed Twin” 998 cc IOE V-twin combination frame # 806160 engine # 24370 gearbox # 467 Already before the outbreak of WWI the company started development work on a twin version of the Multi, but it was only in November 1919 that the new twin, meant as a powerful sidecar machine, was introduced. It was fitted with a dropped frame that provided a lower seating position and gave the new model an appealing, modern look. At first it was fitted with the famous “Multi-Gear” sy ...

MV Agusta 1954 175 CS / “Disco Volante” CSS 175 cc OHC frame # NR400500 engine # 471401 Having commenced motorcycle production late in 1945 with a 98cc two-stroke, Meccanica Verghera (MV) introduced its first production four-strokes, the single-cylinder 175 CST and CSTL, at the Milan Show in 1952. The newcomers’ advanced overhead-cam, unitary construction engine set them apart from most of the opposition. Their cycle parts too were state-of-the-art, consisting of a duplex loop frame incorporatin ...

Gilera 1937 VTE “Quattro Bulloni” 499 cc ohv single frame # 102595 engine #12176 video: https://youtu.be/yjeoHsS1Czc Founded by 22-year-old engineer, Giuseppe Gilera in 1909, this Italian manufacturer first sprang to international prominence in the late 1930s when its supercharged four-cylinder racers heavily defeated BMW in Grands Prix and snatched the world speed record away from the German marque. Throughout the early 1950s it was the racers which again grabbed the headlines, the Arcore marqu ...

Velocette 1947 KSS 348 cc OHC single frame # KDD 9064 engine # KSS10301 video: https://youtu.be/gWbi-U9Rs6w The firm of Veloce Ltd. was formed in 1905 by Johann Goodman. It was a family business that concentrated on sound motorcycle engineering principles. Their first machines were lightweight four strokes; after that a line of top-class 250 cc two strokes was brought out. In 1924/25 Percy Goodman designed the 350 cc overhead camshaft model K, a machine destined to win many TTs and other races, ...

Rex Acme 1920 “Standard Touring” 8hp 1000 cc JAP v-twin combination frame # T202223 engine # 20/7299 Acme is best remembered for its association with the Rex concern; both firms had premises in Osborne Road, Coventry, Rex setting up there in 1899 and Acme a few years later. Unlike its close neighbour, which built motor cars and tricycles as well as motorcycles, the Coventry Acme Motor Company Limited, to give it its full name, was only ever a motorcycle manufacturer, its first machines being pow ...

Indian 1913 7 HP T.T. Two-Speed Model 988 cc IOE V-twin frame & engine # 70E691 By 1913 Indian becomes the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world; the 1913 production amounts to almost 32,000 machines. There are 2,000 dealers all over the world and Indian controls some 42% of the domestic American motorcycle market, as the factory claims. Four models are catalogued, a single speed single and twin and a two speed single and twin. The Indian engineers have done their best to make the machine ...