Oldtimers

Nimbus 1953ca 746 cc OHC four in line frame # 11664 engine # 11664 In April 1934 the “Nimbus II” was brought out. The flat steel strip frame was a feature in common with the earlier “stove pipe”, but most other features were totally new: the top half of the crankcase was cast in one piece with the ribbed air cooled cylinder block. The iron cylinder head sported an overhead camshaft. The crankshaft drove the overhead camshaft through the upright mounted dynamo via sets of bevel gears. After World ...

Magnat-Debon 1907 2 ½ HP « Rapide Légère » ca 325cc A.I.V. single frame # 6531 engine # 204 In the year 1900 Joseph Magnat and Louis Debon founded a firm in Grenoble that started to produce bicycles. In 1902 the first motorcycle was produced, equipped with a De Dion Bouton engine. In 1905 they started to use their own engines and in the years before the first world war the firm prospered: the machines had many novel features such a telescopic front suspension and some models had overhead valves. ...

Moto Guzzi 1949 “Albatros” 247cc OHC racer with flex sidecar engine # A563 The “Albatros” came along in 1939 and was a result of a joint effort by Carlo Guzzi and an engineer called Giulio Cesare Carcano. It was built for the races reserved for amateur riders on production bikes and was effectively the works Grand Prix machine minus the blower. After the war, when supercharging was banned, it became the marque’s top racer in the 250cc class. Mechanical performance was virtually on par with the w ...

FN 1924 M 50 748 cc four cylinder overhead inlet valve frame # 563 engine # 1369 To many enthusiasts the FN four has always been one of the most appealing machines of veteran and vintage times. Its production runs from 1905 till 1926. The earliest type has a 362 cc engine with automatic overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves. The machine is single geared, has shaft drive and the top speed is about 60 km/hour. The FN four is an immediate success and finds customers all over the world; FN s ...

Moto Guzzi 1939 498 cc OHV “Condor” production racer frame # 23281 engine # C107 Carlo Guzzi’s first prototype motorcycle of 1919 was unconventional in so far as its single-cylinder engine was installed horizontally and by the end of the 1930s the ‘flat single’ had established itself as a Guzzi hallmark. Guzzi knew the importance of racing as a means of publicising, however it would take several years before the firm offered versions of its works racers for sale to the public. First seen in 1939 ...

FN 1903 2 ½ HP 320 cc two stroke special frame # 12750 engine # 9438 FN (Fabrique Nationale d‘Armes de Guerre) was a Belgian company established in 1889 to make arms and ammunition for hunting and warfare. Soon it was decided that diversification of production was a good strategy to reduce the risk of peaceful times. In the late 1800’s the production of bicycle parts was taken up; soon complete bicycles were added to the programme, followed in 1900 by motorcars. At that time FN was already a maj ...

Scott 1926 Super Squirrel three speed 598 cc water-cooled two-stroke twin frame # 553 engine # Y9477 Alfred Scott, a gifted Yorkshire engineering genius, started experimenting with twin cylinder two-stroke power around the year 1900, when he mounted his little air-cooled twin in front of the steering head of his Premier bicycle. He kept on refining his design and by 1910 the open-framed machine, so much different from standard motorcycle practice, was attracting more and more attention. In 1912 ...

Indian 1925 Scout 600cc side valve V-twin engine # 55Y628 After WW I the Indian factory decides it is time to add a lighter model to the range that complements the successful 1000cc PowerPlus. The new machine is labelled “Scout” and it creates a sensation when brought out in 1920. The strong points of the new design are easy handling, lightness, ample power for the 1920s roads and unbeatable reliability. The new middleweight is also appealing to the prospective motorcyclists who are put off by t ...

Humber 1914 3½ HP 499 cc side valve single frame # H 2828 engine # F 2856 A Coventry firm with its roots in the Victorian bicycle industry, Humber began experimenting with powered transport in the closing years of the 19th century, introducing its first successful motorcycle -a built-under-license P&M – in 1902. Because of the need to increase car production motorcycles were discontinued after 1905. For the 1909 model year Humber came on the market again with a 3½ HP motorcycle, now fully of the ...

Mondial 1952 “Stampato” 198 cc OHV frame & engine # 590 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 125 cc racer. Mondial’s ...

HARLEY-DAVIDSON 1966 XLB “SPORTSTER” 883cc OHV V-twin frame # E 4440 engine # 66XLB 10118 When it was introduced in 1952, the Model K was as radical a machine for Harley-Davidson as the Knucklehead had been in 1936, and the company presented it as a fully modern motorcycle. With full suspension front and rear, a unit-construction engine, modest weight, foot shift/hand controls and clean styling, the K was clearly intended to address foreign competition in the U.S. market. Unfortunately the K’s s ...

Indian 1919 “ N-19 ” PowerPlus 998 cc side valve V- twin engine # 82M971 By 1915 the Indian Board started to have worries about the financial situation of the company, because the IOE engine and Hedstrom-designed carburettor were costly to produce. The inlet-over-exhaust configuration was adopted by most American manufacturers and was basically a good design, but it had one weakness: the inlet valve pushrods and rockers were external to the engine and thus exposed to the elements. This could giv ...

Indian 1923 “PowerPlus Standard” 998cc side valve V- twin engine # 71V183 The hugely popular PowerPlus enjoyed a nine year production run. Its side-valve engine proved utterly reliable and almost unbreakable. However, by the early twenties the Chief and Big Chief had taken up the top position of the PowerPlus in the Indian range. In the 1922 catalogue the PowerPlus was referred to as the “Special” and in 1923 the model got wider and more modern looking mudguards. It was then christened “Standard ...

Norton 1953 Model 7 “Dominator” 497cc OHV parallel twin frame # 51784 engine # 5178 The Norton twin first appeared as the Dominator Model 7 at the Earls Court Show in November 1948. Its cycle parts were based on the single-cylinder ES2 model, and it had a modified form of the Norton gearbox and a brand new engine, designed by Bert Hopwood. He had previously worked on the Ariel Square Four and Triumph twin and was to go on to BSA in 1949 to design the A10 before returning to the Norton board in 1 ...

AJS 1936 model 36/10 “Camshaft Trophy Competition” 498 cc OHC single frame # 7/ 795 engine # 36/10 1051 In 1931, in the middle of the economic depression, The Matchless Company had taken over AJS Motorcycles and moved production from Wolverhampton to London. AJS machines kept their identity for some years, but from halfway the thirties rationalization was the keyword and Matchless and AJS models became almost identical, even to the engine numbering system, in which first the year and then the mo ...

Saroléa 1924 “23K Supersport” 494 cc OHV frame #30115 engine# 30115 The first Saroléa OHV model, the “23G Supersport” was presented for the 1924 season and had long stroke engine with configurations of 80.5 x 97 mm. One year later a 350 cc version was presented, the “ 25F Sport”. Both OHV models were consequently further developed and became very popular with sports riders. Late in 1924 the 1925 494 cc OHV model was announced and got the designation “23K”. An improvement was the new rear brake: ...

Sunbeam 1925 “Light Solo” Model 5 499cc side valve frame#08192 engine#45/16221 S Although vintage Sunbeam side valve machines look very much the same to many people, there were actually three different 500cc models in the mid-twenties: the standard 85x88mm Model 3 machine was marketed as an all purpose machine and was suitable for sidecar work. The Model 5 “Light Solo” had the same engine dimensions but sports handlebars and footrests instead of footboards. The reciprocating engine parts were li ...

Triumph 1909 3½ HP Roadster 475 cc single speed frame # 159664 engine # 4686 The first Triumph motorcycle appeared in 1902. It was equipped with a Belgian Minerva engine. In 1903 and 1904 JAP and Fafnir ( German) engines were employed and by 1905 Triumph’s own engine, designed by Charles Hathaway was in use. Winning the single cylinder class in the 1908 TT races on the Isle of Man gave an enormous boost to sales of Triumph machines. The cubic capacity of the engine grew from 363cc in 1905 till 5 ...

Matchless 1922 Model H/2 996 cc MAG IOE V-twin frame # 3961 engine # 2C9 ^ No. 60982 The first Matchless motorcycle was made by the Collier brothers in 1899. In 1907 the Isle of man TT races in the single cylinder class were won: after a second place in 1908 victories were gained again in 1909 and 1910, proving that the machines were matchless indeed. After WW I the company designed a model especially suitable as a sidecar machine, the model “H”. Both JAP and MAG engines were used as power sourc ...

AJS 1927 Model H1 799 cc side valve v-twin frame & engine # H 60440 video: https://youtu.be/Dm1UrdhCbRQ The four Stevens brothers had been in motorcycle manufacturing since the final years of the 19th century, but only in 1911 their first complete “AJS” motorcycle, a 298 cc two speeder, was marketed. Their first V-twin Model D with a cubic capacity of 632 cc was introduced in 1912 and was a very successful model, especially for sidecar use. At the 1919 Olympia Show a redesigned 748 cc model D wa ...