From The Archive

Barr and Stroud engined Grindlay Peerless v-twin from 1924 Glas 1951-56 Germany A range of 123cc, 148cc and 197cc Ilo two-stroke engined scooters with tiny 8in wheels and bulbous bodywork from Hans Glas, the same company who built the Goggo Mobil microcar. The scooters were named the Goggo 125, 150 and 200 as appropriate. Glockner…

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Geoff Duke shows his class in the early 1950s on a works four cylinder Gilera Gilera 1909 – Italy Born in December 1887, Guiseppe Gilera began making motorcycles in 1909 after gaining engineering expertise at Bianchi, Moto Reve, and Bucher and Zeda. A 317cc single was soon followed by a V-twin and the first of…

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Straight frame tubes were the hallmark of pre-war Francis Barnetts FN 1901-62 Belgium Like BSA, FN (La Fabrique Nationale d’Armes de Geurre) were weapon makers. Founded in 1889, the Herstal company began making cycle frames in 1895, then complete cycles and their first 133cc single cylinder motorcycle in 1901. With sound financial backing, development progressed…

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125cc Jawa-CZ Cyc-Auto 1934-56 UK If you’re into autocycles and fancy something a little different thank Mr Wellington Butt for the Cyc-Auto. The engine, with its crankshaft in line with the frame, drives a reduction worm gear mounted in the pedal bracket by shaft with chain final drive. Butt initially fitted a 98cc three-port, deflector…

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1931 BSA B21 BSA 1905-73 UK In 1854, 14 Birmingham gunsmiths formed a group named the Birmingham Small Arms Company. Seven years later a public limited company of the same name was created and the 25-acre Small Heath, Birmingham site acquired. Needing to expand beyond armaments manufacture, the company began making cycle components in 1878.…

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1949 Brockhouse Corgi Bohmerland 1925-39 Czechoslovakia Albin Liebisch designed the unconventional long wheelbase Bohmerland with its ohv single cylinder engine. Some had two fuel tanks and could seat two passengers as well as the rider. A short wheelbase racing version and, later, a two-stroke model, joined the range. Bond 1949-53 and 1958-62 UK Designed by…

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Ariel Square Four was remarkable and remains sought after Ariel 1902 (1898)-70 UK Some enthusiasts joke that the name Ariel can be traced back to the invention of the wheel. Well, not quite, but in 1870 James Starley and William Hillman jointly patented a lightweight wheel with tensioned wire spokes calling it the Ariel, after…

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Ambassador Popular 197cc, built from 1950-55 AJW 1926-77 UK Financed by his family’s printing works, Arthur Jack Wheaton (Jack) built two Anzani powered motorcycles in 1926, followed by a four cylinder version for the 1928 London Motorcycle Show. Production of Anzani and JAP powered V-twins began in 1929 then singles with JAP and Blackburne engines…

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Zundapp 597cc KS601 OHV with Steib sidecar Zundapp 1921 (1917)-85 Germany An amalgamation of munitions companies who created ZUNDer (or Zunderund) APParatebau Gmbh in Nurnberg during 1917. Although another German giant, Krupps, was involved with the initial set up of Zundapp, they withdrew at the end of WWI when munitions manufacture ended. Another Zundapp founder,…

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Yamaha YA1 motorcycle was a near copy of the DKW RT125 Yamaha 1955- Japan Born in 1851 at Wakayama, Torakusu Yamaha began a 10-year engineering apprenticeship in Nagasaki, often tutored by an English clockmaker. He soon learnt an appreciation of highly accurate precision engineering. Aged 30 Torakusu started a further apprenticeship at a medical shop…

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