From The Archive

1921 Waverly with Brampton Biflex front fork Watney 1922-23 UK Another small volume maker who assembled, or had assembled, motorcycles using proprietary parts. Engines included 348cc side-valve Blackburne, 293cc side-valve JAP, 269cc Villiers Mk V and 247cc Villiers Mk V1. Waverley 1921-23 UK One of literally hundreds of makers and assemblers who tried to make…

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Vintage HRD-badged Vincent-built machine with 490cc JAP engine Vincent 1928-55 UK Born in London to wealthy parents whose main income came from a partnership in a large Argentinian cattle ranch, Philip Conrad Vincent, PCV to many, was educated at Harrow and then went up to Cambridge in 1926 to read Mechanical Sciences. Having already decided…

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The two stroke Velocette was to form the basis of Veloce’s early range. This is a 1925 example Velocette (Veloce Ltd) 1904-71 UK German born Johannes Gutgemann emigrated to England and the Midlands in 1876. Eight years later he married Elizabeth Ore. They had five surviving children, boys Eugene and Percy and girls Adele, Dora…

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1905 Triumph 5hp classic motorcycle Triumph 1902–present UK For over a century Triumph as a brand has weathered recessions, two world wars, bombing and a number of changes of ownership. Today, guided by property developer John Bloor, Triumph continues to build stylish motorcycles which once again enjoy a dedicated following. Over the past century Triumph…

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John Tickle with his dohc racer, the T5 Thorough c1902-03 UK Pioneer assembler that used a small range of proprietary engines. One well known survivor with a Sunbeam MCC Pioneer Certificate was recently offered on the UK market. Tickle c1967-73 UK John Tickle established himself in the sporting motorcycle accessory market with a range of…

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Standard also took pride in building lightweight motorcycles. This is the FS200 motorcycle Standard 1925-c52 Germany and Switzerland Standard founder Wilhelm Gutbrod was previously associated with the Klotz marque, which specialised in excellent 246cc two-stroke models that performed well in national trials and at speed events. Gutbrod launched Standard (Standard Fahrzeugfabrik GmbH of Ludwigsburg) with…

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Silk assembly shop in 1975. There were 140 engine units built and 138 chassis Silk 1975 (1971)-c1980 UK That most useless of skills, hindsight, tells us the 1970s wasn’t the time to commence motorcycle manufacture, the UK wasn’t the place and a large capacity twin cylinder deflector piston two-stroke would only appeal to a very…

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Big v-twins were offered early on by Puch and often used for sidecar duties Puch 1903-87 Austria, 1987- Italy Puch’s history is somewhat complex. Born in 1862 Johann Puch, a cycle mechanic, set up his first business in 1889. Two years later he established the cycle making firm Johann Puch and Comp Fabriksmassige Erzeugung von…

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1931 Motobecane Motocomfort Morbidelli (MBA) 1969 – Italy Although captivated by road racing as a teenager during the Fifties, Giancarlo Morbidelli started a woodwork manufacturing and machinery business in his home town of Pesaro, only a stone’s throw from the Benelli works. As his business thrived, Morbidelli entered the road race scene as a sponsor,…

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Nineties Laverda 750S La Francaise Diamant 1907-54 France Parisian firm, under the Alcyon umbrella for much of its life. Built a sizeable range of predominantly utility type machines from 100cc pedal start, two-stroke lightweights to 500cc four-stroke singles. Post WWII production centred around a range of up to 250cc lightweights. Moderately priced examples surface at…

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