Douglas 2 3/4 hp
Douglas flat-twin motorcycles won undying
fame and fortune, with their performance in World
War I, when the company equipped army despatch riders
with some 25,000 bikes. Technically advanced, they
demonstrated the smoothness of an engine type that
was adopted by numerous other manufacturers and used
by Douglas themselves as late as 1957.
The Douglas Engineering Company was founded in Bristol
in 1882 by Scottish brothers William and Edward Douglas,
as a general engineeing company and foundry. But the
Douglas motorcycle really grew out of the efforts
of Joseph Barter, who founded a company called Light
Motors Ltd in nearby Kingswood. Barter had developed
a design called the Fairy - which used horizontally
opposed engine of advanced design.
Despite its technical advantages, Barter failed to
make enough money to enable the firm to survive and
in 1907 Douglas took over manufacture of a model based
on the Fairy, enlarging the engine size to 2 3/4 hp
(340cc). In 1910 a new two-speed gearbox was fitted
under the gearbox and operated by a handle on top
of the tank. Belt drive was used and no clutch was
fitted. The new model won an important reliability
trial and set a record for the Lands End to John O'Groats
run. In 1912 the engine gained new mechanically operated
valves that gave a power output of 8bhp. As that year's
Isle of Man TT, there were several Douglas entries
which gained outstanding successes. By the end of
1914 Douglas had sold around 12,000 bikes and they
soon became one of the most important makers of military
machines.
For a small side-valve, the Douglas twin was quick,
and being light, it was easy to manhandle. The front
plug could short out in the wet but on the whole the
bike was very reliable and smooth running. After the
war a civilian version of the Douglas twin went into
production in 1919, but many ex-WD examples were reconditioned
and sold off, giving long and honourable service in
peace just as they had in war-time.
Douglas 2 3/4hp (1919)
- Years in production - 1912-22
- Engine - horizontally opposed side-valve four-stroke
twin
- Bore and Stroke - 60.8 x 60mm
- Capacity - 348cc
- Power - 8bhp
- Carburettor - Douglas two-lever
- Tyres (front/rear) - 2.25in x 26in/2.25 x 26in
- Weight - 170lb
- Top speed - 40mph
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