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This firm is almost forgotten as a maker of motorcycles (1903-1933) but is remembered for their 'King Dick' adjustable spanners whicj they also manufactured at the Tyseley works. Abingdons were reliable, sturdy motorcycles and many were exported to the colonies.
American Bill Henderson set up ACE after selling his Henderson firm to the Schwinn cycle company in 1917, and produced bikes with a similar in-line four-cylinder layout. Best known was the XP-4, which set a record speed of 130mph (209kph) in 1923. Rights were later sold to Indian, who built a similar four.
Germany's Adler built motorcycles for a short time from 1902, then concentrated on cars and bicycles before making a comeback in 1949. The firm's most popular model was the M250, a twin-cylinder two-stroke roadster released in 1953. Adlers were ridden successfully in road races and enduros, but sales declined. Finally in 1958, the firm was taken over by the Grundig Corporation, who abandoned bikes to concentrate on producing typewriters.
AEE was a brand of British motorcycle from 1919 to 1925.
A.E.Reynolds was first a Scott dealer and then the man behind some very special, de luxe examples of that marquee built from 1931 to 1934. When Scott's triple failed to materialize and that firm was unwilling to take up his ideas on a series on engines based on a 125cc module he moved on to his own notions of what was to be done.
The result showed how far ahead he was thinking and the prototype was first seen in the Island during the 1937 TT period. It was still a twin-cylinder two-stroke but of 340cc and air-cooled. The engine was all-alloy with pressed-in cylinder liners and he head and block were each in one piece. The crankcase compromised four castings all well ribbed for strength and cooling, and with air passages to cool the area between the cylinders. The case had two end sections whose joint lay on the cylinder centre and the central part was split horizontally with a split centre bearing.
The production model did not appear until 1938 and by then the Amal was on a curved induction pipe, ignition was by flywheel magneto and a dynamo had appeared in front of the crankcase, where it was chain driven and in turn drove the oil pump.
For 1939 the 350 twin continued and was joined by a second model with a 249cc Villiers engine. This went into the same cycle parts and again the dynamo was mounted in front of the crankcase.
The war brought production of the machines to a halt and long after it the last half-dozen were still sitting on the top floor of the shop, dusty but mainly complete, although not all had an engine.
In 1947 Aero-Caproni turned to motorcycle production, beginning with a 48cc ciclomotore two-stroke. By 1951 they were producing sophisticated and elegant little four speed 75cc fourstrokes with pressed steel chassis, later enlarged to 100cc and 125cc. Their more interesting machines included a horizontally opposed 149cc twin of 1955, and competition machines with 75cc engines using the Küchen desmodromic system of the 1920s.
A,H, Haden motorcycles was a British motorcycle marque from Birmingham, England. The Haden marque was best known from 1912-1924.
Haden was originally a bicycle-making business in Hockley, Birmingham, a business first listed in Kelly's Directory in 1882, shortly before the safety bicycle was introduced in 1885. The business passed from G.J. Haden to his son A.H. Haden, who continued making bicycles from 1902-1912. The business had introduced motorcycles alongside its bicycle range from around 1906, and went into more extensive motorcycle production shortly before World War I following A.H. Haden's 1913 purchase of the Regal motorcycle company. Production for the consumer market began again in 1919, after the war had ended.
The main Haden motorcycle was marketed under the Haden name as "The New Comet", in various models ("De Luxe", "Sporting" and "Two-Stroke Combination" with sidecar). It was a long-standing independent brand, using a 293cc Climax two-stroke engine with internal fly-wheels, and the Haden A1 frame which had apparently "revolutionised the motor-cycle business in this country" (Review of Commerce). It also used parts from Villiers, PeCo, JAP, and Precision. It was entered as a standard machine in the Isle of Man TT races in 1920 (9th or 10th place, sources differ) and 1921, and secured a world record at Brooklands in 1921. The New Comet was discontinued in 1924, but from 1931 small numbers of 198cc models were produced with Villiers parts. The machine was probably named "The New Comet" to distinguish it from the earlier "Comet" motorcycle produced by the Comet Motor Works, at New Cross, London (1902-1907). It is possible A.H. Haden had bought out the owners of the earlier London-based Comet.
One fully-restored New Comet is known to exist, as of 2005.
Alfred's sons took over the business after 1937. It then became "Haden Bros.", and made tank parts during World War II. Haden Bros. continued to be well-known for making cycle and motorcycle parts, and these were sold worldwide from 1954 until 2002 when the company Folded. One of the brothers also founded the famous Haden kettle manufacturing company.
As the Abingdon this make dated back to Edwardian times but they were better known in engineering circles for their range of tools and King Dick spanners in particular.
They used their own range of ohv engines and for 1930 listed eight models. All had engines set vertically in a straightforward frame with girder forks and a saddle tank. The magneto went to the rear and the lines were rather vintage and quite conventional.
The whole range as it as for 1932, but during that year the firm stopped building motorcycles and concentrated on hand tools.
Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) was a British motorcycle manufacturer founded, by the Collier brothers, as a parent company for the Matchless and AJS motorcycle companies. It later absorbed Francis-Barnett, James, and Norton before incorporation into Norton-Villiers. AMC motorcycle history.
From his native Italy, Anzani moved to France where he became involved in cycle racing. He moved on to motor cycles and designed and built a record breaking lightweight engine. In 1907 he set up a small workshop in Paris with three staff and while they were building his engines he designed a hydrofoil powered by one of his engines and propellers.
Armor cyclemotors were part of the Alcyon company.
Locally made at Coventry, Arnos produced a comparatively small number of motorcycles between 1906 and 1914 with 249cc, 348cc or 498cc engines.
Although it had a host of modern features (enclosed chains, hydraulic brakes and interchangable wheels) the 498cc motorcycles never gained popularity and the Letchworth factory only produced them between 1928 and 1930.
Utah-based ATK made its reputation building motocross bikes with both two-stroke and four-stroke engines, most of which were sold in the States. Following a change of ownership, the firm introduced a pair of purposeful street legal Dirt Sports machines in 1994.
Austral was a French manufacturer in Paris in the beginning of the last century. It has a Zurcher engine (the same as the Alcyon).
It's an extremely rare machine, perhaps even the last one in the world.
Image provided by www.BuyVintage.co.uk.
An Azenave moped featuring a rigid back end and a telescopic front fork. The engine is a VAP ABG 48cc single cylinder two stroke and the specification includes drum brakes, a full lighting kit rear carrier, Luxuor headlight and Huret speedometer.
Image provided by www.classic-auctions.com.
F.E. Baker was involved with American machines in Edwardian times, the Precision make of engine and machine either side on World War 1 and the Beardmore-Precision in the early twenties. This last was too innovative to succeed and he then turned to Villiers-powered models to retrieve the situation.
In March 1930 a four-stroke was added with a 249cc James side-valve engine and this was a sign of an impending merger. Late in the year Frank Bake sold out to the James company and they went on to use his frame for some of their models.
The name comes from the founder of the company S R Baston who began producing motorcycles at Penge in 1902, mainly for the sports market. Baston soon sold out to the Tessier family which merged with aircraft makers Martinsyde in 1920. Production ceased in 1924.
The Bartali concern was founded by the renowned Gino Bartali as a manufacturer of high end racing bicycles. Bartali, born on the 18th July 1914, became one of the worlds best known and successful racing cyclist's, notably winning the Tour de France in 1938 and 1948 and the Giro d' Italia in 1936, 1937 and 1946 in a career that spanned three decades and included numerous other wins in all the major races. His rivalry , both on and off their cycles, with Bianchi team-mate, Fausto Coppi, is legendary. It is said to have divided Italy into two camps, those who supported the conservative and devout Bartali and those who found Coppi's "celebrity" lifestyle more attractive. As with many sporting stars, Bartali sought to capitalise on his name following retirement, the obvious product being bicycles. Now highly regarded by collectors Bartali cycles appear to have been less successful than the man who lent his name to them, struggling to establish themselves in a crowded marketplace and are consequently rare. The 1950's witnessed a change in Italian society as the country recovered from the effects of the Second World War. Growing prosperity among the populace resulted in a surge in sales for lightweight machines encouraged by Italian vehicle regulations that were particularly kind to machines below 175cc. It is therefore not surprising that the company would endeavour to capture a slice of the booming Italian lightweight motorcycle market of the 1950's.
Production commenced in Florence during 1953 with Bartali motorcycles being offered in a range of capacities from 50cc to 160cc. The 160cc unit construction two stroke Marziano, equipped with a four speed gearbox represented the top of the range in 1955
H.P.Baughan was a trials man first and last, involved for many years with the ACU Western Centre and ISDT selection tests. He and his staff at the works in Stroud, Gloucestershire, were more often, it seemed, organising something for the ACU, preparing reports or producing results sheets than running a business.
The firm began in 1920 with the production of cyclecars but their day-to-day business remained service and repair work for quite a while. The motorcycle began in 1928 and nearly all were built for competition.
Baughan continued until 1936 when motorcycle production ceased and the firm moved to other fields.
This was an experimental model built to appear at Olympia and unusual in that it was a lightweight with shaft drive. The prototype was made by Berwick Motor Company of Tweedmouth on the east coast of Northumbria but a move was then made to Banbury, where preparation for production was put in hand.
The engine was a modified Villers and it was intended to offer both 247 and 343cc sizes. To suit the shaft drive it was turned so the crankshaft lay along the machine and this was extended to drive the three-speed gearbox bolted to it. The clutch went in a flywheel between the two and the flywheel magneto at the front. The cylinder was mounted vertically with the carburettor at the rear and the exhaust on the left.
The gearbox had hand-change and its output shaft went on the right. A universal joint attended to the alignment and the shaft itself was enclosed. It drove an underslung worm at the rear wheel.
The effect was one of unit construction and it went into a duplex frame as most such did. This had a fabricated headstock with the two tank rails and two downtubes both emerging from the base of the gusseted area. The first ran nearly straight back to the rear wheel and the second went down and under the power unit to the same point. A massive section of the rear mudguard went between the two pairs to brace them and act as a seat stay. Sadly no more was heard of this interesting design.
Italian firm built a rapid 175cc roadster in the late 1950s, but in recent years has concentrated on the off-road market, particularly trials bikes.
Powered by the 70bhp, 1300cc flat-four engine normally found in a Ditroen GS car, the French-built BFG was intended.
In the early days of the 20th Century Blotto Brothers had a good reputation in France for commercial delivery trikes so it was only logical for them to branch into motorized versions.
Bradbury & Co., Wellington Works, Oldham, were well known in veteran days for building some very sturdy motorcycles with a rather extraordinary feature: the crankcase of the motor was brazed into the frame! This feature dates back to the early days of the company's motorcycles, but not back to the absolute beginning. The first Bradbury motorcycle advertisement I have seen appeared in The Cycle Trader on 10th January 1902.
This Auto-Tri - powered by a prototype 350cc Anzani engine - was one of the first.
3-wheeled commercials were known as triporteurs. And, in France, since the earliest days, there was a tradition of annual races of triporteurs through the streets of Paris.
Notable for its vast length and for being designed to carry three people, the Bohmerland was produced in Czechoslovakia between 1923 and 1939. Designed and built by Albin Liebisch, the Bohmerland was powered by a 600cc, 16bhp single-cylinder engine. As well as the long wheelbase "Langtouren", with its rear pannier fuel tanks, there was a shorter Jubilee model, and a sportier bike called the Racer.
The 1973 Border Bandits fabricated and built by Rob North of Triumph Triple fame. One of the first mono shock motorcycles ever built if not THE first. Rob used a auto leveling shock from a citroen car. It runs on around 1800 PSI of oil and came with a custom pump also built by Rob. The amazing thing was that after 15 plus years in a storage closet in Robs shop in El Cajon California the thing STILL had pressure in it!
The power plant is a AT1 Yamaha motor the frame and most other components were built or modified by Rob and Ward Ring acting in partnership.
The Bown moped was actually a German Hercules with Sachs engine. It was also badged in Germany as a Triumph (Triumph Werke Nürnberg). Although the period advertising mentioned nothing of this heritage, re-badging and re-assembling German or French mopeds as British was a viable proposition - mainly because German machines were well-made and already had an established track-record, while re-tooling to manufacture a completely new British moped was a very risky concern (as many other companies discovered to their cost).
This company was a builder of engines rather than complete machines but did produce a prototype in June 1939 that was interesting because it foresaw a post-war trend. This was the clip-on, which attached to a standard bicycle and thus took the work out of travel. It had a short boom period post-war along with the autocycle, although both were swept away in time by the moped.
At the time British Anzani were themselves too busy to contemplate production and then came the war. Thus no more was heard of the unit but it was an interesting foretaste of what was to come to satisfy the demand for transport at the lowest cost.
The only way to obtain one of these unique cyclemotor engines was to make it yourself. Because the Busy Bee was never sold as a complete unit.
If you were a magazine enthusiast in the early 1950s, and also had some basic engineering skills, you could manufacture your own cycle-attachment engine!
The 'Busy Bee' was a rear-mounted cycle-attachment that you could manufacture on your Myford lathe thanks to a series of articles in the 'Model Engineer' magazine, a periodical that helped you make all sorts of engines to fit into model applications.
The series introducing the 'Busy Bee' started with issue dated 29th March 1951 (the relevant articles are reproduced below), and continued in alternate issues throughout 1951 (volumes 104 and 105).
Quite a few of these home-built clip-on engines were manufactured and - perhaps surprisingly - some of are still around today.
One of several Japanese firms that built bikes heavily based on British singles and parallel twins in the 1950s, Cabton failed to survive the more competitive decade on the 1960s.
This make first appeared in the early 1920s and sold in small numbers as it was not widely advertised. Models built used bought-in engines and other components in a similar manner to many others and in 1930 were typified by the 500cc DP with Sturmey-Archer engine, hand-change and chrome-plated tank.
The make then dropped from sight but reappeared in 1937 when it was one of a number of firms that used the 122cc Villiers unit-construction engine to build a lightweight machine.
The model was just what the commuter needed and this proceeded into 1938 without change, while for 1939 all that appeared was a choice of tyre sections. It was the same for 1940 but production then ceased and did not start up again post-war, when Carlton returned to the bicycle industry they had always been in.
Early in the motorcycle field, this firm not only made a number of different models but supplied a wide range of frame fittings that helped embryo firms get into production. In the early 1920s they tried to change their touring image into a sporties one and employed talented tuner Dougal Marchant as development engineer. He converted an ohv Blackburne engine to overhead camshaft and it became the first 350cc to exceed 100mph. Later, Marchant set a World Record Flying Kilometre for 350cc and 500cc motorcycles at 102.9mph for the firm, though the engine was his special and not the later face cam Charter-Lea engine. Few sports Charter-Lea models were sold but the firm was saved by winning the contract to supply AA Patrol sidecar outfits - 800 in total.
This Wolverhampton company announced two models for the 1939 season. Both were powered by Villiers engines, one of 98cc with a two-speed gearbox and the other a 122cc unit-construction motor with three gears.
The machines were available with rigid frames or with rear suspension and came complete with speedometer, rear carrier and horn. Production only lasted a few months, after which the make vanished from the lists with few bikes built.
Chiorda Italy, made bicycles and mopeds. Taken over by Bianchi.
The Corah company was established in Kings Norton, Worcestershire during 1908. Their first machine, a 2.5hp single was displayed at the 1908 Stanley show and was rapidly followed by a 3.5hp and 3.5 and 6hp twins. By 1910 the range had been revised to include three JAP engines with the option of a two speed P&M gear. The following year saw the adoption of a new engine designed in house featuring a rotary valve and shaft drive, however, this does not appear to have been particularly successful as the company reverted to JAP power units, continuing with these until production ceased in 1914.
This example, featuring a direct belt drive and a side valve JAP engine displacing 500cc is offered in usable condition with much of the finish either being original or from an early restoration. It is fitted with a rear carrier equipped with leather fronted toolboxes and a full lighting set.
The Coventry Premier was a British car and cyclecar manufacturer based in Coventry from 1912 to 1923.
The company can trace its origins back to 1876 when Hillman and Herbert was founded as bicycle makers. William Hillman went on to set up his own Hillman car company in 1907. Hillman and Herbert changed its name to the Premier Cycle company in 1892 and added motor cycles from 1908 and a cyclecar in 1912. This had a 998 cc air cooled V-twin engine and chain drive to the rear axle. A proper light car designed by the
