This innovative six-cylinder motorcycle was apparently the property of an enthusiast for multis – but what was it? And what even was it called? SIMON ROBINSON reports…
Spain has a reasonably illustrious motorcycling heritage. In recent years, it has been hard to miss the Spanish dominance of motorcycle racing, not least that of the Márquez brothers in MotoGP. Marc, in particular, has secured legendary status thanks to his dogged determination and unbelievable natural talent, changing the sport forever with his revolutionary riding style. Manufacturer-wise, the one most of us think of when someone asks us to name a Spanish maker would be Bultaco. Best known for its off-road machines – specifically trials machines and lightweight road racers – it also built numerous road bikes from the 1950s to the 1980s.
But long before Señor Bultó decided to build a motorbike, a fellow Spanish enthusiast had an ambitious idea. Pictured here is the result. Frustratingly, no name is given for the machine or its manufacturer, but rumours suggested that it was somehow connected to the Patria factory, which was formed in Barcelona in 1921, one year before our machine was made. Patria made an inline four for the Spanish government to use as a military sidecar tug, and the firm later used proprietary engines in its machines. The Patria factory was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. It seems that our mystery motorcycle may only be linked to the Patria marque by loose association, though: Patria was an early Spanish adopter of the inline multi-cylinder layout, so it is easy to see why some may assume a connection, even though nothing exists to confirm it.
Enjoy more Old Bike Mart reading every month.
Click here to subscribe & save.
So, what do we actually know about our subject motorcycle? Well, it is obviously an inline six with a T-head configuration, with side inlet and exhaust valves placed on either side of the cylinder barrels. A bore and stroke of 50 x 60mm gave a capacity of 708cc, and it boasts thermosyphon water cooling, which is not immediately evident thanks to the neat integration of the radiator into the front of the fuel tank. The style is very similar to that of the De Dion special – from a similar era and of similarly home-made construction – that we featured in our August edition. On the Spanish machine, shaft drive connects the three-speed transmission, which also has reverse, to the rear wheel. Speaking of wheels, both front and rear are garnished with natty wheel discs. A regular feature on machines of the early to mid-1920s, in the lead-up to the art deco era, it is sadly one that we rarely see these days. The often-cited reason for this is that side winds affect the machine’s stability, but according to the few who still use them, this is very much not an issue, so it can only really be that fashions have changed.
The owner-builder of this spectacular machine had a reasonable collection of other off-the-shelf machines in his stable in 1922, including a Henderson four, plus V-twins from Harley-Davidson, Clyno and NUT. He had a fair fleet with varying engine configurations, although no singles featured, as he apparently was not a fan.
What is also quite surprising is that the machine we see was not the first six-cylinder machine to feature in the pages of The Motor Cycle when it was first mentioned in February 1922. That accolade goes to an even more extravagant machine: the Redrup Radial. Radial engines were in favour in the early 1920s because so many designers, engineers and mechanics had been exposed to the idea through First World War aircraft. Not to be confused with rotary-engined aircraft, in which the cylinders rotate around a fixed crankshaft, radial engines were used in banks of three to nine cylinders. The Redrup Radial is more commonly associated with the three-cylinder version, such as the 1948 example that can be seen at Sammy Miller’s wonderful New Milton museum. In 1921, though, Redrup built a version with two of the three-cylinder radials mounted next to each other in two banks to create a six-cylinder, radial-powered motorcycle. Harry Redrup was an aircraft-engine designer during the First World War and turned his attention to a small powerplant for use in a motorcycle. The main advantages were lighter weight, due to the smaller crankshaft, and a more even firing pattern, which produced fewer torque pulses and meant that a lighter transmission could be used. Indeed, the 1921 Redrup six was rated in the 5–6hp region, with a capacity of 618cc, but its sub-200lb weight meant that it could be taxed as a lightweight.
Six-cylinder motorcycles lived on, and a couple are still available today. Honda proved the concept with its dominant middleweight GP racers in the 1960s and then with larger road bikes from the 1970s onwards, with the heavyweight GL1800 Gold Wing still championing the six today, albeit in flat form rather than inline. Laverda dabbled with a V6 endurance racer, and several others built road bikes with inline sixes – most famously Benelli. But this machine was probably the only Spanish effort.
