Features

Sunbeam S7 Sunbeam was yet another British manufacturer late to enter the burgeoning motorcycle industry, in 1912. Already renowned for the high quality bicycles they made in their Wolverhampton factory, their founder, John Marston, decided to manufacture a motorcycle of similar quality. To get the project started he took on John Greenwood, who previously had…

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MV Agusta 750 four superbike Anyone involved with the international road racing scene in the 50s felt very privileged to see at close quarters the fabulous Italian road racing fours either in the pits or as they came to the start line before a race. At that time the only British-made four was the Ariel,…

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Brough Superior National heroes rarely have any associations with motorcycles, but this could not be said of Lawrence of Arabia. Exactly how he became associated with the Brough Superior marque is no longer very clear, but whatever the reason he had owned seven of them and had an eighth on order at the time of…

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When 1930 dawned, Veloce Limited still had nothing available in their range to bridge the gap between eir moderately priced 250cc two stroke and their more expensive 350cc overhead camshaft models. Their GTP two stroke had superseded the earlier overhung crankshaft models on which they had built their reputation, and represented a considerable step forward…

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Royal Enfield prototype Overhead camshaft engines have been with us for a long while, much longer than many would think. In terms of motorcycle engines Peugeot, to quote just one example, had a double overhead camshaft racing engine in use well before the 1914-18 war. Harry Bashall, winner of the 1912 Junior TT on a…

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Sprite competition bike This story begins in the 1960s, at a time when the two stroke had already begun to show it could offer a serious challenge to its four stroke counterparts in trials and scrambles. The Villiers two stroke engine had come a long way since it was regarded as little more than a…

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Velocette ohc Velocette's overhead camshaft model had proved itself popular almost from its early beginning in 1925. Their Junior TT win in 1926 had such a profound effect on sales that they had to move to new premises in Hall Green, Birmingham, to increase production and keep pace with demand. Soon to be available in…

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JAP speedway engine Few will be aware that John Alfred Prestwich, the founder of the north London company that made the famous JAP engine, was at first a pioneer of cinematography. His contribution to the early days of the cinema was substantial, as will be evident to anyone who visits the Barnes Museum of Cinematography…

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Stevens single The recession of the late 20s hit the motorcycle industry particularly hard causing many of the smaller manufacturers to disappear almost overnight. Undercapitalised and often assembling in small numbers a machine that bore their name from a miscellany of bought-in parts, they stood little chance of survival. In the main most of the…

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Triumph Terrier classic British motorcycle When Edward Turner launched his first Triumph twin in 1937 it marked the begin­ning of his plan to replace all the older single cylinder models by twins. Based on al Page's original design, Turner had completely restyled the singles, to form the imaginatively-named 'Tiger' range. Finished in silver sheen with…

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