Reaching for the sky at Draganfly

After hearing about Triumph specialist Supreme Motorcycles’ sell out to Draganfly Motorcycles in Suffolk, Mick Payne visits the owners of the now vastly-expanded British bikes business to learn about their plans, and is encouraged by what he finds.

‘Le roi est mort, vive le roi’ is said to have originated in 1422 upon the death, in France, of Charles VI and the accession of Charles VII. ‘The king is dead, long live the king’ might however have been coined for the demise of British bike experts Supreme Motorcycles and its subsequent rebirth as part of the Draganfly dynasty. Both these companies are big names in the business of keeping the past products of this kingdom on the road.

When I lived in Lincolnshire, my visits to Supreme’s shop in Earl Shilton, Leicestershire, were, if not frequent, a pleasant ride out. The emphasis here is the word ‘shop’, and one staffed by knowledgeable and friendly people.

Dave Hallam, his son Craig and the incredibly well-informed Dave Coley made every visit a pleasure – and where else would you get to hold a TT winner’s trophy while waiting for your parts? If you haven’t been there by now, then you’ve missed it, but like modern TV, you can still get it on catch-up.

Bungay, Suffolk, boasts another such emporium, though – the aforementioned Draganfly Motorcycles – and they now possess all the former’s stock. I know that both Daves were looking forward to retirement and working on their personal rides, but it came as a surprise to learn that the Ariel specialist had taken over.

Lewis Gwynn put me in the picture: “There was an advert
in the national press in which some spares were up for sale. We were unaware who was behind it, and it was only when we contacted Dave that we found out that it was Supreme selling up.

Read more in the April issue of OBM – on sale now!