Oldtimers

Indian 1947 Model 347 “Chief” 1206cc side valve V-twin Frame # 3479505 Engine # CDG 4505 B In 1940, some 39 years after the company’s founding, Indian went all-in on the skirted fender design, outfitting Scouts, Chief and Fours with the new tinware. After World War 2 only the Chief made a return – in 1947 they did make 11,849 of them – supposedly a stop-gap measure until lighter, more advanced models came online. But a series of financial and engineering missteps doomed the company and Chiefs we ...

Saroléa 1937 589 cc Side Valve “37T-6 ‘’Eclaireur” Military model frame & engine # 105692 From 1930 on the Saroléa type numbering system changed in that the type number started with the model year, so the 37T was model T of 1937. This was a side valve model, available in 494 cc capacity as the T-5 and in 589 cc as T-6. Saroléa had introduced the sloping engine for the 1931 model range. At that time many factories designed machines with forward leaning engines for several reasons: from a technica ...

Velocette 1959 “Venom” 499cc OHV frame # RS12636 engine # VM3139 The firm of Veloce Ltd. is formed in 1905 by Johann Goodman. It’s a family business that concentrates on sound motorcycle engineering principles. Their first machines are lightweight four strokes; after that a line of top-class 250 cc two strokes is brought out. In 1924/25 Percy Goodman designs the 350 cc overhead camshaft model K, a machine destined to win many TTs and other races, starting with the 1926 Junior TT that is won by A ...

James 1915 “ No. 6” 4¼ HP 598cc side valve combination frame # D6834 engine # 4727 The James Cycle Company became a public company in 1897. Then Harold James, the founder of the company, quietly retired from the scene. When the first James motorcycle was marketed in 1902, Harold had already passed away. The veteran James models were merely strengthened bicycles with Derby and Minerva engines. Later on FN engines were used. The firm prospered and already in 1912 countershaft gears were offered on ...

Peugeot 1903 2HP Type “C” 239 cc aiv frame # 1338 engine # 498 Although a prototype De Dion-engined Peugeot bicycle was displayed at the Paris Salon in 1898, the first motorized cycles to leave the factory were actually tricycles with De Dion & Bouton engines. The popularity of the tricycle was unchallenged at first, but by 1902 the motorized bicycle started to take the lead: at the Paris Salon in December 1901 81 motorized cycles were exhibited, of which there were only 21 tricycles or quadricy ...

BMW 1992 K1 987 cc longitudinal DOHC four cylinder frame & engine # 6377449 Through the need to meet proposed European Union legislation on emissions regulation, BMW had started to develop an alternative technology to its traditional flat-twin engines with the introduction of the 1,000 cc BMW K100 from 1983 to 1992. The team developed a design prototype based on a liquid-cooled Peugeot car engine. In the base design of the K100, the engine was laid on its side in line with the motorcycle frame, ...

Rudge Multi 1920 499cc IOE single # 769645 engine # 18785 frame # 12696 With the introduction of the Multi Gear in 1912 Rudge was far ahead of the competition. They won the 1914 TT races with this system and Rudges were subsequently barred from certain speed events because of their “unfair head start”. The factory turned this to their advantage by using the “ barred” logo in a clever company advertising campaign. The Multi Gear system is based on the possibility to vary the diameters of both fro ...

BMW 1948 R24 247 cc OHV single frame & engine # 200953 Built to the same exemplary standards as the Bavarian company’s famous flat-twins, the single-cylinder BMW first appears in 1925 as the 247 cc R39. Throughout the twenties and thirties singles are brought out in various capacities, ranging from 198 cc to 398 cc. For a number of years after the war Allied restrictions prevent German companies to produce machines of greater capacity than 250cc, so BMW’s first postwar model is a 247 cc single, ...

Böhmerland 1927 “Langtouren“ 599 cc ohv single combination frame & engine # 484 Albin Hugo Liebisch was born in 1888 in the Bohemian town of Rumburk and died in Passau in 1965. During his life he created a very unusual type of motorcycle, the Čechie-Böhmerland. Liebisch was mechanically-minded and after having had a number of technical jobs he opened an engineering and repair workshop in the Bohemian village of Krásná Lípa, close to Rumburk and near the German border. In this workshop he regular ...

Benelli 1935ca type 4 TN “Turismo Normale” 493 cc OHC two-port frame # 8850 engine # 4TN.10.8850 The firm of Benelli was founded in the Italian village of Pesaro as a repair workshop by widow Teresa Benelli to provide a future for her six sons. Initially, the brothers worked in a small garage where they created their first motorcycle in 1919. That first model was not a success so it was further developed and brought on the market in 1921. This “Velomotore” was a light 124 cc two stroke and withi ...

P&M 1919 3½ hp 498 cc side valve single frame # 6631 engine # 8140A Phelon & Moore (P&M) was founded in Cleckheaton, South Yorkshire in 1904. Joah C. Phelon, partner with Harry Rayner in a small engineering business in that town, had built his first prototype motorcycle in 1900, the rights to which were bought by the Humber company. Following Rayner’s untimely death in 1903 Phelon entered into a fresh partnership with Richard Moore. Phelon’s first designs had featured engines with inclined cylin ...

BMW 1955 R25/3 245 cc OHV single frame & engine # 314862 Built to the same exemplary standards as the Bavarian company’s famous flat-twins, the single-cylinder BMW first appears in 1925 as the 247 cc R39. Throughout the twenties and thirties singles are brought out in various capacities, ranging from 198 cc to 398 cc. For some years after the war Allied restrictions prevent German companies to produce machines of greater capacity than 250cc, so BMW’s first postwar model is a 247 cc single, the R ...

Honda 1968 CD175 174cc OHC twin frame # CD175-1016674 engine # CD175E-1018947 The Honda CD175was produced from 1967 to 1979. Described by Honda as a “great new all-rounder, at home around town or putting the highway behind you”, it was the touring model in Honda’s 175 cc motorcycle lineup that also included the sportier CB175 and the off-road CL175 version. It had an electric starter, except in the UK, turn signals, deeply valanced mudguards and mirrors. The inclined air-cooled engine was an evo ...

Fusi 1937ca “M 250 Sport ” 248 cc OHC Face Cam racing model frame # 39110 engine# 3812 C.F.S. 68×68 The firm of CF (designers Catellia and Fiorani) had started building powerful little 173 cc and 248 cc face cam OHC singles in 1928. They were very successful in racing. In 1937 the CF factory was taken over by the Fusi firm, which were the Italian FN importers. Next to the racing types with face cam engine, Fusi produced machines with J.A.P. engines that were built in Italy under licence. Fusi us ...

FN 1912 498cc AIV four cylinder frame # 37593 engine# 1365 To many enthusiasts the FN four has always been one of the most appealing machines of veteran and vintage times. Its production runs from 1905 till 1926. The earliest type has a 362 cc engine with atmospheric overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves. It’s single geared, has shaft drive and the top speed is about 60 km/hour. The FN four is an immediate success and finds customers all over the world; FN sells their machines in more th ...

BMW 1951 R25 245 cc OHV single frame & engine # 234892 BMW’s first postwar model is a 247 cc single, the R24, brought out in 1948. In 1950 an improved model is presented, the R25. The BMW development engineers have incorporated many improvements in this new model; the most important being rear suspension, a refined engine and a welded tubular frame with sidecar mounts. Among the other refinements are a centrally sprung saddle, adjustable footrests, more graceful front mudguard, aluminium front b ...

Triumph 1923 499 cc OHV four valve “ Ricardo” frame # 330308 engine 91188 PRI Triumph decided to enter the 1921 TT with an overhead valve model and Ricardo and Co. Ltd. were given the order to develop a four valve racing engine. That is to say, the engine bottom half to be used was essentially that of the side valve model SD and many cycle parts were SD too, so only cylinder and head were to be designed newly. The four valves were not arranged radially but were set two by two and the heads were ...

Clément 1903 Autocyclette 1¾ hp Model B 142 cc OHV engine # LM465 Adolphe Clément, born in 1855, becomes an orphan at an early age. He’s very interested in things mechanical and, as an apprentice at the village blacksmith’s, manages to build a simple bicycle out of wood for his own use. When he’s 17 he leaves his village on this bicycle to seek his fortune in other parts of France. In 1876 he starts to take part in cycle races and sets up a small cycle manufacture. He decides to move to Paris an ...

Indian 1922 Model GE “Scout” 596 cc side valve V-twin frame & engine # 50T195 After WW I the Indian factory decides it’s time to market a somewhat lighter model than the 1000 cc PowerPlus. The new model, designated “Scout”, is the brainchild of Charles Franklin and creates a sensation when brought out at the end of 1919. The strong points of the new model are easy handling, lightness, ample power for the 1920s roads and unbeatable reliability. The engine is essentially a scaled-down version of t ...

Excelsior 1913 “Model 7C“ single speed 974 cc IOE V-twin engine # 42814 The Excelsior Supply Company of Chicago starts producing motorcycles with its own single cylinder engine in 1908. In 1911 the firm becomes part of Ignaz Schwinn’s bicycle empire. The 1913 brochure introduces the new models with confidence: “ In presenting the 1913 Excelsior Auto-Cycle we have purposely condensed its features into these few pages. All mention of the innumerable Excelsior triumphs is omitted, for the speed and ...