1926 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS80 WAS AN EARLY BIKE Brough Superior was established by George Brough in Nottingham, England in 1924....
1926 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS80 WAS AN EARLY BIKE Brough Superior was established by George Brough in Nottingham, England in 1924....
THE 1935 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS100 ALPINE GRAND SPORT Brough fitted the SS100 with full touring spec and named it the “Alpine Grand Sport” starting in 1925. That same year, Brough Superior Motorcycles introduced the Pendine Racing Model (named after the Pendine Sands where Malcolm Camplbel set several speed records on...
1938 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS100 BACKGROUND The SS100 (SS stood for “Super Sports”) was built from the very best components available...
1939 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS100 BACKGROUND The SS100 (SS stood for “Super Sports”) was built from the very best components available...
1939 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS80 The “SS” in the name stands for “Super Sports”, and the SS80 was George Brough’s earliest design, dating back to 1920, several years before production actually began. Like its big brother the SS100 which Brough guaranteed would do 100 mph straight off the showroom floor, the...
1939 Vincent Rapide Series A 1939 VINCENT RAPIDE BACKGROUND Vincent head engineer Phil Irving was working on some tracings of...
1941 HARLEY-DAVIDSON WLA – WHAT’S IN A NAME? The nomenclature “WLA” stands for something, as you probably suspected. The “W”...
1942 HARLEY-DAVIDSON WLA – WHAT’S IN A NAME? The nomenclature “WLA” stands for something, as you probably suspected. The “W” signifies the ‘family’ of motorcycles within the Harley family tree. The W-series was their 45 cubic-inch flathead (side valve) single (only one seat) that was their entry-level V-twin in the...
1948 Triumph Speed Twin 1948 TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN BACKGROUND In a few short years, the 5T Speed Twin went from...
1948 Vincent Rapide Series B 1948 VINCENT RAPIDE BACKGROUND Vincent built its reputation on it’s robust 499cc Comet single. Prior...
1949 Vincent Rapide 1949 VINCENT RAPIDE BACKGROUND Vincent built its reputation on it’s robust 499cc Comet single. Prior to the war, they figured out that if they doubled it, they could create a 998cc V-twin and the series A Vincent Rapide was born. Few were built prior to World War...
1950 VINCENT BLACK SHADOW BACKGROUND Brilliantly designed by doubling up the 499cc Vincent Comet single-cylinder engine into a 50-degree V-twin,...
1951 BSA A10 Pre-Unit 650 Twin 1951 BSA A10 Golden Flash 1951 BSA A10 GOLDEN FLASH From its launch in...
1951 Triumph Speed Twin 1951 TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN BACKGROUND The Triumph Speed Twin was the world’s first ‘modern’ vertical twin, when it was introduced in 1937 as a 1938 model. Designed by Edward Turner (who also designed the Ariel Square Four), the 500cc 5T Speed Twin was a revelation at...
1951 Triumph Thunderbird 1951 Triumph Thunderbird Background The 1951 Triumph Thunderbird carried the model designation “6T”. All 6T’s were 650’s...
1951 Vincent Black Shadow 1951 VINCENT BLACK SHADOW BACKGROUND Brilliantly designed by doubling up the 499cc Vincent Comet single-cylinder engine...
1951 Vincent Rapide Series B 1951 VINCENT RAPIDE BACKGROUND Vincent built its reputation on it’s robust 499cc Comet single. Prior to the war, they figured out that if they doubled it, they could create a 998cc V-twin and the series A Vincent Rapide was born. Few were built prior to...
1952 VINCENT BLACK SHADOW BACKGROUND Brilliantly designed by doubling up the 499cc Vincent Comet single-cylinder engine into a 50-degree V-twin,...
1953 Triumph TR5 Trophy 1953 TRIUMPH TR5 TROPHY BACKGROUND The Triumph TR5 Trophy was produced from 1949 through 1958. It...
1953 VINCENT BLACK SHADOW BACKGROUND Brilliantly designed by doubling up the 499cc Vincent Comet single-cylinder engine into a 50-degree V-twin, the Vincent Black Shadow was introduced in 1949. It followed on the heals of the Vincent Rapide, which was more of a touring bike. The buying public wanted more power,...
1953 Vincent Rapide Series C 1953 VINCENT RAPIDE BACKGROUND Vincent built its reputation on it’s robust 499cc Comet single. Prior...
1954 Triumph Thunderbird ABOVE: An early-1954 Triumph Thunderbird with rigid frame. BELOW: Partway through the 1954 model-year Triumph converted over...
1954 VINCENT BLACK SHADOW-ONE OF THE LAST The Vincent Motorcycle Co. closed its doors in 1955, so this 1954-model was built one year before the end. Vincent was a low-volume producer of high-quality motorcycles, and high-priced for the time. From the end of WWII until their demise in 1955, they...
1954 Vincent Rapide Series C 1954 VINCENT RAPIDE-NEARING THE END Vincent built its reputation on it’s robust 499cc Comet single....
1955 BSA A7 Pre-Unit 500 Twin 1955 BSA A7 BACKGROUND The 500cc A7 was BSA’s first vertical twin and marked...
1955 Triumph Thunderbird ABOVE: The 1955 Triumph Thunderbird 6T is very similar to this 1956 Triumph Thunderbird. They share essentially the same frame, suspension, cycle gear and body work. Only paint colors & minor trim differences vary in the general appearance. Although many mechanical changes were made on an ongoing...
1955 Vincent Black Prince 1955 VINCENT BLACK PRINCE BACKGROUND By the early 1950s, Vincent the company was struggling. Founder Phil...
1955 Vincent Rapide Series D 1955 VINCENT RAPIDE-LAST OF THE LINE Vincent built its reputation on it’s robust 499cc...
1956 Triumph Speed Twin 1956 TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN RELEGATED TO THE BACK SEAT The 1938 Triumph Speed Twin was the first vertical twin to hit the market, just prior to WWII, and it changed everything. Almost the entire British motorcycle industry rushed to copy their success as soon as the...
1957 BSA A10 Pre-Unit 650 Twin 1957 BSA A10 BACKGROUND BSA’s A10 was the 650 version in it’s twin cylinder...
1958 Triumph Thunderbird ABOVE: The 1958 Triumph Thunderbird 6T looked very similar to this 1958 Triumph T110 Tiger, with headlight...
1958 Triumph Twenty-One 1958 TRIUMPH TWENTY-ONE HAS BATHTUB STYLING. The British home market had been hungry for cheap transportation after WWII, and commuter motorcycles helped fill that role. But England being…well, England, was wet and rainy and to prevent rust an owner needed to wipe his bike down each night...
1959 Ariel Huntmaster 1959 AREIL HUNTMASTER BACKGROUND Ariel was owned by the Sangster family, failed a few times, then ended...
1959 BSA A10 Pre-Unit 650 Twin 1959 BSA A10 Rocket 1959 BSA A10 ROCKET By 1959, both of BSA‘s big...
1959 Triumph Thunderbird ABOVE: This 1959 Triumph Thunderbird has more than a healthy amount of patina. In fact, if it wasn’t all in one piece, it might be a basket case. Sorry I couldn’t do better on a photo, but it was the only one I could find that I...
1963 BSA A10 Pre-Unit 650 Twin 1963 BSA A10 SUPER ROCKET 1963 BSA A10 SUPER ROCKET The Super Rocket was...
Check out these BSA BOOKS BSA Motorcycles: The Final Evolution The BSA Gold Star: Motorcycle History Illustrated Bsa Buyer’s Guide...
1963 Triumph Thunderbird 1963 TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD GOES UNIT CONSTRUCTION Along with the rest of the Triumph 650 line, the 1963 6T Thunderbird converted over to Triumph’s incredible new unit-construction powerplant, frame and cycle gear. It was a major transition, with nearly every component replaced. But what a change! Unit Construction...
1964 BSA A65 NEW MODELS The 1964 BSA A65 was, of course, the third model year of the new unit...