what are your home town bikes?

[johnr]

ok ive posted this over on the classic bike forum, but as the bikes are thumpers, albeit old ones, i thought id just lift the whole text and post the same thing here. what stuff has been built where you live?

we all know about the myriad of brit bikes in the west Midlands area, the big names of bsa triumph etc, and we all associate stevenage with vincents, cleckheaton with panthers, etc etc, but im always amazed to hear of the tiny backstreet bike makers in the rest of the uk. a couple of years back, i often passed a car shop in preston called riding and cok (snigger but its true!) selling one of the big brand names, but in his window was a line of old bikes. two of which id never seen or heard of. one was called a toreador the other a matador. having never heard of them, i assumed they were some nondescript spanish effort. however, it seems that both were built in my home-town of preston, by a bert houlding and sons, not only that, but we also had bond, the carmaker who also produced as well as the threewheelers(though not the bug, which was built in tamworth im told) the bond minibyke. and whilst looking though some unrelated site for some other local stuff, i came across a reference to a motorcycle engine built in preston called a bradshaw ohv engine, built by, walmsley engineering in preston. i looked this up and it seems that the matador and toreador used this same engine. so its sparked an interest in me to try and find one of these machines built in the town that bore me. and i wondered what was you guys own local bike manufacturer?

houldings became in later years specialist carburettor makers and repairers, this it seems is the man himself,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpsmithbar ... otostream/

and he later moved to other premises in the town and built cars under the brand name 'moveo engineering'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpsmithbarney/4437159120/

he and his brother apparently also raced in the isle of man!

here are some flickr links to the pictures of the bikes ive found so far, and a link to the advert for walmsley engines i found in the same place.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpsmithbar ... otostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpsmithbar ... otostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpsmithbar ... otostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpsmithbar ... otostream/

one of the great things about the www is how you can go off on a tangent when looking for one thing and end up somewhere else completely. i started off looking for aerial pictures of the river ribble to plan a forthcoming canoe trip, and now im scouring the web looking for old motorbike pictures!

[Furry John]

Hi,

The first and some of the second paragraph of "Motor Cycle Cavalcade" by "Ixion" of The Motor Cycle list a huge amount of early motorcycles and where they were made, could be a starting point.

Furry

[el vencejo]

Not wanting to start an argument between the nations   
but this thread should be interesting, we might find some new names; everyone says "Brit Bikes", when surely they mean "English Bikes", old chap.
Were there any bikes (post-WW2 for me) built in Wales, Scotland, North of Ireland/Northern Ireland 

[Steve H]

This site has a big list of 'British' bikes

http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/euro/british.htm

Oddly enough the first link I clicked mentioned bikes built in Wales

http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/euro/brands/alta_uk.htm

[el vencejo]

Not quite Bike builders, but Queen's University, Belfast had an engineering professor who worked on 2-stroke design. Was there a Greeves with a QUB developed Villiers motor?

[guest7]

Not wanting to start an argument between the nations  
but this thread should be interesting, we might find some new names; everyone says "Brit Bikes", when surely they mean "English Bikes", old chap.
Were there any bikes (post-WW2 for me) built in Wales, Scotland, North of Ireland/Northern Ireland  

Yes the Bown, built near Cardiff, using a little Villiers engine (didn't all those small maunfacturers?).

    * Bown of Tonypandy, Wales

    * Bown were motorcycles produced from 1950 to 1957.

    * Until 1949 they built the autocycle for Aberdale of London, and in that year adopted the Bown name.

    * 1950 Having revised their autocycle design, they used a 99cc Villiers 2F engine with a cradle frame fitted with blade girder forks and enclosing side panels below the petroil tank.

    * 1951 The firm added a small motorcycle to their list. It had a 99cc two-speed Villiers 1F engine, neatly fitted into a frame with duplex downtubes and tubular girder forks.

    * 1952 Those two models were joined by their Tourist Trophy which was fitted with a 122cc Villiers 10D engine and telescopic forks.

    * 1953 The range continued in that form.

    * 1954 Production stopped.

    * 1956-1957 The name returned for only two years. It was used for an imported German moped with a 47cc Sachs engine.

And don't forget the Featherbed chassis was designed in Northern Ireland.

GC

[el vencejo]

Link for the QUB and late designer, not Villiers after all.
http://www.donsmithtrials.co.uk/greeves.html

But were any "ground up" bikes built outside England ?

I was born in the Potteries (now Royal Doulton comes from Indonesia!) I don't think any bikes came from there.
Where I live now the only vehicles that are produced are by putting a donkey with a horse to make a mule.

[Andy M]

But were any "ground up" bikes built outside England ?

Benelli (rhymes with Llanelli) according to Mr. Morgan 

Andy

[JOOLZ]

I used to own an A.J.W foxcub  they were made in Exeter

[Dr650rs]

Apparently (I'm far too young to remember) there's an old Douglas factory in kinsgwood in Bristol, about 5 miles from me

[beamer]

im from the  potteries to, i think the closest manufacturer to me was the pre war sunbeam factory at wolverhampton. now they made some good thumpers(the gentlemans ride) post war sunbeams were made in reddich

[trophydave]

I am from Nottingham,home of the Brough Superior

[guest7]

I am from Nottingham,home of the Brough Superior

All well and good but I bet you ain't got one 

Talking of which, I was round Furry's last night looking at his lovely Manx Norton and I told him that I'd considered having a T shirt made with a picture of a manx and the strapline "When do I get MY fucking Manx?"

GC

[el vencejo]

I am from Nottingham,home of the Brough Superior

All well and good but I bet you ain't got one  

Talking of which, I was round Furry's last night looking at his lovely Manx Norton and I told him that I'd considered having a T shirt made with a picture of a manx and the strapline "When do I get MY *******ing Manx?"

GC

When you've won the ****ing lottery?      

[Ian]

    * 1956-1957 The name returned for only two years. It was used for an imported German moped with a 47cc Sachs engine.
[/i]

GC

I remember my dad buying a Bown moped many years ago. It was two tone blue ....it never did run properly and he GAVE it away to a lad down our street....I dont think I ever forgave him for that 

Ian