MOTORCYCLE 74: U.K.

2011/06/17

A close "motorcycle" shave

Indeed, the world famous brand - company that produces the shaving divice, manufactured motorcycles!

Wilkinson TMC Motorcycles

Wilkinson Sword produced some of the earliest motorcycles in 1903. These were two-cylinder machines with French engines made by Antoine, which were marketed by a garage in Chelsea in London – one of the first motorcycle dealerships in the UK. The venture was not a success however. In 1911 Wilkinson developed and manufactured the Wilkinson TMC, a luxury touring motorcycle between 1911 and 1916, when production was stopped by the First World War. The first 'Wilkinsons' were originally designed for military reconnaissance by P G Tacchi, who was granted a patent for the design in 1908. Demonstrated to the British military in the summer of 1908, the Wilkinson motorcycle failed to impress the authorities, despite optional accessories including a sidecar complete with Maxim machine gun – and a steering wheel instead of handlebars. Undaunted, the company continued development and exhibited a new version a year later at the Stanley Clyde Motorcycle Show at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, London in 1909. Only about 250 Wilkinsons were produced before the First World War restrictions brought the line to its end in spring 1916 and the Wilkinson company had to produce thousands of bayonets for the war effort. After the war they decided to continue to develop the in-line four engine – but in a new car called the Deemster, and they never returned to motorcycle production.

Text via: wikipedia - Wilkinson Sword

Via: motorbike-search-engine.co.uk

Via: vintagebike.co.uk

2011/05/04

Henry Brody's 1929 Douglas Motorbike

Henry Brody is 76 and the U.K. Veteran Class Motorcycle Sprint Champion. "Veteran" refers to the age of the bike, not the rider; Henry regularly annihilates people almost 60 years younger on the quarter-mile track. The bike itself is over 80 and probably hasn't had as many parts replaced as its rider.

Henry has one eye, an artificial hip and a pacemaker, and says, "'Once you give up and you're just sitting around at home all day, life's over really." Well done. You've just been made to feel bad about using the Internet by a speeding septuagenarian.

Further proof that Brody is really an escaped comic-book character: He gets help maintaining his classic motorcycle from Bill Douglas, the grandson of the founder of the bike's original manufacturer. He probably spends time between races solving crimes and catching drug dealers.