Indian is an American brand of motorcycles originally produced from 1901 to 1953 in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Hendee Manufacturing Company initially produced the motorcycles, but the name was changed to the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company in 1923.
The Norton Motorcycle Company is an English motorcycle marque, originally from Birmingham, England, UK. It was founded in 1898 as a manufacturer of "fittings and parts for the two-wheel trade". By 1902 the company had begun manufacturing motorcycles with bought-in engines. In 1908 a Norton-built engine was added to the range. This began a long series of production of single and eventually twin-cylinder motorcycles, and a long history of racing involvement.
Zündapp was a major German motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1917 in Nuremberg by Fritz Neumeyer, together with the Friedrich Krupp AG and the machine tool manufacturer Thiel under the name "Zünder- und Apparatebau G.m.b.H." as a producer of detonators. In 1919, as the demand for weapons parts declined after World War I, Neumeyer became the sole proprietor of the company, and two years later he diversified into the construction of motorcycles.
Royal Enfield was a brand name under which The Enfield Cycle Company Limited of Redditch, Worcestershire sold motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and stationary engines which they had manufactured. Enfield Cycle Company also used the brand name Enfield without Royal.
The Scott Motorcycle Company was owned by Scott Motors (Saltaire) Limited, Shipley, West Yorkshire, England and was a well-known producer of motorcycles and light engines for industry. Founded by Alfred Angas Scott in 1908 as the Scott Engineering Company in Bradford, Yorkshire, Scott motorcycles were produced until 1978.
JA Prestwich Industries, was an English manufacturing company named after founder John Alfred Prestwich, which was formed in 1951 by the amalgamation of J.A.Prestwich and Company Limited and Pencils Ltd.
HRD Motors Ltd was a British motorcycle manufacturer in the 1920s. It was founded by Howard Raymond Davies. He had worked in motorcycling, and had raced with some success in the mid-twenties, but often not finishing due to unreliability. This inspired him to build a reliable performance motorcycle, using the advertising slogan "Built by a rider". Others also aimed at a similar market, like George Brough of Brough Superior motorcycles.
The New Hudson company was originally started in 1890 by George Patterson, the original idea of the company was to build bicycles. By 1903 the Birmingham factory was producing motorized bicycles using Minerva engines. By 1909, their first motorcycles produced were using JAP engines. By 1920 they were seeing success in racing at the Isle of man TT and Brooklands. In 1927, Bert Le Vack took over racing development and was the first rider to complete a lap at over 100 mph on a 500cc machine at Brooklands. They began to manufacture their own Single valve and OHV single cylinder engines and produced a 212cc two stroke motorcycles using a Levis engine. Times became tough for Patterson after 1 of his sons died in WW1 and the other had lost a leg. The family sold the factory to HJ Bructon after WW1. New Hudson also produced 3 wheelers using MAG engines. New Hudson was taken over by BSA cycles in the late 20’s and by 1933 had ceased all production of motorcycles. In 1929 the company purchased the Girling brake patent from the inventor Albert Girling, to supply brake systems to Ford, Austin, Rover and Riley. The factory continued to produce Girling brakes and suspension components. In 1940 the New Hudson autocycle was produced but later rebadged as a BSA.
Motosacoche was founded in 1899, by Henri and Armand Dufaux, in Geneva, Switzerland. Motosacoche was once the biggest Swiss motorcycle manufacturer, known also for its MAG proprietary-engines used by other European motorcycle manufacturers.
Martinsyde was a British aircraft and motorcycle manufacturer between 1908 and 1922, when it was forced into liquidation by a factory fire.
Charles Benjamin Redrup (1878–1961) was a British aeronautical engineer and inventor, who designed several innovative axial engines.
The Brough Superior SS 100 is a motorcycle which was designed and built by George Brough in Nottingham, England in 1924. Although every bike was designed to meet specific customer requirements—even the handlebars were individually shaped—sixty-nine SS100s were produced in 1925 and at £170 were advertised by Brough as the "Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles". The term was coined by a magazine road tester in his review of the bike, and Brough eventually obtained explicit permission to use it after a Rolls-Royce executive toured the Brough Superior factory. All bikes had a guarantee that they were capable of 100 mph (160 km/h).
Royal Enfield is an Indian motorcycle manufacturing brand with the tag of "the oldest global motorcycle brand in continuous production" manufactured in factories in Chennai in India. Licensed from Royal Enfield by the indigenous Indian Madras Motors, it is now a subsidiary of Eicher Motors Limited, an Indian automaker. The company makes the Royal Enfield Bullet, and other single-cylinder and twin-cylinder motorcycles. First produced in 1901, Royal Enfield is the oldest motorcycle brand in the world still in production, with the Bullet model enjoying the longest motorcycle production run of all time.
New Hudson Motorcycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in 1903 by George Patterson in Birmingham, their first motorcycle was produced in 1902 but was unsuccessful. The New Hudson range expanded between 1910 and 1915 using JAP engines, then the factory joined the war effort until 1919. As well as side-valve and OHV single-cylinder engines of 350 to 600 cc, they also built a 211 cc two-stroke and a number of three-wheelers with MAG engines. In 1927 Bert le Vack broke the 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) record at Brooklands on a 500 cc New Hudson.
Herbert 'Bert' le Vack was a motorcycle world speed record holder throughout the 1920s and earned the nickname the 'Wizard of Brooklands' for his exploits at Brooklands.
Zenith Motorcycles was a British motorcycle and automobile manufacturer established in Finsbury Park, London in 1903, by W.G. Bowers. Automobile manufacture only lasted from 1905–1906. The first Zenith motorcycle was the 'BiCar' of 1903, based on Tooley's Bi-Car design, which was purchased by Zenith for its own production. The BiCar was a unique design with hub-center steering and a low-slung chassis with the engine centrally fixed.
Harris Performance Products are a British motorcycle racing and parts manufacturer.
Granville Eastwood Bradshaw OBE, AFRAeS (1887–1969) was an English engineer and inventor who designed motorcycle, auto, and aero-engines.
The Interceptor was a British motorcycle made by Royal Enfield between 1960 and 1970. The 700 Interceptor introduced in 1960 was a modified version of the company's 692 cc Constellation model. In 1962, the company introduced the 750 Interceptor which evolved constantly until the end of production in 1970. In 2018, the Interceptor model was reintroduced as a 648 cc parallel twin.
