Development
Vincent-HRD began in 1928 when Phil Vincent acquired the name, as well as all the jigs, tools and patterns of the HRD Company. Vincent started with engines from other makers such as JAP and Rudge but problems with supplies led to the development of his own 500cc single in 1934. Vincent is quoted as saying at the time "...we never wanted to see another Jap engine as long as we lived and decided we should design and manufacture our own." [3] Designed by Australian engineer Phil Irving, the new engine was developed over three months and the prototype Series 'A' Meteor was refined and developed into a production model, the Series 'B' Meteor, which was produced at the same time as the Series 'C' Comet, with the main differences being the new Girdraulic front fork fitted to the Comet while the Meteor had traditional Brampton girder forks and a slightly smaller carburettor. [4]
An advanced feature of the new Meteor engine was an invention to reduce valve failure, which they decided was caused by lateral vibration. A special design of upper and lower valve guides, without a centre section, meant that the valves had no fulcrum and into the central section they fitted a forked rocker pressed onto a shouldered valve stem. This effectively eliminated the 'rocking' action of the conventional top-end rocker and Vincent top ends set a new performance standard. [1]
When production of Series 'B' models was phased out in 1950 the Meteor was dropped from the range, making it one of the rarer post-war Vincent-HRDs. [4] Falling sales of expensive motorcycles led to closure of the Vincent works in 1956.
Vincent Motorcycles was a British manufacturer of motorcycles from 1928 to 1955. The business was established by Philip Vincent who bought an existing manufacturing name HRD, initially renaming it as Vincent HRD, producing his own motorcycles as HRD did previously with engines purchased as complete assemblies from other companies. From 1934, two new engines were developed as single cylinder in 500 cc and v-twin 1,000 cc capacities. Production grew from 1936, with the most-famous models being developed from the original designs after the War period in the late 1940s.
Motorcycles produced by Vincent H·R·D at their factory in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England were renowned for their design innovation, engineering excellence and high performance. Already advertising their existing 110 mph Rapide machine as "The world's fastest production motorcycle", in February 1948 the distinctive Vincent Black Shadow was announced with a top speed of 125 mph. Built in three different Series over the course of its life, the line continued until 1955, after which the company stopped all motorcycle production.
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.
Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles, manufactured in Plumstead, London, between 1899 and 1966. A wide range of models was produced under the Matchless name, ranging from small two-strokes to 750 cc four-stroke twins. Matchless had a long history of racing success; a Matchless ridden by Charlie Collier won the first single-cylinder race in the first Isle of Man TT in 1907.
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 Cotton Motor Company, was a British motorcycle manufacturer of 11a Bristol Road, Gloucester, and was founded by Frank Willoughby Cotton in 1918. F.W. presided over the company until his retirement in 1953. The company was reconstituted as E. Cotton (Motorcycles) Ltd, and traded until 1980. The marque was later resurrected in the late 1990s by a business which manufactured replicas of earlier machines.
Rudge Whitworth Cycles was a British bicycle, bicycle saddle, motorcycle and sports car wheel manufacturer that resulted from the merger of two bicycle manufacturers in 1894, Whitworth Cycle Co. of Birmingham, founded by Charles Henry Pugh and his two sons Charles Vernon and John, and Rudge Cycle Co. of Coventry.
OK-Supreme was a British motorcycle manufacturer from 1899 to 1939 located in Birmingham. Grass-track racing versions of the machines continued to be available until 1946.
Rex, Rex Motorcycles, Rex-Acme, was a car and motorcycle company which began in Birmingham, England in 1900. Rex soon merged with a Coventry maker of bicycles and cars named Allard and then later in 1922 the company merged with Coventry's 'Acme' motorcycle company forming 'Rex Acme'. The company existed until 1933, and, in its heyday, was considered one of the greatest names in the British motorcycle industry.
The Vincent Rapide is a line of standard motorcycles designed and built by the Vincent HRD motorcycle company at their works in Great North Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The model debuted in 1936 and was built until 1939. Production resumed in 1946 and ended in 1955. Four major versions were built, labelled Series A through D.
Osborn Engineering Company was a British manufacturer of motorcycles, which sold its machines under the OEC brand name.
The Vincent Comet was designed and built at the Vincent works in Great North Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. It was one of four 499 cc single models. As well as the sports Comet, Vincent produced a TT racing model, the Comet Special and the standard Vincent Meteor which shared many of the same cycle parts.
Philip Edward Irving MBE, CEng., FIMechE., MSAE., (1903–1992) was an Australian engineer and author, most famous for the Repco-Brabham Formula One and Vincent motorcycle engines. He also worked at Velocette motorcycles, twice, and drew the engine of the 1960 EMC 125cc racer.
Philip Conrad Vincent was a British motorcycle designer and manufacturer. Founder of Vincent Motorcycles, his designs influenced the development of motorcycles around the world.
The Royal Enfield Bullet was originally an overhead-valve single-cylinder four-stroke motorcycle made by Royal Enfield in Redditch, Worcestershire, now produced by Royal Enfield (India) at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, a company originally founded by Madras Motors to build Royal Enfield motorcycles under licence in India. The Royal Enfield Bullet has the longest unchanged production run of any motorcycle having remained continuously in production since 1948. The Bullet marque is even older, and has passed 75 years of continuous production. The Royal Enfield and Bullet names derive from the British company has been a subcontractor to Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, London.
The Super Meteor was a British motorcycle made by Royal Enfield for export to the US between 1952 and 1962, when the Super Meteor was replaced by the 736 cc Royal Enfield Interceptor.
The BSA C15 was a 250 cc single-cylinder ohv motorcycle manufactured by the British company BSA from September 1958 until 1967, and was BSA's first four-stroke unit-construction bike. For most of that period, after the introduction of 'Learner Laws' in 1961, a 250 cc was the largest capacity solo machine that a learner could ride unaccompanied when displaying L-plates in the United Kingdom. A road-going Sports derivative was added in 1961, and off-road versions, for Trials and Scrambles, were also available in the range.
The Vincent Grey Flash is a British motorcycle made between 1949 and 1952 by Vincent Motorcycles. Advertised as "By Black Lightning out of Comet" this 500cc single racer is very rare as only 31 were produced.
Grindlay Peerless is a historic motorcycle manufacturer that operated out of Coventry, England, throughout the early 20th-century, specialising in racing machines including the record breaking 498cc Grindlay Peerless.
Gunga Din is the nickname of a particular standard motorcycle built by the Vincent HRD company at their factory in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The bike was first assembled in 1947 as a Series B Rapide. It came to fill two roles; one of only two factory-backed racing bikes and a development platform for Vincent's high-performance V-twin models. Gunga Din underwent extensive modification throughout its working life until it was abandoned at the factory in the mid-1950s. Rediscovered in 1960, the bike was not restored until 2009.
