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(1911ÔÇô1940)
At first the machine was sold as the Baby,
but changed to the Popular.
It was soon called Levis Pop
Levis motorcycles, manufactured by Butterfields of Birmingham
one of England's leading manufacturers of two-stroke motorcycles
They built two-stroke machines from 1911
and added a line of four-strokes in 1928
The 211cc vertical two-stroke engine produced 3hp
An enclosed chain from the crankshaft drove the Fellows magneto
drive to the rear wheel was by Pedley Vee belt
The machine weighed in at 120lb
By the late 1960s
competition from Japanese manufacturers
drove the whole British motorcycle industry into decline
The 750 Norton Atlas was noted for its vibration
Rather than change engines
Norton decided to change the frame,
and the isolastic-framed Norton Commando 750 was the result
In 1969, the Commando was introduced
Highlighting its styling, frame and powerful engine
65 bhp @ 6,500 rpm
The Commando was the most powerful and best-handling British motorcycle of its day
The "Combat" engine was released in January 1972,
with a twin roller bearing crank,
crank-shaft main-bearing reliability immediately suffered
crank-bending caused the rollers to "dig-in" to the races,
causing rapid failure
Older engines had used one ball-bearing main bearing
and one roller bearing main bearing
Electric start was introduced in 1974
Sales were respectable but the company declined financially
becoming insolvent in 1975
The 495cc twin cylinder engine produced 26bhp and was capable of 85mph
manufactured by Birmingham Small Arms Company at their Birmingham factory
its name was changed to the Star Twin and later the Shooting Star
the BSA A7 continued in production with minor modifications until 1961
BSA A7 was the first of the BSA twin-cylinder motorcycles
was ready for launch in 1939, but the outbreak of World War II
delayed the launch until September 1946
There was huge demand for affordable transportation after the war
Use of the brand name was licensed by the Crown in 1890
Enfield Cycle Company made motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers, stationary engines, & weapons
The original company was sold to Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT) in 1968
Production ceased in 1970 and the company was dissolved in 1971
In 1956 Enfield of India started assembling Bullet motorcycles under licence from UK components,
& by 1962 were manufacturing complete bikes
Enfield of India bought the rights to use the Royal Enfield name in 1995
Royal Enfield production, continues
& Royal Enfield is now the oldest motorcycle brand in the world still in production
with the Bullet model enjoying the longest motorcycle production run of all time
British Military Motorcycle
The 50/50 Rule
at 50 miles per hour and 50 feet,
this Triumph looks genuine military (owner told me he trimmed the bike out just for fun)