George Brough, racer, designer, and showman, presented his first bike, the Mark I Overhead, at the Olympia show when it opened on this day in 1920. The motor cycle had a J.A.P. 980cc V-twin OHV engine that was modified to meet George’s requirement.
In 1919, after parting with his father, W.E. Brough, who had been building Brough machines for many years, George Brough set out to begin manufacturing his own motorcycles.
George had visions of a far more luxurious machine than the reliable but somewhat pedestrian vehicles his father made. But what should he name the bike, given that “Brough” was already associated with his father’s machines? During one of many discussions between George and his friends, a bystander named Bob Blay grew tired of the debate and remarked, “If it’s so superior, why not name it the Brough Superior?” - and superior they were, in every aspect.
George Brough surrounded by friends outside his factory on Nottingham, England.
It’s thought there are only two Mark I Brough Superiors left in the world. In 2020, one of them sold at auction for US$308,000.