As the end of the motorcycling season slowly draws to a close across parts of the northern hemisphere, it’s time to look forward to what new bikes will be coming next year.
Welcome to the 1927 Motor Cycle & Cycle Show at Olympia. Admission: 2d
Three overhead-camshaft engines bearing the famous names of Norton, AJS and Humber made their debut at Olympia.
Top to bottom: Norton 490cc ohc. AJS 498cc ohc. Humber 349cc ohc.
They added to an already long list of ohc engines that included Velocette, Matchless, Calthorpe and Chater-Lea.
The Rudge-Whitworth had become the sole representative of the four-valve motor cycle engine after the Triumph Ricardo model was no longer being shown (it was discontinued in 1928).
Although the majority of new two-stroke machines were fitted with Villiers power units, there were three new engines from the Velocette, BSA and W&G.
The 248cc side-valve AJS made its first appearance. All the latest modifications in AJS practice, such as the bolted-on cylinder head and oiltight tappet guides were incorporated.
Three entirely new AJWs were on display Two of these were identical except for the power unit, and represented the last word in luxury in a sporting big twin. This model was fitted with a new two-port twin-cylinder Summit (Vulpine) engine.
It was simple to operate, too. A left toe pedal applied both brakes. An inverted lever on the right-hand bar also applied both while a lever on the left-hand bar operated the front brake only. A Best & Lloyd hand pump mounted on the tank top was fitted with a two-way tap, having one lead to the chains and the other to the overhead rocker boxes. Easy.
Although the new four-cylinder Vee type Brough Superior, with its four-speed gearbox, cast-in induction, speedometer and revolution indicator was the most imposing exhibit at Olympia, its price of £250 (it was an Olympia rule that all machines exhibited must be available) put it beyond the reach of most motor cyclists.
Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the neatly constructed 498cc Calthorpe was the extraordinary accessibility of the valve gear and cylinder, which could be detached without removing the camshaft gear. An ingenious method of dry sump lubrication was employed by means of which oil was circulated to every part of the engine, including the cam gear, whence it returned to the oil base and was pumped back to the tank through a sight feed on the filler cap.
Great interest was taken in the Gillet machines that had exhibited for the first time the previous year.
Clubmen who sought a genuine TT design needed to look no further than the HRD Super 90. The sturdy duplex frame, powerful brakes (with cooling flanges on the rear drum) and general layout spoke of TT experience. Racing knee grips were fitted to the black saddle tank, and there was no carrier; one pair of mudguard stays were extended to form a lifting handle. Route card holders fitted on the tank tops were another notable HRD feature.
Many improvements had been made to the Indian Ace. Not the least important of these changes was in the appearance, finished now in Indian red. Viewed from the British sporting rider’s standpoint, the riding position was considered…unusual.
It had become unusual for a firm to introduce super-sports models with sidevalve engines by 1927, so the New Hudson Le Vack-designed ‘Super-sports’ models generated particular interest.
Great improvements had been made to the New Imperial models. Saddle tanks were now standard on all except two models, the new 346cc sidevalve lightweight and the 680cc side-valve JAP-engined machine.
A choice of JAP, Blackburne, MAG, Villiers, Bradshaw, and Vulpine power units was offered to purchasers of OEC motor cycles.
The 300cc OK-Supreme embodied an entirely new frame. There were only two brazed joints, these being at either end of the tank rail. From the lower part of the steering head duplex tubes extended to a point in front of the crankcase, where they were met by twin tubes running from the rear fork ends. Duplex tubes were also carried from below the saddle to the rear of the engine. Three points of suspension were provided for the latter; and the gearbox was inverted and attached to the chain stays and to a special steel bracket. This design gave an exceptionally rigid construction, and the ends of the tubes, instead of being trapped, were thrust into sockets and secured by bolts in such a manner that there was no possibility of their moving.
Upwards of 14 models were shown as the 1928 Royal Enfield range. The 225cc four-stroke was considered a worthy addition to a family. Made throughout in one factory, it had special appeal to those who did not favour assembled machines. The saddle tank and the compact layout of the engine and gear units resulted in a very workmanlike appearance, and there was no lack of refinement in the detail accessories, such as steering damper, etc. Several examples of the two-stroke model were exhibited, including an entirely new one with two-port detachable aluminium aluminium head engine and three-speed gear, and a ladies’ open-frame machine, which had a two-speed gears. All the 225cc models came within the 200lb weight limit for taxation purposes.
For the ordinary tourist and for the rider who competed in reliability trials, the 596cc Scott Super Squirrel had a special appeal. It was lighter than the Super Squirrel, and, although not so fast, its slow pulling capabilities and ease of handling on ‘rough stuff’ made it particularly suited for such arduous duties. The same machine could be fitted with a 498cc power unit.
That a two-stroke Velocette was to be marketed again would be a source of gratification to many. The model on show includeed all the outstanding features of earlier types, and sold at a very modest price. The two-port engine had an overhung crank with a roller big-end bearing, and it was lubricated by oil from a sump contained in the crankcase casting, crankcase depression being employed to ensure the supply.
When the 490cc twin-cylinder two-stroke W&G was first described in The Motor Cycle some months ago great interest was aroused, as it represented a distinct departure from the usual practice of British motor cycle manufacture. Since that time the machine has been extensively tested, and although the general design is unaltered, the machine has undergone a complete revision
The outstanding feature of the W&G was its extreme simplicity. It was the aim of the designer to concentrate the weight in a block low down in the frame, and to do this he placed the engine sloping forward. The design of the new 175cc Zenith was perfectly straightforward, but the specification and the excellent appearance made the machine of particular interest. The engine was the 172cc super-sports Villiers, lubricated on the Villiers automated system. The frame was a low diamond pattern and provided a low, comfortable riding position. A saddle tank would cost an extra 25s.
What else could you see at the show? Fabric-covered Royal Ruby tanks; an ’all-gold’ fabric sidecar on the Milford stand’; cellulosed fabric sidecars with the appearance of mottled aluminium; zoological exhibits—a horse, panther, flying squirrel, and an eagle; stove-enamelled tanks on the Matchless and Rudge-Whitworth stands; AJW hand-pump lubrication of chains and rockers; illuminated photographs of events of the year on The Motor Cycle stand and The Motor Cycle Book for Boys - small schoolboys gazing longingly at big Brough Superiors; NUT black and white tank inspired by the ‘colours’ of Newcastle United; blue-and-black Triumphs, black and white Matchlesses and bright yellow Bakers; Duralumin and stainless-steel frames on the Coventry-Eagle stand; the Belgian ohv Gillet with the pushrods on the left; a Watsonian detachable sidecar going through a side entrance typical of a suburban ‘desirable residence’; photographs of the world tour sidecar outfits on the walls of the BSA offices; the stripped racing ohv big-twin McEvoy—a genuine racing model; and the ‘arm of the Robot’ demonstrating things in connection with Duckham’s Adcol oil—most uncanny!
Finally, a word from Ixion on the success of the British motorcycle industry back then. How times changed…
“Hundreds of other British industries survey with a puzzled wonder the unexampled success of this particular industry, which practically alone among the trades of this country need at the moment fear no foreign competitor, and in spite of all our post-war troubles is at once financially prosperous and technically supreme…progress at the moment takes the form of perfecting detail, and extracting from given designs and materials a little higher roadworthiness than was possible a year ago. The natural result of the unparalleled success of this great industry has been to evoke in all classes of Briton an interest and an enthusiasm which are still almost absent in other countries…A similar zest is coming to the birth in Germany, and in Holland, and in Italy. In France and Switzerland and Czecho-Slovakia the enthusiasm is much weaker and far more limited in area. In America it hardly exists. But throughout the British Empire it is alive and vigorous and intense.”