D-H
DOUGLAS
Bristol’s finest, Douglas existed on the fringes of UK manufacturing and built some fascinating motorcycles. Their pre-war flat twins were the bikes to beat in road racing, sprinting and speedway, as well as being respected roadsters. BMW reverse-engineered a Douglas engine to create their
FRANCIS-BARNETT
As well as beefy four-strokes, AMC owned two further brand names which they attached to a range of lightweight two-stroke singles and twins. Francis-Barnett models were fitted with Villiers engines originally. After a fallingout with Villiers, who AMC felt were abusing their position of strength as the major supplier of proprietary engines,
GREEVES
Essex-based Greeves made most of their money by making invalid carriages but at the same time built a range of racers for the track and the mud. While they used Villiers engines, they had the top-of-the-range motors, and they tuned them for
HESKETH
As much a rich man’s folly as a motorcycle, Hesketh’s flawed V-twin was an impressive-looking motorcycle that turned out to be great on paper but less than great on the road. Expensive at the time, it did have top-notch ancillaries but a reputation for porous castings, and poor development of the engine and gearbox (remind you of anything? *cough* Norton *cough*). first motorcycle engine. Post-war, Douglas turned the engine through 90 degrees, so they looked like tiny BMW twins, but used chain drives rather than a shaft and experimented with off-the-wall suspension systems. The company eventually started importing and building Vespa scooters under licence. Francis-Barnett’s were fitted with Italian-designed but British-built Piatti engines which were not as good as the Villiers. The bigger Francis-Barnetts are quite charming motorcycles and at the same time relatively cheap, as long as you don’t plan on getting anywhere fast. Parts for the Piatti models are a challenge to get hold of, Villers less so. speed. They had alloy beam frames and leading link forks using compressed rubber to soak up the bumps. The off-roaders are the ones everybody remembers, but the roadsters are just as desirable. Seek out an Essex Twin for fun and games. The Meriden Co-op looked into taking it on but didn’t, and the original Hesketh firm folded, was resurrected, and folded again. Residual desire for a big British superbike has kept the dream alive. After a period of creating Heskeths with US built V-twins, the latest owners are working on a new sports bike with a 1000cc three-cylinder inline supercharged motor.