CHATER-LEA
Like many other fledgling motorcycle manufacturers, Chater-Lea had its roots in bicycle production, later moving into making bikes using a range of proprietary engines. Founded by William Chater Lea (note the lack of hyphen which would come later), it produced its first motorcycle at the turn of the 20th century with each machine built to the customer’s order and specification.
Most of the initial models were designed for sidecar use – indeed, Chater-Leas would continue to have a reputation as a fine sidecar hauler with over a thousand being used by the AA for patrol work and even by the company itself for deliveries, as Pete Kelly demonstrates on page
23 of this very issue. However, in 1908, Chater-Lea machines were entered into the TT for the first time, while the company would go on to produce a number of cars as well.
Production stopped during the First World War and, after the war, ChaterLea attempted to change its image in favour of a more sportier approach, employing Dougal Marchant as its development engineer and, in 1922, making its final car. This gambit met with some success; in 1924 Marchant developed the first 350cc to exceed 100mph and later set world records for both 350 and 500cc machines, although this was with a highly modified version of the engine in the road bikes. Although the company would produce its own 488cc sv single and then a 545cc, after 1924 it chose to rely upon ohv Blackburne engines and its 1926 model with vertical shaft drive and a face camtype engine was said to be the world’s fastest 350cc.
After occupying several sites in London, Chater-Lea moved to a new state-of-the-art factory in Letchworth in 1928 but, despite attempting to add variety to its range with the addition of a 247cc lightweight and a dirt track version, and having weathered the worst of the economic depression, Chater-Lea was being overtaken by progress and so it ceased motorcycle production in 1936. It did, however, continue to be an engineering contractor and supply bicycle parts until 1987. The name has recently been revived and the company now offers high-end cycle parts.