HAGG TANDEM
The Hagg Tandem was an interesting if, it must be said, not entirely attractive machine. It was the creation of Arthur Hagg, who lived and worked in the village of Park Street near St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Although he had built an experimental model in 1920, the Hagg Tandem really made its debut at the Olympia Show in 1921. Almost all the moving parts were enclosed by aluminium plates, while there were legshields at the front and a large rear mudguard. Beneath the panels was a 349cc Precision two-stroke engine and a two-speed Burman gearbox, although there was also an option of a 250cc Union motor. A unique feature for the time was the long lever starter which attached to the usual kick-starter spindle. At the rear, a passenger was provided with a bucket seat which could be slid in grooves along the mudguard and the entire machine was, according to
The Motor Cycle, ‘a two-seated twowheeler designed to overcome the main objections to pillion riding. The extra passenger has a comfortable seat, well forward, and is able to place his feet on the rear end of the main footboards.’ Another feature was ‘a foot-controlled gear, which allows the nervous rider to retain his hands on the handle-bars whenever the machine is in motion.’
Despite advertising which claimed the Hagg Tandem to be the ‘cheapest form of motorcycling for two’ (given the machine cost £95 that was a strong if hopeful claim) and a recommendation from the Daily Mail that the Hagg Tandem was ‘the only real dual purpose machine placed on the market’ – presumably the dual purpose referred to the fact that it could transport one or two people! – sales were disappointing. A change to a quieter and more powerful 349cc Barr and Stroud sleeve-valve engine didn’t help matters, and so in late 1922 Arthur Hagg changed the name from Hagg Tandem to HT and also offered a more conventional looking machine, ‘shorn of all unessentials.’ But it was to no avail and production ceased at the end of 1924.