A-Z of British motorcycles
H has proved to be an extremely popular initial for many marques of motorcycle and so we make no apologies for allowing the last of those Hs to gatecrash the ‘I’ chapter. HELDUN
A name that is almost forgotten is Heldun, and yet this small manufacturer operated within the lifetime of most of us all. Founded in 1965 by Helen and Duncan Mitchell (hence the name Hel-dun), it began life in Dudleston, Shropshire, and stemmed from Duncan’s passion for 50cc racing. Heldun described itself as making ‘the first British-made 50cc road racer’ and began with a number of export models fitted with twostroke Sachs engines which wended their way to Scandinavia.
The Heldun range used German and Italian proprietary engines and the machines were offered either in finished or kit form. Its UK model was the 50cc Hawk which was intended to be ridden by teenager Rex Caunt who would later go on to become a BSA Bantam specialist and establish Rex Caunt Racing. However, this version of the Hawk was not a success and at this time the firm moved to Powys in Wales.
New models were then announced; a racer, a sports moped, a roadster, a trials bike and a scrambler. The Hawk, the Hurricane, the Harlequin, the Husky and the Hammer respectively were available in both two- and fourstroke form, while the Husky boasted an unusual pivoted front fork. The reason for offering the machines in ‘kit form’ was, of course, the dreaded purchase tax which was only levied on complete motorcycles (and, for that matter, cars). Thus the Husky and the standard Harlequin were sold as kits, while the deluxe Harlequin and the Hawk and Huricane would be sold as finished motorcycles.
Heldun had hoped to develop and manufacture its own engines, including a two-stroke twin and an ohc single, but the company went out of business in the middle of 1968 before that could happen. Today Helduns are rare machines and very seldomly come up for sale.
HUDSON & MATTHEWS
Hudson and Matthews proclaimed that it built ‘the Sidecar you will eventually purchase’ from its workshop in Market Street, Altrincham (the building is still there, now occupied by a firm of solicitors).
However, in 1924, the Cheshire firm produced the Tornado which was powered by an Anzani 994cc V-twin with twin Amac carburettors. Despite being a big twin, the Tornado weighed under 300lb and was designed specifically for competition and, while the one-off special was a successful sprinter, the company concentrated on sidecar production, although, by 1926, it was listed in Kelly’s Directory as ‘retail wireless supplies dealers.’ Does anyone know what happened to the Tornado?