INVICTA MOTORCYCLES

Seven years after Invicta Tricars appears to have ceased trading – the last recorded mention is in 1906 – Arthur

Barnett began producing a motorcycle called the Invicta at his workshop in West Orchard, Coventry. Two models were launched in 1913, one belt-driven and the other with a twospeed Jardine gearbox and chain and belt drive, both powered by 269cc Villiers two-stroke engines. The single-speed would cost the potential purchaser 28 guineas while the two-speed was seven guineas dearer.

As with other companies, manufacture ceased during the First World War, but Invicta did resume production in 1920, by which time Arthur Barnett had a new business partner. Nonetheless, the Invicta motorcycle continued until 1923 after which Mr Barnett decided to concentrate on his other project with a Mr Gordon Francis. Of course, today the Francis-Barnett name is far more widely known than that of Invicta.