JD MOTORCYCLES
JD motorcycles were essentially a motorised bicycle, something which seemed curiously behind the times for the 1920s when they first appeared. The first model, a 116cc single cylinder machine was designed as a motorassisted cycle rather than a clip-on attachment which might have made more sense. It was the brainchild of Bowden Wire in Willesden Junction, north west London, a company which was more successful in making cycle and automobile accessories (and roller skates in 1909, although that was a short-lived venture). The Motor Cycle, in its usual optimistic way, did its best to persuade the public of the JD’s virtues, writing in 1922: ‘At a first glance at the JD motor cycle, one is inclined to say, “Ah, another motorised bicycle!” But one very soon alters that opinion; and the more the design is studied the more it is admired.
‘An attempt has been made to do something that has never been done before, i.e., to evolve a selfpropelled vehicle that will, by reason of its similarity to an ordinary bicycle and its simplicity, attract the pedal cyclist, but to design and build it with the same care and thoroughness as are bestowed on the most expensive machines of to-day. For this reason it is not cheap, in any sense of the word. It has not been built down to a price; “everything of the best” was the producer’s motto, and it was then estimated that the cost would be £40.’ That was essentially The Motor Cycle saying: “It’s very nice but it’s too expensive.” And that venerable title was probably, to use a pun, right on the money. Despite adding other models, JD motorcycles disappeared from catalogues in 1926 although Bowden Wire continued to operate under the name of Bowden Engineers Ltd.