Mean machine with women in mind
Yorkshire- made motorcycle on track for museum post- restoration after being found in wilds of Sweden
ALMOST a century ago, Sheffield made a renowned motorcycle, a machine which won plaudits around the world.
It was called the Sheffield Dunelt and, unusually for the time, it was marketed with women in mind.
Now few remain but if a band of enthusiasts get their way, a 600cc model will soon be on show in the steel city.
Sheffield motorcycle fan Chris Rogers spent 20 years tracking down a specific model and with the help of a company in the city he managed to repatriate it from Sweden. A similar model sold for £ 20,000 in Las Vegas.
Now he is on the cusp of restoring it to its original condition.
“I can’t believe how the city has come together to restore it,” Mr Rogers said.
“A man called Stephen Whittaker has restored the engine. Another lad, Michael Milthorpe, has painted it – not just once, but five times before he was happy with it.
“It’s an amazing story of how Sheffield has come together to realise this dream of bringing the bike back home.”
The bike, a 1932 model, will go on display at Kelham Island Museum next year.
Dunelt was a Sheffieldbased motorcycle and bicycle manufacturer, founded by steelmakers Dunford & Elliot in 1919. It began making motorcycles in its Birmingham factory and later moved to Attercliffe in Sheffield.
The firm won many prestigious titles and trophies and in 1924, a Dunelt motorcycle was the first to cross the Egyptian desert from Cairo to Siwa and back.
And Suzanne Koerner, from Germany, rode a Dunelt nonstop from Berlin to Birmingham in 1927. In 1931 the manufacture was moved from Birmingham to Sheffield and the motorcycles were named Sheffield- Dunelt. Only a handful of models survive.
The model that Mr Rogers is working on was bought by HE Barnes electrical contractors and engineers and will be given to the museum on a long- term loan.
Mr Rogers said: “Without HE Barnes, this project wouldn’t have got off the ground.”
The model has a 600cc side valve engine and gearbox. It was one of the last made in Sheffield and is one of just two known to still exist. It was found on a farm in northern Sweden where it had been stored since before the Second World War. An eminent signwriter, Phil Appleyard, of Milnrow, near Oldham, has recreated the decals on the fuel tank.
Sheffield firm Broad blast has shot blasted many of the parts , while Robin Penny’s hydraulics company, of Clowne in Derbyshire, has also been involved. Mr Penny has been invaluable as a consultant.
Kelham Island Museum is said to be thrilled to be involved and the bike will be sent out to shows. The museum is home to several Sheffield- built motorcycles including a 1922 Wilkin and two 1926 Ner- a- Car models.
I can’t believe how the city has come together to restore it. Sheffield motorcycle fan Chris Rogers.