Northampton Motorcycles
A brief history of motorcycles manufactured in Northampton
There were at least five or six marques based in Northampton during the 20th century. This is a brief history of these machines.
There were at least six manufacturers of motorcycles located in Northampton in the 20th century and you can read about each one shown in the drop down menu. There may not have been as many marques or numbers produced as in nearby Coventry and Birmingham, nor were they produced for decades like Norton, Triumph and BSA. However some were ground breaking in their own way with Advance’s use of epicyclic gears, Princeps arguably manufacturing the first v-twin motorcycle and Whirlwind potentially being the first marque to feature a water-cooled engine. Cedos produced high quality lightweights which had significant competition as well as commercial success whilst Scorpion came up with monocoque trials and road racing machinery that wouldn’t be out of fashion today. Moreover four of the six marques still have examples in existence today which is a testimony, perhaps, to their lasting appeal and certainly the enthusiasm of local people for machines made in their town. Of course there may have been other machines built in Northampton but there seems to be no evidence of more – there is certainly little centralised information available in respect of the town’s motorcycle heritage. Journalist Alan Burman made mention of seven motorcycles manufactured in Northampton and perhaps Clyno is a candidate as these were built at nearby Thrapston so there may still be one out there yet to be identified.
When writing about these machines it is obvious that the author is writing on the shoulders of giants – those people who have gone before you and done all the research and writing so all you have to do is collate it. One of these giants is undoubtedly Alan Burman without whose work much of the information about not only the Cedos but also this, the, the final Northampton machine, would not have been available. Mr. Burman was a renaissance man – author, journalist, historian and photographer who was responsible for work not only relating to motorcycles but also histories of his home town, Northampton, as well as a book about Joseph Grose, a well-known local coach builder.
Others who have contributed to the production of the history of the six machines include: -
Vicky Frost and Justin Harvey-James at the VMCC Library for all their help and patience
Terry Spencer for all the information and access to his archive on Cedos as well as letting me photograph his two machines
Nick Holt and Ben Falconer for all the information and photographs they provided for the Scorpion
The late, great Jim Poole, Brian Sanders and Martin Smith of Northampton VMCC; the first set me off on the path, the second gave his assistance in photographing the Princeps and the third provided a highly informative talk on the Cedos
Trevor Pinfold, also of Northampton VMCC, whose help, archival material, assistance and encouragement was pivotal in making sure the Northampton Motorcycles came to fruition
Last, but by no means least, we would like to thank the late owner of the Princeps and Northampton section member who allowed us to photograph his unique machine and welcomed us to his home.