The Vincent
Vincent Motorcycles were made in Britain from 1928 to 1955. The company came into being when Philip Vincent bought HRD Motors Ltd.
and set up a factory in Stevenage to build his bikes. Phil Irving joined the company in 1931 as Chief Engineer. The Isle of Mann
TT races were the proving grounds of the day for any company hoping to make a name in the industry. Until 1934, Vincent Motorcycles w
ere supplied with engines that were made by other suppliers, mostly Rudge and J.A. Prestwich. That year, all three of their entries
at the Isle of Mann failed to finish.
This was the deciding factor that started the company building their own engines, the first being a 500 cc overhead-valve configuration. There is a legend that credits Irving with having placed an engine tracing upside down on top of a similar copy that was right side up. The thin tracing paper supposedly gave him his first view of a V-twin engine that would earn them the company slogan "the makers of the world's fastest motorcycles."
For the next 20 years, Vincent would produce hand-built machines that were years ahead of their competitors in terms of design and engineering. The Comet, The Rapide, The Black Shadow and the Black Lightning would become the stuff of legend. In 1936, the Vincent Series-A Rapide was selling for $600.00 and had a top speed of 110 mph. In 1948, the Black Shadow had a top speed of 125 mph. The bikes had no frame as such, with the front forks, gas tank, and rear cantilever suspension bolted directly to the engine. The bike could be disassembled very quickly with a few simple tools.
As the early 1950s progressed, other manufacturers were selling cheaper machines. Sales for the hand-built highly engineered Vincents diminished until at last, near Christmas in 1955 the last Vincent rolled off the production line. This was a rare example of a company going bankrupt for making a product that was too good. The partners would not sacrifice quality for the sake of cheaper mass production and this proved to be their undoing. The company only made about 11,000 machines in total and the majority of these were the 500 cc single cylinder models. The Black Shadow and Black Lightning are reaching prices of $100,000 or more on the collector market today.
I was very fortunate to find a Black Shadow for sale in Vancouver in 1984. It was a beautiful machine and had been restored in Ottawa by a senior member of the Vincent Owners Club. I remember riding that bike in a wedding procession in Calgary when two of our biking friends tied the knot. I have owned and ridden many motorcycles over the years, too many to keep them all, but this is the one bike that I should n ever have sold.
The Black Lightning was immortalized in song by the English singer-songwriter Richard Thompson and the song was redone in recent years by an American country-rock band called Reckless Kelly.
"Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme."
This was the deciding factor that started the company building their own engines, the first being a 500 cc overhead-valve configuration. There is a legend that credits Irving with having placed an engine tracing upside down on top of a similar copy that was right side up. The thin tracing paper supposedly gave him his first view of a V-twin engine that would earn them the company slogan "the makers of the world's fastest motorcycles."
For the next 20 years, Vincent would produce hand-built machines that were years ahead of their competitors in terms of design and engineering. The Comet, The Rapide, The Black Shadow and the Black Lightning would become the stuff of legend. In 1936, the Vincent Series-A Rapide was selling for $600.00 and had a top speed of 110 mph. In 1948, the Black Shadow had a top speed of 125 mph. The bikes had no frame as such, with the front forks, gas tank, and rear cantilever suspension bolted directly to the engine. The bike could be disassembled very quickly with a few simple tools.
As the early 1950s progressed, other manufacturers were selling cheaper machines. Sales for the hand-built highly engineered Vincents diminished until at last, near Christmas in 1955 the last Vincent rolled off the production line. This was a rare example of a company going bankrupt for making a product that was too good. The partners would not sacrifice quality for the sake of cheaper mass production and this proved to be their undoing. The company only made about 11,000 machines in total and the majority of these were the 500 cc single cylinder models. The Black Shadow and Black Lightning are reaching prices of $100,000 or more on the collector market today.
I was very fortunate to find a Black Shadow for sale in Vancouver in 1984. It was a beautiful machine and had been restored in Ottawa by a senior member of the Vincent Owners Club. I remember riding that bike in a wedding procession in Calgary when two of our biking friends tied the knot. I have owned and ridden many motorcycles over the years, too many to keep them all, but this is the one bike that I should n ever have sold.
The Black Lightning was immortalized in song by the English singer-songwriter Richard Thompson and the song was redone in recent years by an American country-rock band called Reckless Kelly.
"Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme."
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| Jim Dorie On The Vincent |
