1938 Brough Superior – Golden Dream

Posted on by
The Brough Superior Golden Dream was designed and built by George Brough in Nottingham, England, in 1938. With its distinctive gold finish, this was to be the ultimate Brough Superior but production was stopped by the outbreak of War in 1939

1938 Brough Superior – Golden Dream

 Development


Designed as a team effort by Brough, ‘Ike’ Hatch, and Freddie Dixon, the engine has two horizontally opposed flat twins one above the other and geared together, thus rotating counter to each other forming an H engine. Connecting rods from opposed cylinders were of the fork and blade type and thus shared a common crank pin. All pistons moved in unison, that is to the left or to the right at the same time. The pistons could thus be counterweighted 100% yielding a perfect balance. Primary, secondary and higher-order sources of vibration canceled each other, as did the gyroscopic effects from each camshaft.
George Brough described it a “flat vertical” engine. The four cylinders were 68 × 68 mm (2.7 × 2.7 in) equating to 988 cc, with the camshafts gear-driven. Further development work was done on the engine, reconfiguring it as 71 × 63 mm (2.8 × 2.5 in) (998cc), with chain-driven camshafts

1938 Brough Superior – Golden Dream

1938 Brough Superior – Golden Dream

 The frame was designed to accommodate the unusual engine and was welded together with a fully sprung plunger type springing for the rear wheel, unlike the cantilever swingarm suspension on the Brough Superior SS100. The forks were Brough Superior’s “Castle” forks derived from a Harley-Davidson design, and many components such as the petrol tank, saddle and wheels were the same as standard Brough Superior machines.
The Dream had optional three or four speed transmission, manufactured to Brough’s own design by David Brown Ltd. of Huddersfield. The final shaft drive had an underslung worm and pinion gear on the rear axle and the propeller shaft was enclosed in a tube.

1938 Brough Superior – Golden Dream

1938 Brough Superior – Golden Dream

Exhibition and pre-production


The Golden Dream was exhibited at the Earls Court motorcycle show in London in 1938. Five Golden Dreams were produced during 1939 and another model was planned for exhibition at Olympia; but World War II was declared in September 1939 and the Brough works were turned over to the war effort, making components for Rolls-Royce. Brough Superior never returned to motorcycle production


Surviving Golden Dreams


At least one Dream is running and is owned by the chairman of the Brough Superior Club, Nottingham, England. Two others are under restoration.
A Brough Superior Dream was on display at the British National Motorcycle Museum. Like many exhibits it was destroyed in a fire in 2003 but has since been largely restored, although it has never run, as there are no internals in the engine or gearbox.

George Brough 



Via wikipedia.org 

Related articles
Grease n Gasoline

The Spagthorpe Motorcycle Co

Posted on by
Is a little known manufacturer whose motorcycles dominated the South Coventry area in late August 1927. The founder of the Spagthorpe Motor works was Harry Shuttleworth.

Harry was born in a small village in south Swaziland, after national service in the Bengal Rifles he moved to Nottingham, where under an assumed name he worked as a tea boy for George Brough. His passion for motorcycles was developed by his long term companion Jeff, who once rode the Hajji railway that T.E. Lawrence blew up in the film. The 17 known Spagforth Lightning motorcycles were all built by Harry and a small band of his boys. Harry and the boys stole a component a day from the Brough factory until they had enough to build a bike. It is believed that the song “One piece at a time” by Johnny Cash was inspired by Harry’s activities.
The known Spagthorpes all bear an uncanny resemblance to Brough Superior motorcycles, except for the ones that look like Ducati .

One sure way of telling if you have a genuine Spagthorpe is to have the metal of the timing chain cover tested. Harry had a close relationship with a ruthless dentist who supplied used fillings; these were used to make the timing cover castings.
Spagforth is a common misspelling of Spagthorpe’.


Adapted from a web-log:

‘Not many people are aware that the famous British marque was revived in 1981 when Julian, Lord Spagthorpe, inherited his title at the age of 24. A keen motorcyclist himself, he saw an opportunity to inject some character into what was becoming a rather bland industry, and started a manufacturing operation in Peter Tavy, Devonshire. His bikes have certainly been distinctive, from the first model of theGreyhound sportbike up until the present day.


Aimed at the American market, the Spagthorpe Wolfhoundfailed miserably, owing to the lack of dealerships, although it is understood that it was fairly succesful in Zimbabwe.

The concept was to build a long-distance cruiser, and the emphasis would be on low-end grunt and endurance rather than top speed. The obvious engine configuration was a V-twin, so it was decided to take he 347cc single from theBeagle, and join four of them on two meshed crakshafts to produce what would be known as the 1400 W-4, although the actual configuration was more like _|o|_, with the engine mounted longitudinally in the frame. The desmodromic valves only required adjustment every 3000 miles, but for all but the front cylinder even checking clearances involved removing the engine from the frame, along with the primary shaft which ran alongside the rear cylinder and drove the separate transmission. This complexity may have been what discouraged potential American dealers, but for the owners who persevered it was outweighed by the benefits of the machine. It had shaft drive, liquid cooling, disc brakes operated solely by the foot pedal with an ingenious “hydraulic computer” to handle balance, four-speed automatic overdrive transmission, and many luxuries not seen on bikes even today.’
Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Grease n Gasoline

Brough Superior SS 100 1925-Rolls Royce of Motorcycle

Posted on by
Brough Superior motorcycles, sidecars, and motor cars were made by George Brough in his Brough Superior works on Haydn Road in Nottingham, England, from 1919 to 1940. They were dubbed the “Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles” by H. D. Teague of The Motor Cycle newspaper. Approximately 3,048 of 19 models were made in 21 years of production. In 2004, around 1,000 still exist. T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) owned seven bikes and died from injuries sustained while crashing one. George Bernard Shaw was another among many celebrities who were enthusiastic about Brough products.

George Brough was a racer, designer, and showman. All Brough Superior motorcycles were high performance and superior quality. Most were custom-built to the customer’s needs, and rarely were any two of the same configuration. Each motorcycle was assembled twice. The first assembly was for fitting of all components, then the motorcycle was disassembled and all parts were painted or plated as needed, then the finished parts were assembled a second time. Every motorcycle was test ridden to ensure that it performed to specification, and was personally certified by George Brough. The SS100 model was ridden at 100 mph (160 km/h) or more prior to delivery. The SS80 model was ridden at 80 mph (130 km/h) or more before delivery. If any motorcycle did not meet specification, it returned to the shop for rework until it performed properly. The fit and finish was comparable to a Rolls-Royce car, and they were among the most expensive motorcycles.
Brough Superior motorcycles have always been rare and expensive. Prices for these motorcycles ranged from £130 to £180 in the 1920s and 1930s. Since the average weekly salary during 1920s and 1930s was £3 per week, only the wealthy were able to afford them.

Lawrence of Arabia on a Brough Superior he called George V. Lawrence owned eight Broughs in all, listed below, with notes in brackets: * 1922: Boa (the name was short for Boanerges) * 1923:George I (the cost of £150 was more than the price of a house at the time) * 1924:George II * 1925: George III * 1926: George IV * 1927: George V (RK 4907; see photo) * 1929: George VI (UL 656) * 1932: George VII (GW 2275) (the bike which he died riding) * Undelivered: George VIII (still being built when Lawrence was killed).
Early models include the Brough Superior Mark I Sidevalve, Mark I Overhead, Mark II Standard and Mark II Sports. Early to mid manufacture included the Overhead 500, 680 S.V. 5.15, and 750 Side Valve, but these were not popular and were dropped from production. 
Brough Superior motorcycles
The following four models represent the bulk of manufacture. Most were custom built to order and many variations were made:
The SS100 (Super Sports), powered by J.A.P. (J. A. Prestwich of Tottenham) or Matchless 1000 cc overhead valve V-twin engines. Approximately 383 were manufactured from 1924 to 1940. 
The SS80 (Super Sports), powered by J.A.P. or Matchless 1,000 cc sidevalve V-twin engines. Approximately 1,086 were manufactured from 1922 to 1940. 
The SS680 O.H.V. (Super Sports), powered by J.A.P. 680 cc overhead valve V-twin. Approximately 547 were manufactured from 1926 to 1936. 
The 11.50, powered by J.A.P 1096 cc sidevalve 60° V-twin engines. These were primarily designed for sidecar and police use. Approximately 308 were manufactured from 1933 to 1940. The model name refers to the horsepower rating of the engine, 11 RAC (Royal Automobile Club), 50 bhp (37 kW). In reality these engines produced 32 bhp (24 kW). Tax horsepower ratings were required by manufactures for tax purposes. RAC HP equals the piston diameter squared times the number of cylinders divided by 2.5. Brough Superior produced many other experimental, show, and racing models. These include:
Golden Dream. This was powered by a vertically stacked twin crankshaft opposed four cylinder engine. George Brough called this a “flat vertical” engine. The bike was finished differently and was unique for the marque as it was painted gold and was shaft driven. 
Straight Four Combination. This bike was powered by a modified Austin 7 automobile engine. The transmission also came from an Austin 7. The Straight Four Combination was an inline four-cylinder motorcycle with shaft drive. It had two rear wheels that were mounted on each side of a cast drive unit. This motorcycle was made for sidecar use. 
Pendine. These were built in the early 1930s and had a guaranteed top speed of 110 mph (180 km/h). They were based on the SS100 model but with higher performance modifications to the engine. A well known racer, Barry Baragwanath, installed a supercharger on one, and it is now known as “Barry’s Big Blown Brough”. Noel Pope bought the motorcycle and in 1939 set two lap record with it at Brooklands; 106 mph (171 km/h) with sidecar, and 124 mph (200 km/h) in solo configuration, which exceeded the previous record set in 1935 by Eric Fernihough also on a Brough Superior. 
George Brough was known for his dedication to his vehicles and customers. He, and later Albert Wallis, continued to service Brough Superiors after production ceased, making parts until 1969. Production of bikes never resumed after WWII.
To this list may be added thirteen motorcycles without a date on their build card. Many records are incomplete for the first few years of production and for some of the low production models. The estimated total production was 3,048 vehicles.
Racing history (partial)Riders of Brough Superiors have won many races—TT, sprints (drag racing), hillclimbs, and top speed. Victories include:
1922, George Brough, First Sidevalve Motorcycle to lap Brooklands at 100 mph (160 km/h). 
1927, 11 June: R. E. Thomas, 2½ Miles Sprint for Unlimited Capacity Solo Machines, Cefn Sidan Speed Trials. 1st place.1 
1927, 11 June: R. E. Thomas, 10 Miles for Unlimited Solo machines, Cefn Sidan Speed Trials. 1st place.1 
1927, 11 September: R. E. Thomas, 2½ Miles Sprint for Unlimited Capacity Solo Machines, Cefn Sidan Speed Trials. 1st place.1 
1927, 11 September: R. E. Thomas, 10 Miles Unlimited Race for Solo Machines, Cefn Sidan Speed Trials. 1st place.1 
1927, 11 September: R. E. Thomas, 25 Miles Race for Unlimited Solo Machines, Cefn Sidan Speed Trials. 1st place.1 
1927, 11 September: R. E. Thomas, 50 Miles Race for Unlimited Solo Machines, Cefn Sidan Speed Trials. 1st place.1 
1928: George Brough, one mile (1.6 km) sprint, Pendine. 1st place.1 
1928: R. E. Thomas, one mile (1.6 km) sprint, Pendine. 2nd place.1 
1931: J.H. Carr, 50 Miles Any Power Solo, Pendine. 1st place.1 
1931: J.H. Carr, 100 Miles Any Power Solo, Pendine. 1st place.1 
1935: Eric Fernihough, Brooklands motor-cycle lap record for all classes, 123.58 mph (198.88 km/h).2 
1936: Eric Fernihough, Solo world record for the mile. 163.82 mph (263.64 km/h).2 
1937: Eric Fernihough, Solo world record for the flying kilometre. 169.8 mph (273.3 km/h).2 
1937: Eric Fernihough, Side car world record for the flying kilometre. 137 mph (220 km/h).2 



source: Autopia and The Vintagent. ]















Brough Superior





Related articles

Grease n Gasoline