Stevenage is a town just north of London in the heart of Hertfordshire, but it's also the former home of the legendary motorcycle manufacturer - Vincent Motorcycles. For over 30 years now it's been home to Bike Stop, but unfortunately all that's left of Vincent Motorcycles in Stevenage is a plaque denoting where the factory once was, just down the road from where Bike Stop is.
Back in 1928, Philip Vincent purchased the HRD Motorcycle Company (for all of £450!) and then set out to develop his own motorcycle engine. By 1930 he'd created and perfected the Vincent V-Twin, what would eventually become the well-known 'Black Shadow' - the fastest production motorcycle at the time. This same bike held the 125mph speed record for 24 years. Unique developments by Vincent meant it had some remarkable similarity to modern motorcycle design. The v-twin itself was a new concept in itself for the time, but the cantilever rear suspension (what has now become a monoshock setup) and the using of the engine as a stressed member of the chassis (also a common design in modern bikes to save weight) gave the bikes made by Vincent a competitive edge.
Vincent Motorcycles only produced less than 11,000 motorcycles from post-war 1946 to 1955, and some of its models are now especially rare and sought after - in comparison Triumph was churning out 30,000 Bonnevilles per month at the time.
The famed title of 'World's Fastest Production Bike' was well earned. As said, Vincent's Black Shadow could achieve 125mph with its 994cc v-twin putting out 54 horsepower, but records were made to be broken and the affectionately termed 'Bathing Suit Bike' was soon to become famous. Rolland Free was attempting to break the 150mph barrier on the Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah, USA in 1948 on board a Black Shadow of his own, and had a brainwave. He declared the reason he wasn't getting up to speed was wind resistance, and promptly stripped down in a bathing suit and proceeded to ride the bike with his hands on the handlebars but his body completely horizontal behind them! His theory was right, and he set a 150.313mph average speed over two runs, breaking all records in the process.
After this kind of status, you would expect Vincent's accounts would be sitting happily in the black, however this was sadly not the case. Slow sales were plaguing the innovative firm and attempt to diversify their motorcycle range proved to not be enough. They even made a 119mph trike-van in attempt to sell to delivery companies, however it had no electric start or reverse gear - surprise surprise it flopped. Another notable attempt was the introduction of the Black Prince - a fully faired motorcycle which was very novel for its time...but it was decades too early to succeed.
Vincent Motorcycles ceased production of bikes in 1955, then attempted to diversify into other engineering work, but by 1959 the company went into receivership.
The legendary motorcycles still exist though, and their mystique led to a resurrection attempt by Fritz Egli of Switzerland from 1967 to 1972. He made 100 new frames for the Black Shadow v-twin, and they handled superbly and looked gorgeous, but still retained the British twin look. These frames continue to be produced, authorised or otherwise, today.
The famous US TV entertainer Jay Leno, amongst his vast collection of cars and motorbikes, is a proud owner of one of these Egli-Vincent bikes, and he's done a video on it - suffice to say it's a gorgeous machine, and the fact it's ridden and not just kept as a thing just to look at is superb I think. Other owners have reported how reliable the bikes actually are too, maybe popping down to the shops on a classic bike isn't impossible?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukqBZe1OrGQ
Nowadays, depending on the version, a Black Shadow could set you back £100,000, with other limited run models such as the Chinese Red Black Shadow selling for just over £320,000 two years ago. Suffice to say, the majority of us will never have the pleasure of owning one of these motorcycles now thanks to their massive appreciation in value, but their history, their style and the engineering achievement is something bikers can admire and enjoy for years to come - and if you happen to be a rich biker, you may just want to buy one, or why not come and reminisce over a fine Lavazza coffee, cake or panini in the new Bike Stop Café where we plan to also start celebrating the rich heritage of Vincent soon.
