Brough Superior SS100
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It was advertised as the "Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles" after a magazine road tester coined the term.[1] George Brough designed and built the Brough Superior SS100 in Nottingham, England, with production beginning in 1924.[1] A guarantee accompanied each bike that it could reach 100 mph.[1]
How it changed
Brough developed his own version of Harley-Davidson forks, made by the Castle Fork and Accessory Company, to combine light weight with strength.[2] Brough broke his own record in 1928 with 130.6 mph.[3] Cairns's research ultimately led to the use of crash helmets by both military and civilian motorcyclists.[4] Through competition, the SS100's engineering was refined, resulting in victories at more than 50 events during the early 1920s.[3]
At Brighton in 1932, Ronald Storey recorded 81.08 mph for the standing half-mile.[3] Noel Pope set a Brooklands track record lap time of 124.51 mph on an SS100 in 1939.[3]
What the maker and period sources say
A 1984 Haynes publication documents that Bert le Vack, who worked with Brough on development, was the holder of seven world records.[3][5] A 1993 book by Dorling Kindersley states the first engine from 1924 to 1936 was the twin-cam KTOR JAP V twin.[2][6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Brough Superior SS100" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Walker, "Motorcycle: Evolution, Design, Passion", The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006-08-23, p. 68–69; Kemp, "Classic British Bikes", Bookmart Ltd, 2001, p. 69; Brough Owners Club accessed 2008-05-05; Cathcart, "Brough Superior SS100", Motorcycle Classics March/April 2012 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Brough Superior SS100" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cathcart, "Brough Superior SS100", Motorcycle Classics March/April 2012; Wilson, "The Ultimate Motorcycle Book", Dorling Kindersley, 1993, p. 66–67; Simms, "Brough Superior SS100", Haynes publishing group, 1984 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Brough Superior SS100" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Simms, "Brough Superior SS100", Haynes publishing group, 1984 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Brough Superior SS100" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Maartens, "Lawrence of Arabia, Sir Hugh Cairns, and the origin of motorcycle helmets", Neurosurgery, 2002, p. 176-9; discussion 179-80 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 9780854293643 ("Brough Superior SS100"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 9780751300437 ("Ultimate Motorcycle Book"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Brough Superior SS100 (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Brough Superior SS100 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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