Massey & Massey Arran motorcycles

[The Pheasant Plucker]

Can anyone shed any light on these two makes, the Massey Arran I have is a 1921 with a 350 Jap engine and the Massey is a 1927 with a 550 Blackburne engine.
I have scoured the internet and found all there is to offer in that direction.

[cardan]

Yes. What would you like to know?

Leon

[R]

You want more !!
(all credits to Oliver Twist)

http://cybermotorcycle.com/euro/wikig/Massey.html



Why not start the ball rolling - perhaps a short technical precis of your bikes, and some good pics ?
Some of the contributors to this forum have done just that with their own machines,
if you follow the links - like Leon above. (although not necessarily with Massey bikes)
If the book on these hasn't been written yet, then maybe its time it was, or a start anyway.

??
and who better than someone who owns one of each  ?

[33d6]

Pity the enquirer hasn't responded. Seems like Massey and Massey Arran were really small players. I found they had a stand at the 1920 Motor Cycle Show but not at the 1924 Show. The Motor Cycle Index lists Massey-Arran for 1921-24 inclusive and gives model details but they barely get a mention in the weeklies of the day. The loud and clear message is they were one of many motor cycle assemblers in the post  World War 1 period using all proprietary engines, gearboxes, forks, and so on but like everyone else couldn't make enough money at it to make it worthwhile. 
At least this makes for an easy restoration. A  350 JAP engine is a 350 JAP engine no matter what make of bike it is fitted in and the same goes for his Blackburne engine as well. Plus of course they used the usual Sturmey Archer or Burman gearboxes of the day which again makes life much easier.
All in all a Massey- Arran would make a nice change from the usual round of Notron, Triumph and BSA's with the added advantage you wouldn't have the usual teeth sucking anorak coming up to you telling you what's wrong with your bike. You know the sort, "Ooooohh, they didn't cadmium plate the jelly sprocket until engine number so and so, you know, and look, you've fitted the thrumble stick one notch too high!" .
Cheers,

[Rex]

I don't know whether I'm lucky or unlucky, but I've never met this mythical rivet-counter yet.
Nearest I've had is some old duffer asking when Harley stopped making that Indian model....

[mini-me]

I'm afraid I have, the best one was a  pillock who explained to me at great length that my bike was not 'original', and to back up his assertion showed me a picture in a marque history of my make of bike to show how wrong it was.

 Joke was it's my bike in that picture, with reg no blanked out.

needless to say the pillock was some 20+  student type who had  read all the issues of the modern bike mags and was therefore an "expert."

Another good one was the $%^ who took me to task when I criticised the Rudge  I had just restored, [horrible bike]  he knew all about Rudges, no he had never owned one but his mate had one.

[vintage_keith]

Massey Arran were at one time in residence in Alvechurch Road, West Heath, Birmingham.
I believe it was just after Triple H stopped production round about 1923/4. (of interest to me as I have a Triple H, but don't have a M-A).
One of the 'H's of Triple H, a Mr Hobbis stayed on to become Massey Arran's works manager.
Not sure when M-A folded, but evidently they had moved to Blackburn by then.
Info from the late Bob Currie VMCC Journal April 1970.

Have you looked through the early 1920s issues of the Motor Cycle online?
https://archive.org/search.php?query=the%20motor%20cycle

[iansoady]

That's a very handy resource - many thanks.

Although I'm surprised the Mortons evil empire hasn't jumped on it!

[The Pheasant Plucker]

Thanks for all the comments relating to my query, will post pictures in a few days time

[The Pheasant Plucker]

Picture of the Massey

[murdo]

Nice looking machine.

[The Pheasant Plucker]

And it goes as well as it looks and will be used for the first time this summer on a number of events up here in Scotland, none of my bikes are for "show only"

[chaterlea25]

Hi All,
The  Massey looks to be fitted with an engine almost identical to the 1920 version that I rebuilt a couple of years ago for a "Blackburne" motorcycle
I would need to go and read through the Blackburne parts books to see if they still used the same plain bearing
big end and mains  by 1927?
Or did Massey just buy old stock Blackburne engines?
I know of another Blackburne motorcycle where the owners Father took the bike as a trade in some time in the 20'swith a kaput engine!!,
The Father bought a complete new engine from Blackburne,
The lot sat and parts were lost over the years
A few years ago I helped the owner with some patterns and parts to get the bike together
Imagine the thrill of hearing a brand new 1920's engine fire up for the first time 

John

[cardan]

Hi John,

Can you order me a new 8hp Blackburne v-twin for my c1921 Victor Blackburne? That would solve a few problems!

My bike was built - assembled if you prefer - in Adelaide, using the Blackburne twin, Burman heavyweight gearbox, frame lugs from R. J. Walker & Son in the UK, Druid fork, and so on. In many ways it's typical of Australian-made motorcycles of the early 1920s, but so far as I'm aware it's the only survivor with a Blackburne motor. The name Victor Blackburne was on the rusty tank, but the makers - J. N. Taylor in Adelaide - used JAP engines for most of their machines of the period.

I'm not sure that the side valve Blackburnes changed too much through the 1920s. Most of the development went into the ohv engines?

Cheers

Leon

[murdo]

That certainly need 'assembling'.