?1920s

[JimmyM]

Would any forum member recognise either of the machines in the attached photograph which we think dates from the 1920s? As far as we know one of the gentlemen is my late great-uncle (b.1899) who was a keen motorcyclist until his death in a road accident in the 1930s. The photograph was probably taken in Scotland, but that's all we know. Thank you!

[murdo]

The solo bike  has Minerva on the tank.
Can you not trace them through the English registration system?

[P.V. Motorcycles]

TS is a Dundee series, running from 1904 to the early 1930s.
As stated above, it's a Minerva.

According to the Kithead Trust, Dundee records are still accessible:

DUNDEE   
Archive & Record Centre, 21 City Sq., Dundee, DD1 3BY.    (01382 434494)
    Registers TS,  YJ,  ATS to STS.
Kithead Trust
    Card index to 1947 (but only a few non-voids prior to BYJ 500)

SV is a series from Kinross-shire. Presumably not a very populated part - SV ran from 1904 up to 1963 (and the advent of the 'ABC 123 A' format with a suffix letter). Don't know what the forecar is though.

Similarly, there might well be records to investigate:

KINROSS
Perth & Kinross Council Archive, AK Bell Library, York Place, PERTH, PH2 8EP (01738 477012)
    Registers 1904-1953 (SV 1 - SV 1952) (An abstract of these registers covering the 1904-1920 period may be found on the Friends of the Dundee City Archives website www.fdca.org.uk)

Nick

PS - before 1920s. Maybe 1905 or so?

[cardan]

Yes well before the 1920s. The bike on the left is a Minerva - a real one made in Belgium - but fitted with the Druid sprung fork that was available as an accessory from about 1907. The forecar on the right is, surprisingly, a four-cylinder FN. Not much to see, but I'd say a 1908 model at the earliest. In the period 1904-1908 complete forecars could be bought from a range of companies, for example Mills & Fulford and Chater Lea, for fitting to almost any motorcycle. The front wheel and front fork was removed, but everything else was unaltered. Before 1904 the passenger travelled in a trailer (!), and by 1908 forecars were well on the way out - replaced by sidecars.

Great photo - got any more?

Leon