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LOT 255

1915 Calthorpe-JAP 269cc Registration no. AH 4968 Frame no. 2031A Engine no. 8068

Sold for £5,980 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 255

1915 Calthorpe-JAP 269cc
Registration no. AH 4968 Frame no. 2031A Engine no. 8068

1915 Calthorpe-JAP 269cc
Registration no. AH 4968
Frame no. 2031A
Engine no. 8068

Manufactured by the Minstrel & Rea Cycle Company, of Birmingham, the first Calthorpe motorcycle appeared in 1909 powered by a 3½hp White & Poppe engine. The following year there were no fewer than six Calthorpe models displayed at the Motor Cycle Show at Olympia, some of which featured an 'free' engine clutch and two-speed gear. Precision-engined models, including a 5/6hp v-twin, joined the line-up a few years later together with an overhead-valve Tourist Trophy model. By 1914 the range had shrunk to just two lightweights: a 269cc JAP and 243cc Peco-powered two-stroke.

This rare Calthorpe-JAP has successfully participated in the Banbury Run and several runs in Hampshire. Like many machines of its era, the Calthorpe must be push-started after each stop; it does, however, afford the convenience of a Royal Enfield two-speed gear in the bottom bracket. The machine comes with an old-style continuation logbook (1956), old/current V5C documents, and a (photocopy) old V5 recording no changes of keeper since April 1984. It should be noted that the date of first registration is recorded as 1st January 1921, this being shortly after the introduction of the Roads Act of 1920, which required local councils to register all vehicles at the time of licensing and to allocate a separate number to each (many vehicles, although in existence for several years in some cases, were only registered for the first time after the Act's passing).

Footnotes

As with all Lots in the Sale, this Lot is sold 'as is/where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding.

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  • 19 October 2019, 09:00 - 17:00 BST
  • 20 October 2019, 09:00 - 17:00 BST

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