1935 Brough Superior 982cc SS80

Registration no. UFF 129 Frame no. M8/1535 Engine no. BS/X4 4208

• Matching numbers (frame, engine, gearbox, tank)
• Restored by Dave Clark in the late 1990s
• Present enthusiast ownership since November 2000
• Excellent condition

While equalling a Rolls-Royce for quality of construction and finish, in spirit the Brough Superior was more akin to the sporting Bentley. Not an unwieldy beast intended primarily for sidecar duties like the majority of its v-twin-engined contemporaries, the Brough Superior was, in its maker's own words, "a type of machine designed from the experienced solo rider's point of view." To prove the point, Brough lost no time in demonstrating his machine's capabilities in the most attention-grabbing way possible: by racing at Brooklands. Introduced in 1922, the JAP-powered SS80 (so-called because of its guaranteed 80mph top speed in road trim) achieved instant fame when a stripped-for-racing version (nicknamed 'Spit and Polish') ridden by George became the first sidevalve-engined (flat head) machine to lap the Surrey track at over 100mph. Even more surprising was the fact that this landmark figure had been achieved on its maker's Brooklands debut.

Brough entered the 1930s with an entirely JAP-powered range, and then, after a brief absence, the SS80 re-appeared in 1935 as the SS80 Special, this time with an engine built by Associated Motor Cycles. Similar to that of the Matchless Model X, the 982cc sidevalve v-twin incorporated Brough's preferred 'knife-and-fork' big-end bearing arrangement instead of the side-by-side connecting rods of the Matchless. The SS80 continued to use the AMC engine until production ceased in 1939.

This example is one of 460 Matchless-engined SS80's built, of which some 300-or-so survive. A long-time member of the VMCC and retired university professor, the owner first saw this SS80 when it was advertised in Old Bike Mart. The machine had previously undergone a 'last nut and bolt' restoration in the late 1990s by Brough Club technical historian Dave Clark, following an earlier refurbishment of the cycle parts by John Fisher. A copy of the machine's Works Record Card was obtained from the club, confirming that it is an all-matching example (frame, engine, gearbox, tank) albeit one that has been reregistered (previously 'ANG 197').

Having been rebuilt by the best in the business, the Brough needed no work, though its owner decided to fit a Lycett pillion saddle and a plastic flyscreen. In this form the Brough featured in a five-page article in The Classic MotorCycle (September 2006 edition, copy available). Kept in a vacuum bag and last run in 2019, the Brough is described by the private vendor as in excellent condition. The machine is offered with a history file containing correspondence; photographs; expired MoTs; bills; an old-style logbook (issued 1963); and old/current V5/V5C documents. It should be noted that teh frame and engine numbers are transposed to the V5C.