1950 Vincent 499cc Comet

The Vincent-HRD marque originated in 1928 when Philip C Vincent acquired the name, jigs, tools and patterns of the recently liquidated HRD Company. ('HRD' stood for Howard Raymond Davies, the Isle of Man TT winner who had founded the firm in 1924). Vincent moved production from Wolverhampton to Stevenage and set about putting his motorcycle design ideas into practice, commencing with an innovative sprung frame that would remain a feature of Vincent motorcycles until production ceased in 1955.

Unlike in pre-war days, when the first (Series-A) Vincent-HRD v-twin had been created by - in effect - combining two of the existing singles, post-WW2 Vincent's approach was reversed, with the Series-B twin appearing first, in 1946, and the single-cylinder version in 1948. The latter was offered in two forms initially: the Series-B Meteor tourer and Series-C Comet sports roadster. Apart from its Burman gearbox and 'missing' cylinder, the Comet followed Series-C twin lines, featuring the newly introduced Girdraulic front fork and hydraulic dampers at front and rear, while the Meteor retained the old Brampton girders. The Meteor was soon dropped but the Comet continued in production until 1954, offering the same degree of refinement as its bigger brother, albeit with reduced performance. Even so, the Comet combined a 90mph potential with excellent fuel economy, and was the ideal touring mount for the discerning rider who placed civility of manners and quality of construction above outright performance. An expensive machine to produce, the Comet did not sell as well as its maker had hoped and was dropped when the Series-D range was introduced.

Originally dispatched in 1950 to Redhill Motors in Maidstone, Kent, this Comet has been owned by the current vendor for the last 20 years, purchased from a local auction. Despite leaving the factory in March 1950 as a standard Comet fitted with alloy mudguards, it is now fitted with touring mudguards, and additionally offered with a set of detached touring handlebars to complete the set. Having been dry stored and unused since purchase, the machine will require careful recommissioning to a greater or lesser extent before returning to the road. The Vincent Owners Club kindly advise some of the upper frame number stamp fonts are not consistent with Vincent factory stampings. Furthermore the headstock is a type 4 headstock which is incorrect for this particular frame number. Accordingly, prospective bidders must satisfy themselves as to the condition, composition, suitability, completeness, correctness and integrity of the component parts prior to bidding together with the validity of the Vehicle Registration Number due to the anomalies with the upper frame number. Offered with a V5C, copy V5 and expired MoT.
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