1911 Douglas 2¾hp Model D

• 2025 VMCC Banbury Run, Feridax Trophy Winner
• Rare early survivor of the Douglas marque
• Engine dates from 1910
• Extensively restored
• Sunbeam MCC Pioneer Certificate

The Bristol-based Douglas Foundry took up motorcycle production in 1907 with a machine powered by a horizontally-opposed twin-cylinder engine, and the company would keep faith with this layout until it ceased motorcycle production in 1957. Fore-and-aft installation made for a slim machine with a low centre of gravity, and the design's virtues were soon demonstrated in competition, 2¾hp Douglas machines taking 1st, 2nd and 4th places in the 1912 Junior TT in the Isle of Man. Douglas were quick to realise the advantages of the countershaft gearbox, its three-speed entries gaining the Team Prize in the 1914 Six Days Trial, a conspicuous success that resulted in the firm obtaining a wartime contract for the supply of military machines.

Like many of their contemporaries, Douglas's early motorcycles were very bicycle-looking in appearance, though by 1910 a more purposeful looking product was on offer: the Model C. A two-speed gearbox first became available during 1911 as an option on the Model D, and one of these is fitted to the machine we offer.

This rare early survivor of the Douglas marque was purchased by the vendor as an unfinished restoration, described then as a '1910 Douglas Model C'. It came from a deceased's estate, with no other history. The engine number '504' dates from very early in 1910. The 1910 engine numbers ran from '442' to '1464'. The printed Douglas Club Machine Register of 2014 records only eight survivors with lower numbers. However, their specific design features clearly date the frame, gearbox and fuel tank as 1911. No number has been found on the frame, or on the gearbox. The major components are original and very rare.

The Douglas retains its original Somerset registration number 'Y 1737' and comes with a V5C document. Somerset County Records show that the machine was first registered to a Harry Edgell of Fanington Gurney, Midsomer Norton, Somerset. This is approximately 15 miles south of the Douglas factory in Bristol.

The Douglas is now running well on the early original Bosch DA1 magneto and the original Douglas carburettor. The former has been fully overhauled, as has the engine. The crank journals were cleaned and the big-end bearings re-white-metalled to match. New Honda 750 pistons of the correct size and much lighter than the originals, are fitted. They give both good compression and suction for the atmospheric inlet valves to work well. The machine is offered with the following:

• April 2023 - D. H. Day Invoice for the rebuild of the Bosch magneto (£1,026)
• May 2022 - David Silver Spares Co Invoice for the purchase of the two Honda pistons (£85.20)
• February 2022 - RacingVincent.co.uk invoice for specialist Douglas-type fasteners and fittings (£144.29)
• March 2022 - Thomas Hamlin & Co invoice for cleaning of the big-end journals and specialist white-metaling £477.60
• London Douglas Club dating extracts
• Handwritten Somerset Archives extracts
• Vendor's riding tips and two-speed gearbox tips
• BMS photocopy 1910 Douglas Sales Catalogue
• 1912-1914 BMS publication
• Invoices for the work undertaken and magneto rebuild together with copy handbooks/instructions and various spares accumulated during the restoration
• Old V5C and old photocopy V5s in the name of the previous owner (Mr Wray of Northants)
• Douglas technical extracts (OC magazines)
• Tank paintwork tracing
• 2021 - Douglas Registrar correspondence

It should be noted that the Douglas was not registered until 15th January1921; 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).

The Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club has recently approved an application for a Pioneer Certificate, dating the machine as 1911 and the engine as 1910. It is set to be issued with Certificate No. 2176. In June 2025 this exceptional Douglas also received the Feridax Trophy at the VMCC's Banbury Run, an award presented to the entrant whose machine is judged to be in the finest condition, with particular attention to originality and period-correct accessories.
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