| Industry | Motorcylces |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired, ultimately, by IMI plc |
| Founded | 1904 |
| Defunct | 1967 |
| Headquarters | Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, UK |
| Products | Panther marque |
Phelon & Moore manufactured motorcycles in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, England from 1904 to 1967 particularly those under the Panther marque.[1] They became identified with one particular design of motorcycle which had a large sloping 40-degree single-cylinder engine as a stressed front frame member. This design spanned the entire history of the company, starting with a 500 cc model and ending with a 645 cc model.[2]
The sloping stressed member concept was patented in 1900 by Joah ("John") Carver Phelon and his nephew Harry Rayner.[3] Phelon & Rayner made the first chain-driven motorcycle in 1900. They could not afford to put their first bike into production, so sold the design to Humber for royalties, and that design was produced by Humber till 1907. After Harry Rayner died in a car accident, Joah Phelon went into partnership with Richard Moore.[4]
Phelon & Moore was established in 1904. A clutch and two speed gear with chain drive was standard on a P&M in 1906. P&M motorcycles competed in the first International Six Days Trial (ISDT) in 1913. ( Now called the International Six Days Enduro).[5] The Royal Flying Corps used P&M motorcycles during the First World War, keeping P&M busy throughout the conflict.[6] The P&M Panther was introduced in 1924. P&M’s big four-stroke sidecar bikes were called the Heavyweights, and smaller solo machines were called Lightweights. There were two and four-stroke Lightweights.
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The first Panther was launched in 1924, but the Phelon & Moore name was not dropped until somewhere around 1929.
In 1932 the Panther Model 100, an OHV 600 cc single, was launched and this was produced through to the sixties, ending its run as the 645 cc Panther Model 120 of 1967. This line of Panthers was the most famous of all Phelon & Moore models.[7]
These heavyweight big single-cylinder "slopers" were often described as "firing once every lamp-post" due to their slow rpm. Promoted as "The Perfected Motorcycle" they were noted for innovation for most of their history. Panthers were often used for hauling sidecars, a role in which the high torque output of a high capacity single-cylinder engine with its large flywheels was well suited, but the popularity of sidecar outfits eventually waned.
The combination of the advent of cheap cars and the collapse of the British motorcycle industry brought production to an end. They are simple and fairly robust machines which inspire enormous enthusiasm in their owners. These factors, combined with relatively low cost, have resulted in a fair number of Panthers being still in use.
Phelon & Moore also produced a range of lightweight machines, also generally carrying the name Panther or Red Panther, using their own four-stroke single engines and Villiers two-stroke engines. The Red Panther was famous for being the cheapest complete bike available in the thirties, priced at a fraction under £30.[8] In 1934 a 250 cc Red Panther won the Maudes Trophy.
The early postwar models (both Lightweight and Heavyweight) were fitted with air/oil damped Dowty "Oleomatic" telescopic forks
During the scooter boom of the late 1950s, P & M imported a scooter (Scooterrot) and moped from French manufacturer Terrot, which were plagued with troubles. This gave P & M the chance to develop their own scooter, the Panther Princess, but this was not a success and helped bring about the demise of P & M as motorcycle manufacturers; the receiver was called in in 1962 and production staggered on until 1966.
Phelon & Rayner
Humber
Phelon & Moore
Phelon & Moore Race Bikes
Panther
(Villiers motors)
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