Grindlay Peerless

1926 Grindlay Peerless

Grindlay Peerless is a historic motorcycle manufacturer that operated out of Coventry, England, throughout the early 20th-century, specialising in racing machines including the record breaking 498cc Grindlay Peerless.[1]

Although a relatively short-lived marque, Grindlay Peerless secured a number of high profile achievements most notably that of works rider and tuner, Bill Lacey, achieving a Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) world record by becoming the first man to exceed a 100 miles in an hour on British soil in August 1928 aboard his Grindlay Peerless.[2] The company quickly became renowned for building powerful, high quality and technologically advanced machines.[3][4]

The very limited number of Grindlay Peerless machines produced means that they are now extremely rare.[5]

History

In 1910, following his departure from Riley Cycle Company, Alfred Robert Grindlay and his brother, William John Grindlay (a member of the highly exclusive Coventry and Country Club) took over Coventry Motor & Sundries Co from William Edward Mann. The company was remodelled into Grindlay Sidecars, which originally began manufacturing body kits and sidecars in the early 1910s, and quickly became known for its "extremely high quality" machines.[6][7][8][9]

During WWI, Grindlay and Thomas Edward Musson combined their efforts to form the specialist sidecar manufacturer, Musson & Grindlay, operating out of Melbourne Works on Shakleton Road in Spon End, Coventry. In 1923, following the dissolution of his partnership with Musson, Grindlay and Edward Peerless formed Grindlay Peerless.[2][6] The newly formed Grindlay Peerless operating out of Melbourne Works on Shakleton Road in Spon End, Coventry, entered into the wider motorcycle market and began making high-powered machines using JAP (succeeded by Villiers), Barr & Stroud, and later Rudge-Whitworth engines.[1][10] Like the sidecars before them, the motorcycles not only had an exceptional standard of finish, including pressed monograms, elegantly shaped fuel tanks brightly plated with nickel and cadmium and luxury leather covered saddles, but were also recognised for their innovative design features. [7]

While active Grindlay Peerless produced a large number of highly regarded motorcycles, including the record beating 498cc model, but by the mid 1930s the Great Depression caused production to reduce significantly and the company dissolved in 1939.[11]

Timeline

The 'Hundred' Model

Grindlay Peerless 'Hundred' Model. Brooklands Museum, Coventry

Following Bill Lacey's record beating ride in 1929, Grindlay Peerless created a small number of replica motorcycles for sale to the public. The 500cc 'Hundred' model had JAP speedway engines and Webb forks as opposed to Lacey's personally tuned, twin-port engine and Brompton forks, however each motorcycle was individually tuned by Lacey's own mechanic, Wal Philips (1908 - 1998)[12], and sold with a certificate guaranteeing Lacey had personally lapped the machine at Brooklands at 100mph. Of the 6 replicas produced only 2 are known to survived.[3][13]

Technological Advances

Grindlay Peerless adopted the use of sleeve-valve motors, a type of four-stroke engine more frequently used to power early aircraft, rather than the traditional side-valve engine, meaning that pushrods, value springs, rockers and cams were no longer required. The value operated system allowed for the spark plug to be repositioned for maximum efficiency, and required far less maintenance than a side-valve engine.[10]

See also

References

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