Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Classic Bike Guide

    Panther M120

    Jul 23, 2018 8 minutes
    WORDS AND PICTURES BY OLIVER HULME,
    WITH THANKS TO EDDIE COLES

    THEY HAVE A reputation today for being solid and unchanging, even Edwardian; yet Panther motorcycles have featured some innovative firsts.

    In 1902, Yorkshire engineer Joah Phelon built his first motorcycle. This featured chain drive, easy to handle controls and an open frame using the motor sloped steeply forward to replace the down tube as a stressed member. This first machine was produced by the Humber Company, and in 1904 Phelon teamed up with another Yorkshireman, Richard Moore, to form Phelon & Moore Motorcycles, or P&M, in Cleckheaton.

    The innovations continued on the P&M machines with two speed transmissions, magneto ignition, pillion seating, a kick starter, and the distinctive 40° sloping motor that became the Panther trademark. Phelon & Moore produced the first motorcycle with a countershaft gearbox, the first with an automatic internal oil pump and the first motorcycle engine with enclosed valve gear. They also made the first motorcycle to cross the Sahara Desert, and the Panther combination did it as part of a legendary journey from London to Cape Town undertaken by Florence Blenkiron and Theresa Wallach in 1934.

    Renaming their motorcycles as Panther in 1922, they built a large range of machines, including two-stroke twins and singles and 250cc and 350cc ohv models. But they were best known for their large-capacity

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from Classic Bike Guide

    Classic Bike Guide4 min read
    Clutching at Spares
    MY 1947 350 ENFIELD MODEL G had its rebuilt engine fitted back into the frame over the Christmas period, along with the gearbox and inner primary case. When the bike was stripped, what seems like an age ago, to get the engine out I just boxed and bag
    Classic Bike Guide12 min read
    Laverda 500 Montjuic racer
    THIS YEAR MARKS THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF one of this writer’s most satisfying International race victories. It was the Lightweight Battle of the Twins race, run on the steep bankings of the Daytona Speedway, in Cycle Week 1984, and was achieved on a q
    Classic Bike Guide4 min read
    The Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show
    I’VE BEEN GOING TO THE BRISTOL SHOW for well over a decade and this year was lucky enough to get into the Bath and West Showground on the Friday afternoon, just as the exhibitors and tradespeople were setting up, writes Sean. I’m always a little anxi

    Related