British bikes will always have incredible charm. Ownership genuinely takes you back to the days of daily maintenance, but it also gives you that authentic riding experience. The majority of marques have a loyal following, great clubs with enthusiastic members only too keen to help, and parts availability is mainly great. This month sees us finish our tour, heading from Panther to Vincent. As always, prices are a rough guide based on auction results and market analysis, not a definitive amount. Hope you enjoy – Oli and Matt.
PANTHER
Owning a Panther is like owning no other motorcycle. More than 90% of the M100 and M120 slopers were produced for sidecars. The 594cc M100, which first appeared in 1932 and later the 645cc M120 made from 1959, were designed as sidecar haulers. The M120 was provided with sidecar gearing and fork-trail as standard, and those few buyers who wanted a solo M120 had to specify solo gears and forks as options. As well as the four-stroke singles, Panther also sold a small range of Villiers-engined twins in the late 1950s which were well-made examples of the type. The Panther sloper engine was designed by Granville Bradshaw in the mid-1920s and remained virtually unchanged for its entire production, with only minor amendments. In the 1960s and 1970s you could pick up a Panther for pennies; they were sometimes abandoned or given away. The company made its last bikes in 1967, but they changed so little you could still buy new spares into the late 1970s. A Panther is as English as a tuppence and owning one will change your life.
QUASAR
Just as the vultures were circling over the dying remnants of the British motorcycle industry, maverick engineers Malcolm Newell and Ken Leaman came up with the Quasar, a semi-enclosed, feet-forward motorcycle. The Quasar was powered with a Reliant Robin 850cc engine and could allegedly travel at more than 100mph. It gained a lot of publicity but not many sales. Twenty-one Quasars were made with the Reliant engine in Bristol and in Calne, Wiltshire, and further versions were made to order, with later models using Suzuki GS850 motors. Later roofless models, known as Phasars, were made with Japanese and Italian engines.
ROYAL ENFIELD
Royal Enfield today might be one of the most popular brands in the UK, but when it was made in Redditch, rather than Chennai, the bikes were down the pecking order. There was always something odd about Royal Enfields. Most of them had curious design features – the oil tank in the crankcase, the neutral finder and so on – some of which worked better than others. Indeed, the neutral finder seemed slightly inappropriate given that the later Enfield gearbox was renowned for having four gears and 37 neutrals. Enfields do have a massive following, and the best parts back up and tend to be slightly cheaper than their Birmingham and Coventry rivals. Buying an RE gains you access to an excellent owners’ club, numbers boosted by
