question Can anyone ID these bikes?

[Sean N]

Not military, but can anyone ID these bikes from these (admittedly rather poor) photos? I have some ideas, and one seems to have an obvious name, but I won't say more in case I lead you astray...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incidentally, please don't reproduce the photos anywhere else; they're private family photos which I have permission to use, but they're not for publication. Thanks.

[Stefano]

Well, there is a military connection actually, because the first three photos are of a 350cc Victoria KR35WH Pionier. It could be civilian I suppose, but the exhaust system and fuel tank are dead ringers for the military model.

N°4: Not too sure there.

N°5: Douglas, possibly a MkV

N°6/7 The bike behind the Douglas looks like a Triumph T70/80, no idea what the 3rd bike is

N°8 is screaming Triumph Speed Twin at me but I'm still not too sure

N°9 is a Velocette

 

Hope somebody else can confirm (or not!)

Cheers,

Stef

[Sean N]

Thanks Stefano.

 

I should have looked the Victoria up as it actually says Victoria on it, but I had no idea Victoria was a make and the gentleman used to call the bike Viccy, so I assumed he'd named it himself! It may be ex-Military as it came from Norway originally, so the Wehrmacht may have left it behind.

 

I've looked up photos of the Douglas it it looks right, though I think it might be early for a MkV; the photos are early '50s and it would have been second-hand then.

 

No.9 has Velocette on the tank so not too difficult! Any idea of the model though?

 

In the gentleman's papers he refers to an Inter Norton, but I can't see anything in these photos that looks right. There is also a photo of a DKW but I'm not sure I can quite get it to match any of these.

 

The ID is fact finding for a biography I'm writing - the gentleman was a well-known motorsport personality.

[Stefano]

 

I've looked up photos of the Douglas it it looks right, though I think it might be early for a MkV; the photos are early '50s and it would have been second-hand then.

 

No.9 has Velocette on the tank so not too difficult! Any idea of the model though?

 

In the gentleman's papers he refers to an Inter Norton, but I can't see anything in these photos that looks right. There is also a photo of a DKW but I'm not sure I can quite get it to match any of these.

 

 

 

I'll gladly admit ignorance when it comes to postwar duggies - my flat twin preferences lie with engines along the frame as opposed to across it. However, from what I can see, unless the bike has been modified (quite likely really), details like the numberplate and exhaust system point to a Mk V.

No chance on the Velo I'm afraid, there simply isn't enough detail (at least for me). It could be either a K or M series since the cycle parts were shared from 1935 onwards, and since the girder forks were ditched at the end of 1947, the chances are that this particular bike dates from somewhere in between.

As for the DKW, the chances are that it could be the bike in photo N°4. Certainly there are bits that fit, the silencers and centre stand for example, but I'm really not up to speed enough on German motorcycles to be able to give a definite answer.

And finally, there are no signs of a o.h.c. Norton in the photos. However, looking a bit closer at the pics, the third bike in 6 & 7 could well be the Victoria, since quite a few details seem to be the same.

 

Stef

[Sean N]

Hi Stefano (and others),

 

Having looked a bit further through the photos, the bike in photo 4 is identified elsewhere as a DKW, while the bike in photo 8 is described as a Triumph 500 twin.

 

Once I can get the originals I'll post better scans.