I feel quite privileged  to present a web page about a motorbike that bears my name. The Vincent was not an ordinary bike but a record breaking, ground shaking legend in its own lifetime, The Vincent HRD 998 Black Shadow being the most famous.

During the First World war Howard Raymond Davies, a young British flying officer was shot down by the Germans and taken into captivity.  Whilst in captivity Davies dreamt of building the best motorcycle in the world.  Six years after the end of the War in 1924 he teamed up with an engineer called E.J Massey and together they began to construct the first HRD. 

These new motorcycles looked stylish and modern for the time and were powered by Rudge or JAP engines. JAP being short for J.A Prestwich & Co who were large engine manufacturers at the time. The motorcycles were advanced for their day and many new features were employed that set the standard for motorcycle manufacture throughout the 1930's. It must also be mentioned here that in 1925 Howard Raymond Davies won Isle Of Man TT on his own designed bike with a new a speed record of 66.13 mph.

Sadly Davies's HRD company floundered and his company closed in 1927.

Whilst all of this was going on a young man by the name of Philip Vincent was also displaying great interests in building an innovative new motorcycle and in 1928 when he left Cambridge University this interest was realised when he acquired the HRD trademark and stock for the sum of £500 and set up in Stevanage, Herts, UK. The company logo was altered to reflect the new ownership and Vincent HRD & Co was born. The first logo had a large 'HRD' with a small 'Vincent' over the top. This remained until 1949 when The Vincent Company started to look at America as a bigger market and Harley-Davidson could create some confusion with similar initials., HRD could look as if it was associated to HD or even a Harley Davidson itself, so the initials were dropped just to leave the name ' Vincent' on a gold scroll as the logo.

Seven different models of 'The Vincent' was available by 1934 and four of these motorcycles used the Vincent made 499cc single cylinder engine. This basic reliable and robust engine never changed in design, as they say " if it works don't fix it " Philip Vincent did however love to experiment with different bike designs and new features. He was a man with vision and was not afraid to incorporate lots of new ideas into his bikes. For six years between 1928 and 1934 over 20 new designs were introduced, this is about 3 new designs every year.

In 1931 a clever engineer by the name of Phil Irving joined Vincent as the companies Chief Engineer and by 1936 he had developed the first Vincent HRD Twin Engine motorcycle by putting two 499cc engines together on one bike. This new bike was called The Vincent Series 'A' Rapide.  This bike used the first fully suspended rear frame with a triangular rear frame with springing under the seat a feature that was used on all Vincent motorcycles. As usual for Vincent Motorcycles there were many new design features incorporated including a foot shift, 4 speed gearbox and a side stand. The 45 hp 998cc V-Twin was an air cooled configuration that had a top speed of 110 mph. In its day it was looked upon the same as the Honda Fire-blade was just few years ago.

Phil Irving left the Vincent Company to work at Velocette in 1937 where he developed a new seat spring configuration, but he returned  in 1943 to develop a new bike to supercede the Series 'A' Rapide, which he did with the Series B Rapide.  This was also a 998cc V-Twin but any comparison the the series A ended there. The series B was a totally new developed bike form the ground up. New engineering concepts were employed throughout with a frameless 'monocoque' design. All other  companies motorcycle engines were bolted to a frame, not so with the Vincent.

 The robust oil tank had the front and rear suspension bolted directly to it. Most of this engineering wizardry was concealed by the petrol tank. With no frame to hold the engine, it appeared that the engine was now suspended in mid air with no visible means of support. This new bike bolstered the Vincent reputation to new heights especially with innovations such as  twin carbs and exhaust pointing forward rear cylinder V-Twin.

It was in 1944 that Vincent dealerships started to emerge in the USA, first in Philadelphia owned by Eugene Aucott, then in Florida Miami, New Jersey. California, Texas and Michigan. The dealerships liked the bikes, they were big, powerful  and fitted the American idealistic dream. The Vincent's reputation went before it when one such bike endured 100,000 miles of trouble free riding. However, early gearbox problems with a few bikes did knock some of the shine off the image and these problems were not fully resolved until 1953 when a new lightweight shifter was designed. Vincent motorcycles were reliable but nobody likes problems and mud sticks, in 2 more years it would all be over.

New developments however still didn't stop, such as handlebar brake  adjusters and  full adjusters for the controls, hydraulic front and rear dampers, rear seat support frame that provided independent spring movement. The rear wheel also had independent suspension away from the seat, a configuration that is still be used on bikes today.

The oil lines could be completely disconnected without any loss of oil, this was due to a check valve. Electrical wiring could easily be disconnected with no special tools and the accessible battery was secured by a simple hand-spun nut.

 The "buddy seat" was also pioneered and for 1946 this was quite a new idea, soon this novel Vincent innovation would help to completely replace the " mattress " type seat as used on most other bikes. Other helpful innovations were the new type oil and petrol filters that could also be changed easily.

The renowned and most famous motorcycle from this Company, The Vincent HRD 998 Black Shadow,  first appeared in 1948 and was easily distinguished by the motorcycle fraternity by the gleaming black finish of the engine and gearbox, that incidentally,  had all internal parts highly polished and fine tuned. Sporting a big 5 inch chrome Smith speedo also enhanced its appearance.

 This bike was also very fast and could easily maintain a constant 100 mph with a top end of 125 mph.

Also in 1948  a full race spec custom machine ' The Vincent Black Lightning ' appeared and won acclaim as a living legend almost straight away as the Worlds fastest standard motorcycle with a top speed of 150mph. 

A Record Breaking Bike.

It was on the 13th of September 1948 that a man by the name of Rollie Free smashed the world motorcycle speed record previously held by Harley Davison by riding a Vincent HRD 998 Black Lightning at 150.313 m.p.h. on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA. A speed that was astonishing when you think that the average bike of the time had a top end of about 90mph.

To minimise weight and drag Rollie had the seat, front mudguard and headlight removed, he didn't stop there and stripped down to his trunks ! accompanied by only a shower cap and  a pair of sneakers. He lay flat over the bike to reduce drag even more. The photo that was taken of Rollie during his successful record breaking attempt was soon called " the bathing suit bike photo" and became perhaps one of the most famous  motorcycle photos of the time.

The merits of the Vincent's prowess remained strong right into the 1970's, 15 to 20 years after the Vincent had ceased production !

The Vincent dies.

In 1955 during an owners club dinner Philip Vincent announced that the company would cease to continue with the manufacture of the bikes due to heavy financial loses and the fact that Vincent would not compromise on the quality of their machines to bring the price down. This being said it was in December 1955 that the last superior quality Vincent motorcycle sadly rolled off the production line. Philip Vincent promised that spares for the bikes would always be available and today  parts are still made and sold all over the world by Harper Engineering.

Several remaining engines rescued from the dying Vincent plant were installed into a more modern design frame by Swiss business man Fritz Egli and the bikes were consequently called Egli-Vincents. Several Norton race bikes also had a Vincent transplant and were referred to as  Norvins. These "Frankenstein" bikes were more a novelty and didn't catch on. There can never be a compromise for the real thing.

Like the Phoenix that rose from the ashes, the new 1000cc Vincent Black Shadow has resurrected the legendary motorcycle.

It was in 1994 that a business man by the name of Bernard Li who with over 20 years experience in the automotive industry acquired the Vincent trademark. He then formed Vincent Motors which is based in San Diego, California, USA. With the help of Roush Industries, four brand new prototype Vincent motorcycles were up and running powered by the New Honda Sports 1000cc engine.

The new bikes are a clever mix of retro and modern styling principles, with carbon fibre petrol tanks, alluminium fenders, stylish  fairing, LCD gauges, USD forks. a canti-lever mono-shock rear suspension incorporating multi-adjustable shocks and Brembo brakes. A black tubular frame holds the engine in place and holds the engine oils as well. So the innovation continues.

Keeping with the legendary performance and thoroughbred  heritage of the original Vincent Black Shadow motorbike, the new bikes are designed to state of the art top standards. The new features of the Vincent Black Shadow include a large tubular monocoque single shock chassis, 130 horsepower 90° liquid cooled V-twin, inverted forks, forged calipers, tubeless spoke forged alloy wheels, carbon fiber bodywork, ultra-hi-performance, and exquisite craftsmanship. The Vincent will be styled in a manner significantly reminiscent of its predecessors and in keeping with traditional British livery.

The price for one of these new Vincent Bikes will be around $20,000. That's quite cheap considering that Vincent Chairman Bernard Li set up the company for a mere 18 million dollars.

The Vincent Black Shadow has become part of motorcycle legend, noted for its strength, endurance and speed.
The new Vincent Black Shadow is up to date and ready to take the worlds motorcyclist fraternity by storm.

The Vincent Owners Club is the largest motorcycle club in the world. Today these bikes are the most sought after and collectable classics the world has ever seen. A fully restored lightning can command $125,000.