McEvoy Motorcycles was a British

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

manufacturer based in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. The company used engines from Villiers, Blackburne, British Anzani and

JAP ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese". Today, it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur. In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term very offensive, even when used as an abbreviation. Prior to t ...

. The company ceased trading in 1929 when the financier Cecil 'Archie' Birkin was killed in an accident at the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

History

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

graduate Michael McEvoy began his engineering career at the

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

factory in

and started McEvoy Motorcycles in 1924. The first bike from McEvoy Motorcycles was a flat twin produced in 1925 with a British Anzani 1100 cc engine. By 1926 the business was successful enough for McEvoy to leave his job at Rolls-Royce and move to larger premises in Derby. The McEvoy range was developed to include a

8/45 hp engined

V-twin A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Although widely associated with motorcycles (installed either transversely or longit ...

in an advanced "super sports" frame that was capable of and advertised by McEvoy as "the Fastest all-British big twin that holds all high speed British records worth holding in its class". McEvoy began producing motorcycles with a range of engines, including one with a small 172 cc Villiers engine. All was going well until the company's financial backer, Archie Birkin, died practising for the 1928

; the company was wound up in 1929.

Racing success

George William Patchett George William Patchett (23 December 1901 - before 31 December 1974) was a British motorcycle racer and engineer. Career In his early career he was a motor cycle racer for motorcycle manufacturers such as Brough Superior, McEvoy and the Belgi ...

was a British motorcycle racer and engineer who moved from

Brough Superior Brough Superior ( ) motorcycles, sidecars, and automobile, motor cars were made by George Brough in his Brough Superior works on Haydn Road in Nottingham, England, from 1919 to 1940. The motorcycles were dubbed the "Rolls-Royce car, Rolls-Roy ...

to work with McEvoy as Competition Manager in 1926. In the same year Patchett recorded a time of 5:32 on the demanding Mountain Course of the

race. Patchett also rode Anzani and JAP-powered

to successes at the banked Brooklands Circuit at

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

. In his time with McEvoy Patchett set nine world records and won the Championship of

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

in 1926 at more than .

Surviving examples

In July 2009 a 1928 McEvoy motorcycle with a JAP 8/45 hp 980 cc V-twin engine sold at auction in

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

, UK, for £108,200 ($177,000).

References

External links

1926 McEvoy with OHV British Anzani engine

McEvoy photo gallery
{{British motorcycle manufacturers Motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Companies based in Derby