The Rudge Ulster 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 ...

manufactured by

Rudge-Whitworth Rudge Whitworth Cycles was a British bicycle, bicycle saddle, motorcycle and sports car wheel manufacturer that resulted from the merger of two bicycle manufacturers in 1894, Whitworth Cycle Co. of Birmingham, founded by Charles Henry Pug ...

from 1929 until the outbreak of World War II.

Development

Rudge-Whitworth's last production racing motorcycle was named after Graham Walker's 1928 race win in the

Ulster Grand Prix The Ulster Grand Prix is a motorcycle race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit made up entirely of closed-off public roads near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internatio ...

, only the second time a road race had been won at over . Graham was the father of racing commentator

Murray Walker Graeme Murray Walker (10 October 1923 – 13 March 2021) was an English motorsport commentator and journalist. He provided television commentary of live Formula One coverage for the BBC between 1976 and 1996, and for ITV between 1997 and 20 ...

and was made Rudge Sales Manager in 1929. His win was particularly welcome as he had been unlucky in 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 ...

on the same motorcycle two months earlier, when he narrowly lost the Senior TT race due to oil flow problems on the last lap. Originally developed as a racing prototype, the production model was essentially a race replica. Various modifications and improvements were made over the ten years of production. Early models had a '

pent roof Numeral or number prefixes are prefixes derived from Numeral (linguistics), numerals or occasionally other numbers. In English and many other languages, they are used to coin numerous series of words. For example: * unicycle, bicycle, tricycle (1 ...

' four-valve head, with two pairs of valves operating on parallel slopes like a 'pitched roof', which was replaced in 1932 with a radial four-valve head and an option of a foot-operated gear change. This foot pedal operated both the front and rear brakes, with a hand lever also operating the front brake. With a top speed of over , the Rudge Ulster was advertised as "probably the fastest 500cc motorcycle in production". 1933 was the era of the Great Depression and Rudge, struggling to make the sales needed to further develop the Ulster, went into receivership. In 1936

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

(previously the

Gramophone Company The Gramophone Company Limited (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.), based in the United Kingdom and founded by Emil Berliner, was one of the early recording companies, the parent organisation for the '' His Master's Voice (HMV)'' label, and the Europe ...

Ltd. and maker of

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

records), who were a major creditor, took over and resurrected the Rudge Ulster and moved production to their works in

Hayes, Middlesex Hayes is a town in west London, historically situated within the county of Middlesex, and now part of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The town's population, including its localities Hayes End, Harlington and Yeading, was recorded as 83,564 i ...

in 1937. The valve gear, which had always been exposed to the elements was sorted out in 1937, when a cast alloy cover was added - although the bronze cylinder head remained until it was replaced with a light alloy example in 1939. Production ended with the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, when EMI had to put all their resources into the manufacture of

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

and electronic equipment for the war effort. From the days of the Gramophone Company, EMI, had had a policy of diversifying productions into other fields, like typewriters, as a strategy to avoid downturns and recessions.

Racing success

As well as Walker's 1928 Ulster Grand Prix win, in the same year Ernie Nott secured the world two-hour record at over on the Rudge and set further records in 1929. In 1930, under the guidance of team boss George Hack, Nott, Walker, Smith and

Wal Handley Walter Leslie Handley (5 April 1902 – 15 November 1941) born in Aston, Birmingham,
Kolumbus.fi Walter Leslie Han ...

were on Rudge 500 cc motorcycles for the

Senior race, Handley winning at a record speed of with Graham Walker coming second, Smith 6th and Nott 7th, winning the Team Prize for Rudge.

References

{{reflist

External links

Starting a Rudge Ulster (video)

Rudge motorcycles, Ulster Standard motorcycles