The

Rover Company The Rover Company Limited was a British car manufacturing company that operated from its base in Solihull in Warwickshire. Its lasting reputation for quality and performance was such that its first postwar model reviewed by '' Road & Track'' i ...

was a British bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer before it began the manufacture of motor cars. Rover was established in 1878 by

John Kemp Starley John Kemp Starley (24 December 1855 – 29 October 1901) was an English inventor and industrialist who is widely considered the inventor of the modern bicycle, and also originator of the name Rover. Early life Born on 24 December 1855 St ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

to produce bicycles. The company developed and produced the ''Rover Imperial'' motorcycle in November 1902. Between 1903 and 1924, Rover produced more than 10,000 motorcycles.

History

In June 1896 John Starley formed the Rover Cycle Co. Ltd. in

. Starley had become successful making 'safety bicycles' and used the money to import some of the early Peugeot motorcycles from France in 1899 for experimental development. His first project was to fit an engine onto one of his Rover bicycles. However, Starley died early in October 1901 aged 46 and the business was taken over by entrepreneur

Harry Lawson Harry Lawson may refer to: *Harry John Lawson (1852–1925), British bicycle designer, cyclist, motor industry pioneer and fraudster *Harry Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham (1862–1933) *Sir Harry Lawson (politician) (1875–1952), Australian pol ...

The company began to develop and produced the ''Rover Imperial'' motorcycle in November 1902. This was a 3.5 hp diamond-framed motorcycle with the engine in the centre and 'springer' front forks, an improvement ahead of its time. This first Rover motorcycle had innovative features such as a spray carburettor, a bottom-bracket engine, and mechanically operated valves. Featuring a strong frame with double front down tubes and a good quality finish, over a thousand Rover motorcycles were sold in 1904. The following year, however, Rover stopped motorcycle production to concentrate on their 'safety bicycle'. In 1910, designer John Greenwood was commissioned to develop a new 3.5 hp 500cc engine with spring-loaded tappets, a Bosch magneto, and a Brown and Barlow carburettor. This new model, also featuring an innovative inverted tooth drive chain and "Druid" spring forks, was launched at the 1910 Olympia show, and over 500 models were sold.

Racing success

In 1913, a 'TT' model was launched with a shorter wheelbase and sports handlebars. The 'works team' of

Dudley Noble Dudley Noble, who started at the Rover Company in 1911 as a motorcycle tester and competition rider, became one of the British automobile industry's pioneering publicists. He arranged one of the first ever promotional films to be shot, in 1912, ...

and

Chris Newsome Christopher Elijah Duque Newsome (born July 25, 1990) is a Filipino American professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Early life and high school career Newsome was born in San Jose, Ca ...

had some success with this model and won the works team award.

Production after the First World War

Rover supplied 499cc single cylinder motorcycles to the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

during the First World War. When the war ended, the company began to focus on car production, yet Rover still produced motorcycles with 248cc and 348cc Rover overhead valve engines and

J.A.P. JA Prestwich Industries, was a British engineering equipment manufacturing company named after founder John Alfred Prestwich, which was formed in 1951 by the amalgamation of J.A.Prestwich and Company Limited and Pencils Ltd. History John Pres ...

engines, including a 676cc

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 1924, Rover led the way with the

unit construction : ''For the vehicle design where the vehicle's skin is used as a load-bearing element, see Monocoque.'' Unit construction is the design of larger motorcycles where the engine and gearbox components share a single casing. This sometimes includes ...

of the engine and gearbox on a new lightweight 250cc motorcycle. This had lights on the front and rear as well as a new design of internal expanding brakes. Following poor sales, Rover ceased to produce both bicycles and motorcycles. Between 1903 and 1924 Rover had produced more than 10,000 motorcycles.

References

External links

* * {{Rover Defunct cycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Coventry motor companies Rover Company Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1882 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1924 1882 establishments in England 1924 disestablishments in England British companies established in 1882 British companies disestablished in 1924

History

Racing success

Production after the First World War

See also

References

External links