Wooler was a British manufacturer of

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 ...

s and automobiles, founded by engineer John Wooler in 1911 based in Alperton, Middlesex. The company became known for its unconventional designs which included several fore-and-aft twins, a vertical

camshaft A camshaft is a shaft that contains a row of pointed cams, in order to convert rotational motion to reciprocating motion. Camshafts are used in piston engines (to operate the intake and exhaust valves), mechanically controlled ignition systems ...

single cylinder machine, a transverse-four

beam engine A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newco ...

, and a transverse

flat four A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...

. Most machines possessed Wooler's enduring design features of a

petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

tank which extended past the steering head. In 1919-1920 the Wooler ''Mule''

cyclecar A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the car. A key c ...

was manufactured until the company was reformed.

History

Motorcycles

Autostadt Wolfsburg - motorrad ikonen - Wooler Model B 1919 1 - Flickr - KlausNahr

John Wooler designed his first motorcycle in 1909 – a

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...

horizontal single-cylinder machine with a double-ended piston. The first production model was a 230 cc two-stroke with front and rear plunger spring suspension and a patent "anti-vibratory" frame. The motorbike was manufactured by

Wilkinson Wilkinson may refer to: People * Wilkinson (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places in the United States * Wilkinson, Illinois * Wilkinson, Indiana, a town in Hancock County * Wilkinson, Minnesota * Wilkinson, Mis ...

from 1912 onwards with a 344 cc engine and marketed as the Wilkinson-Wooler. Production was halted during

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and a receiver was appointed for the company in 1915, but the company's

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

contracts with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

allowed it to survive the war years. Motorcycle production resumed in 1919 with a new and advanced machine which was entered in the 1921

Junior TT The Junior TT is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1949 and 1976 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. Engine c ...

where it was nicknamed the "Flying Banana" by Graham Walker.

Automobiles

The Wooler Mule

was announced in February 1919. It was powered by a 1022 cc air-cooled twin with the cylinders protruding from the sides of the bonnet, and a circular dummy radiator. The engine used rotary valves. It had a double rear wheel giving the impression of a three-wheeler. No prices were published, but contemporary press reports suggested a price of around £130 which had increased to £185 by December. Only a few prototypes were built. In 1920 the company was reformed as The Wooler Motor Cycle Company (1919) Ltd. and the ''Mule'' ceased production.

1920s motorcycles

In 1920 the company was reformed as The Wooler Motor Cycle Company (1919) Ltd. In 1930 the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

caused the company's closure.

Post WW2 motorcycles

Wooler returned in 1945 with a prototype 500 cc transverse four shaft drive with an unusual beam type engine with the cylinders set one above the other like the

Brough Superior Golden Dream The Brough Superior Golden Dream was designed and built by George Brough in Nottingham, England, in 1938. With its distinctive gold finish, this was to be the ultimate Brough Superior but production was stopped by the outbreak of War in 1939. ...

. It was displayed at the

Earls Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

show in 1948 and again in 1951. It never ran properly and in 1954 Wooler returned to Earls Court with a completely different transverse flat four, still air-cooled with shaft drive. No more than five are thought to have been built before the company closed in 1956 after Wooler's death. An example can be seen in the British National Motorcycle Museum.

References