Premier Motorcycles were 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 ...

s manufactured by a business founded as a bicycle manufacturer by W. H. Herbert and

William Hillman William Hillman (13 November 1848 – 4 February 1921) was a British bicycle and automobile manufacturer. In partnership with Louis Coatalen he founded the Hillman-Coatalen Company in 1907, later the Hillman Motor Company after Coatalen's defe ...

in 1876. Their "Hillman and Herbert Cycle Company" was renamed "Premier Cycle Co." in 1891.

White & Poppe engine

Their first motorcycle was produced in 1908, with a White & Poppe side-valve engine and

Chater-Lea Chater-Lea was a British bicycle, car and motorcycle maker with a purpose-built five-storey factory in Banner Street, EC1, in the City of London (now converted into flats) and, from 1928, premises at Letchworth, Hertfordshire. It was founded by ...

front forks. They made their first

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 1909, followed by a 499 cc single-cylinder machine in 1910. The business changed its name to "The Premier Cycle Company ( Coventry Premier Ltd.)" in 1914. After the First World War bicycle or motorcycle production was not resumed and the

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 ...

business was acquired by

Singer Motors Singer Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturing business, originally a bicycle manufacturer founded as Singer & Co by George Singer, in 1874 in Coventry, England. Singer & Co's bicycle manufacture continued. From 1901 George S ...

in 1921 although Premier motorcycles were produced under licence in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

throughout the 1930s.

Models

File:Premier 1911 onbekend 1.jpg, 4 hp 500 cc 1911 File:Premier 2,5 HP 250 cc 1912.jpg, 2½ hp 250 cc 1912 File:Premier 4,5 hp 500 cc 1916.jpg, 4½ hp 500 cc 1916

External links

References

Motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England {{Motorcycle-stub