History of the Clyno Company
Made in England 1909 to 1924
Clyno was founded by cousins A. P. Smith and F. W. A Smith in 1909,
at Thrapston,
Northants. They exhibited their first machines, an AJS-powered 3HP
single and a 744cc V-twin (also by AJS) at the 1909 Stanley Show, both
with belt drive and single fixed gear. On 15th October 1910 the business
was transferred from Thrapston to the Steven's old works in Pelham Street,
Wolverhampton and it was from there that the first enclosed primary-drive
chaincase two-speed machines emerged soon afterwards. By 1911 they were
producing a chain-driven combination which did very well in motorcycle
hillclimb trials thanks to its robust sidecar chassis and four-lug attachment
method. As a result, the machine was chosen as a machine-gun carrier during
the Great War. In 1912, orders exceeded factory capacity. A unit-construction
250cc twostroke was released in 1913 and was well received, probably in
part because it came complete with lights, horn and number-plates - items
which cost extra on most of the competition's machines.
1914 brought war, and the company's future looked bleak. However, due
to the success of the aforementioned sidecar a contract from the War Office
to build in conjunction with Vickers machines which became known as Vickers-Clyno,
by 1915 the situation was much improved.
After WWI the company produced 269cc twostrokes and 996cc V-twins. Motorcycle
production ceased in 1924 in favour of cars.
In its heyday Clyno was the third largest car manufacturer in the UK
after Austin and Morris.
It's price cutting policy led to financial problems and the company
went into liquidation on
11th February 1929. During its lifetime it had sold over 15,000 motorcycles
and 40,000
motor vehicles.
Adapted from www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/Motorcycles/Clyno.htm
Fri Sep 07 2007
w.shearer375<at>btinternet.com
clyno v twin motorcycle
my father is lookin to buy a restored clyno motorcycle.his grandfather
had one and was sold to someone in gosport the number of the bike was bs
7.please could u get in touch if u know of one that might be for sale
Thu Jul 07 2005
jasonchadd747
hotmail.co.uk
1914 clyno instruction book
I have an instruction book for a 1914 Clyno motorcycle, would you have
any idea where i could sell it and how much i should charge ? Many thanks
Jason Chadd.
26th January 2005
Clyno 1920 Motorcycle listed on Ebay UK
Vendor's Description:
This is a rare opportunity to aquire a restored 1920 flat tank motorcycle
which has had all the hard work completed . It was found as a barn find
and restored over the years . The owner kept a pictorial record of the
bike as found and of the rebuild and 2 large photo albums come with the
bike as does a spare belt. The 2 stroke 269 cc engine runs on pre mix fuel
from the petrol tank instead of an oil hand pump . Apart from that the
bike looks like the sales catalogue pictures of 1920 .the second folder
contains pictures of the clyno factory before it was pulled down . The
clyno lightweight was advanced for its time and although it is a paddle
start it has a clutch which helps !!
I Have only tried to ride it once and must say that it takes experience
or a knack (which I dont possess!!)
It comes with a full lighting kit and is realistically priced to sale.
If you have a query about Clyno motorcycles, or wish to share some pearl
of wisdom about these British machines, please contact
us!
