Brief History of the Marque: Linx
According to Tragatsch, Linx was a small Italian factory which, from
1929 to 1941, produced a range of motorcycles employing engines from Blackburne,
JAP, Piazza and Rudge of capacities ranging from 173cc to 598cc.
Stephano Milani
in his monumental work on Italian machinery devotes over 6 pages to the
marque.
Sat Sep 08 2007
marticelli<at>hotmail.com
Linx (?) motorcycle
350 Blackburne
I have owned a rare unrestored Italian motorcycle for some time which
has so far resisted identification, although I suspect it may be a Linx
from the early 30s. I am Blackburne Marque Specialist in the VMCC.
Scotland
I believe Linx is the manufacturer of the saddle, but
it will take a bit more information to convince me that they built the
machine. Ed.
...............
It is a real mystery bike. It was brought to the UK after the
war by a British soldier returning from Italy and has languished unloved
and untouched in a shed near Birmngham since then. A few years ago
I was contacted as the engine bears a brass label as you can see, proclaiming
Blackburne manufacture as I am the Blackburne marque specialist in the
VMCC. However, this is not a Blackburne engine but possibly a Sturmey
Archer or similar proprietary unit of the late twenties or early thirties.
All the levers and minor parts are Italian, which would appear to confirm
the country of origin.
I have had much contact with Italian enthusiasts ( I used to travel
regularly there on space business with the European Space Agency) and have
a four volume encyclopedia of Italian motorcycles from 1895-1945 by Stefano
Milani which lists many Italian machines fitted with 'Blackburne' engines
including Linx but none illustrated look much like my machine. Not
all models are illustrated however, so this is not exactly surprising.
Any help you can offer to identify the machine would be appreciated,
and I can let you have copies of the Linx entry from Milani in the unlikely
event you haven't seen or don't know about this excellent work. I
should also say that, in view of it not being Blackburne engined, I am
prepared to sell it on to someone interested to restore it, as I have several
other genuine Blackburne-engined bikes awaiting restoration or repair and
this 'cuckoo' might be better owned by someone more into Italian machines
than I am.
Cheers for now and thanks for the reply
Martin
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about these classic Italian machines, please contact
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