Silk Motorcycles

Today in Motorcycle History

Silk Motorcycles

Silk motorcycles were produced from 1975 to 1979 at Darley Abbey in Derby by George Silk.

The company was established by motorcycle racer and constructor George Silk and Maurice Patey, in 1970,

George Silk was a Scott racing enthusiast who went on to build the Scott Silk Special for road use in 1972. This machine was greatly modified and fitted together a Scott engine, Velocette gearbox and Spondon frame in a combination that worked well.

Following on came the Derby-built Silk 700S, an updated version of the Scott that was light and easy to handle, and fitted with the 653cc Silk engine, a water-cooled twin-cylinder two-stroke with the block inclined forward. Inside it was all new, with a full crankshaft supported on bearings either side of each pair of flywheels, with a horizontally split crankcase. The Velocette-type gearbox bolted to the back of the crankcase and the whole was fitted into a Spondon frame to give a smooth, light and economical machine.

A production racing version was also listed for a couple of years. This was fitted with a racing fairing and had a tuned engine.

Improvements were made as necessary and a Mk II was produced, with cooling fins on the cylinder block. A compact 326cc air-cooled trials model was also built. It had a four-speed gearbox with a choice of output ratios with the mechanics suspended from a monocoque spine frame and made from aluminium sheet.

1976 Thirty machines built.

Production ceased in 1979 after fewer than 150 of the 700S machines had been produced. The model has particular appeal to Scott enthusiasts.

Source: Graces Guide