1958 Royal Enfield 248cc Crusader Registration no. USY 778 Frame no. 10794 Engine no. 2387 and S 4909 Introduced in 1956, the all-new Crusader 250 was unusual in having a unitary construction engine at a time when most British machines still ...

1958 Royal Enfield 248cc Crusader Registration no. USY 778 Frame no. 10794 Engine no. 2387 and S 4909 Introduced in 1956, the all-new Crusader 250 was unusual in having a unitary construction engine at a time when most British machines still employed...

1963 Royal Enfield 248cc Crusader Registration no. 462 GAX (see text) Frame no. 16350 Engine no. 12870 Introduced in 1956, the all-new Crusader 250 was unusual in having a unitary construction engine at a time when most British machines still...

1963 Royal Enfield 248cc Crusader Registration no. 462 GAX (see text) Frame no. 16350 Engine no. 12870 Introduced in 1956, the all-new Crusader 250 was unusual in having a unitary construction engine at a time when most British machines still employe...

c.1959 Royal Enfield 248cc Crusader 'Airflow' Registration no. NSD 272 (see text) Frame no. 12644 Engine no. 3504 Introduced in 1956, the all-new Crusader 250 was unusual in having a unitary construction engine at a time when most British machines st...

In 1953 Royal Enfield returned to the 250cc class with a new model – the Clipper. Every inch an Enfield, the new quarter-litre roadster was obviously out of the same mould as its larger siblings, featuring a cast-iron engine top end, oil tank integra...

A development of the popular Crusader, the Continental was introduced for 1963. The newcomer used the Super 5’s tuned, 20bhp engine and five-speed gearbox but eschewed the latter’s leading-link fork in favour of conventional telescopics while adding ...

A 125cc version of DKW’s advanced two-stroke lightweight - the 98cc RT – Royal Enfield’s smallest model first appeared in 1939. Known as the ‘Flying Flea’, it was supplied to the British Army in large numbers during WW2 and when hostilities ended re-...

c.1966 Royal Enfield 248cc Continental GT Registration no. EWL 427D Frame no. 72732 Engine no. GT15528 The policy of including as standard all the performance-orientated 'extras' that customers might want to fit later (pioneered on the Contin...

c.1966 Royal Enfield 248cc Continental GT Registration no. EWL 427D Frame no. 72732 Engine no. GT15528 The policy of including as standard all the performance-orientated 'extras' that customers might want to fit later (pioneered on the Continental) w...

The Royal Enfield Crusader's ultimate development - the Continental GT - arrived in November 1964. For his £270 the GT owner got clip-on handlebars, rear-set footrests, a racing-style glassfibre fuel tank and 'bacon slicer' brake cooling discs up fro...

1961 ROYAL ENFIELD 248CC CRUSADER Registration no. XUN 307 Frame no. 15174 Engine no. 7521 Introduced in 1956, the unit construction Crusader was a departure from the traditional Royal Enfield layout of separate engine and gearbox, and wa...

Royal Enfield of Redditch manufactured a range of bewildering and fast-changing variety in the 1930s. ‘Slopers’ with inclined engines were a feature of the decade’s early years, and then in 1936 a revised range with vertical engines began to be phase...

The origins of the Royal Enfield marque can be traced back to a small light engineering firm - George Townsend & Company - founded in Redditch, Worcestershire, in mid Victorian times. The firm moved into bicycle manufacture and by the turn of the Cen...

Associated Motor Cycles returned to the 250cc class in 1958 with a brace of all-new models. Shared by the Matchless G2 and AJS Model 14, the four-stroke, overhead-valve power unit incorporated its oil tank within the crankcase and appeared to be of u...

Associated Motor Cycles returned to the 250cc class in 1958 with a brace of all-new models. Shared by the AJS Model 14 and Matchless G2, the overhead-valve power unit incorporated its oil tank within the crankcase and appeared to be of unitary constr...

BSA’s ‘C’ range of lightweight machines was introduced in 1938. Similar in many ways to those of the larger ‘B’ range, whose wheels and brakes were employed, the cycle parts consisted of a simple diamond frame and girder front fork. First model was t...

Founded by pre-war record breaker Kay Don, Ambassador launched its first machine in 1947. Known as the ‘Series I’, the first Ambassador was a conventional lightweight powered by a 197cc Villiers 5E engine. By 1952 the basic design was being built in ...

Norman motorcycles were built in Ashford, Kent, well away from the industry’s traditional Midlands home. Originally enamellers and platers, Norman turned to bicycle manufacture in the mid-1930s and exhibited its first powered two-wheelers in 1938. In...

1966 Royal Enfield 248cc Continental GT Registration no. FAV 211C Frame no. 70030 Engine no. GT15838 A development of the popular Crusader, the Continental was introduced for 1963. The newcomer used the Super 5's tuned, 20bhp engine and five-...

1960 ROYAL ENFIELD 248CC CRUSADER TRIALS MOTORCYCLE Registration no. V932 MAN (Isle of Man) Frame no. 13859 Engine no. 5510 Modified and ridden by Don Morley Matching frame and engine numbers Electronic ignition Royal Enfield’s Bullet h...

1963 Royal Enfield 248cc Crusader Trials Registration no. 116 UFK Frame no. 20174 Engine no. 10078 Royal Enfield's Bullet had proved an outstanding trials motorcycle, but by the early 1960s the days of such 'heavyweights' were numbered. Light...

Property of a deceased's estate c.1964 Royal Enfield 248cc Continental Registration no. not registered Frame no. 70024 Engine no. n/a A development of the popular Crusader, the Continental was introduced for 1963. The newcomer used the S...

1966 Royal Enfield 248cc Continental GT Registration no. FAV 211C Frame no. 70030 Engine no. GT15838 A development of the popular Crusader, the Continental was introduced for 1963. The newcomer used the Super 5's tuned, 20bhp engine and five-speed ge...

After WW2 Excelsior concentrated on the production of lightweights powered by engines of their own make and those of Villiers. The Consort first appeared in 1953 as the F4, with Villiers 4F engine and two-speed gearbox, changing to the 6F unit for 19...

1960 Royal Enfield 248cc Crusader Trials Registration no. 250 RE Frame no. 1111 Engine no. SR16043T • Ex-factory Trials machine • Campaigned for Royal Enfield by Peter Fletcher • Previously owned by Peter Fletcher and Don Morley • Exten...

James’s first post-war ‘125’ was the ML, a 122cc Villiers 9D-engined machine derived from a successful military design. It was superseded in 1948 by a new model similar to the 98cc Comet but using heavier cycle parts and the 10D engine. For 1950 the ...

A development of the popular Crusader, the Continental was introduced for 1963. The newcomer used the Super 5's tuned, 20bhp engine and five-speed gearbox but eschewed the latter's leading-link fork in favour of conventional telescopics while adding ...

Developed from the pre-war DKW RT125 and announced in 1948, the Bantam became a top seller for BSA, in excess of half a million leaving the Birmingham factory before production ceased. Originally of 123cc, the engine grew first to 148cc and then to 1...

Developed from the pre-war DKW RT125 and announced in 1948, the Bantam became a top-seller for BSA, in excess of half a million leaving the Birmingham factory before production ceased in 1971. Originally of 123cc, the engine grew first to 148cc - on ...