Juckes Motorcycles
Juckes motorcycles were built
by the Efficient Engineering Company, which was set up by T. C. Juckes, and
specialised in gearboxes, engines and electric lighting sets. The company's
premises was East End Works in Bilston Road. Mr. Juckes built his first
motorcycle in 1902, and built several more during the next few years. The
first commercial machines appeared in 1923. The 'Model A' was powered by a
2.75h.p., 2 stroke engine with belt drive, had a top speed of 50m.p.h., and
cost £34. The machine was designed so that the belt drive could easily be
replaced with a chain drive. It was also available in several different
versions:
The 'Model A1' had a 2 speed gearbox and was priced at £38.10s.
The 'Model A2' had a 2 speed gearbox, clutch and kickstart, and was priced
at £45.
The 'Model A3' had a 3 speed gearbox, clutch and kickstart, and was priced
at £46.10s.
The 'Model A4' had a 4 speed gearbox, clutch and kickstart, and was priced
at £49.10s.
A 3h.p. engine could be fitted to any model for an extra £2.15s.
The 'Model B' from the 1925 catalogue.
Courtesy of Jim Boulton. |
The 'Model B' was an
up-market version of the 'Model A'. It included a 2.75h.p., 2 stroke
engine, 4 speed gearbox, clutch, kickstart, chain drive and sold
for £48.10s.0d. It was also available as the 'Model B3' and the 'Model
B4'. The 'B3' had a 3 speed gearbox, and was priced at £51.10s, and
the'B4' had a 4 speed gearbox, and was priced at £53.15s |
| The 'Model C' included a
2.75h.p., 2 stroke engine, 2, 3, or 4 speed gearbox and chain drive. It
was available in sports or semi-sports versions. |
The 'Model C' from the 1925 catalogue.
Courtesy of Jim Boulton. |
The 'Model GA' from the 1925 catalogue.
Courtesy of Jim Boulton. |
The 'Model G' had a 347c.c. engine, 3 speed gearbox,
clutch, kickstart and chain drive. A four speed version was also
available. The 'Model GA Special Sports' was identical to the 'Model
G' except for the engine, which was specially tuned. It had a top speed of 80m.p.h. |
A Juckes engine from the 1925 catalogue. Courtesy
of Jim Boulton. |
The engines, like all of the major components were
designed and built in the company's Bilston Road works. |
| The combination had the same specification as the 'Model
A' or 'Model B', with a 2.75h.p. or 3h.p. engine and 3 or 4 speeds.
Prices were in the range of £62.10s. to £72.10s. |
Photo courtesy of Jim Boulton
|
Another view of the combination. Photo courtesy of
Jim Boulton |
The best year for the
company was 1923 as over 400 machines were sold, but sadly sales fell
and the company ran into financial difficulties, and was declared
bankrupt in 1925. In November of that year everything was disposed of in
a sale. Mr. T.C. Juckes later ran a garage in Cleveland Street. |
L.D.E. Motorcycles
Frank Desborough ran an
engineering business in Commercial Road. In 1951 he built a machine to
compete in the Isle of Man T.T. races. It was powered by a 125c.c. engine,
and had disc brakes. Unfortunately its performance was not very good, and so
no others were made.
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