Federation
Made between 1918 and 1937 by the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) at Tyseley, Birmingham using four-stroke JAP and two-stroke Villiers engines
1921 They started out by providing reliable transport for the thousands of commuters who regularly shopped at the Co-operative Wholesale Society. The machines could be ordered from any one of their numerous outlets throughout the UK. The first motorcycles had a 292cc sv JAP single. This drove a belt to the rear wheel through a two-speed Sturmey-Archer gearbox. Fitted with Brampton Biflex forks, it had a choice of touring or TT type handlebars. Although they were not built with sport in mind, Federation's won fourteen class awards in their first season.
1922 A 677cc sv V-twin JAP model was added.
1923 They built a motorized bicycles that was fitted with a 147cc Villiers engine. For a short time that year there was also a three-wheeler, but it was the motorcycles with JAP engines, and later Burman gearboxes, that were a real success.
1929 Until now, side valves had always been used, but that year the firm introduced a 346cc ohv model and saddle-tank styling.
1930 A sv 500cc model was added.
1931 That was followed by one of 677cc and an ohv 500cc version.
1933 By now only one of the four-stroke was available, but that was soon joined by a 245cc ohv model and a couple of 150cc versions with Villiers engines.
1937 The Co-operative Wholesale Society stopped producing motorcycles in order to concentrate on groceries.
Most of the surviving Federation models (fifteen) are held in one private collection in the UK.
See Federal (CWS) for two-stroke model
See Also
Sources of Information
- The British Motorcycle Directory - Over 1,100 Marques from 1888 - by Roy Bacon and Ken Hallworth. Pub: The Crowood Press 2004 ISBN 1 86126 674 X
- [1] Ian Chadwick's motorcycle web site