Weslake
Weslake motorcycles have been in production since 1972, in Rye, Sussex. The company was better known, to begin with, for their engines and their work on cylinder heads for cars.
See Henry Weslake
1970s Early in the decade the firm combined with John Caffrey to build the Weslake Vendetta. The engine was a 492cc eight-valve vertical twin, and drove a five-speed gearbox. The frame was duplex tubular and rode on wire wheels with a disc front brake and conical rear hub. Later came larger versions of the engines but, increasingly, Weslake had limited chassis involvement. They also built 500cc singles running on dope for grass-track use.
1980s The grass-track models now had a five-valve head. They then went on to produce a 998cc ohc ten-valve V-twin, along the lines of an earlier eight-valve engine. Some of the Weslake singles were used for speedway and long-track events but, for the majority, the company kept to engines rather than machines.
1990s Late in the decade they offered the Wexton Sprint road model, with their 498cc gohc single engine mounted in a Norton Featherbed frame with a Norton or Quaife gearbox. Production was limited and the machines built to customer specification in the café racer style.
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