Campion Cycle Company of Robin Hood Street, Nottingham
Campion were motorcycles produced from 1901 to 1925 and had been bicycle manufacturers.
1901 The first models appeared. They were a solo with a 2hp Minerva engine and a forecar fitted with their own 3.75hp engine.
1905 The solo had now increased to 2.75hp and the forecar had a water-cooled 4hp engine and two-speed gear.
1907-1911 Nothing much was heard of the company between those years.
1912 A new range appeared with JAP singles and V-twins with belt drive, and some had Roc gears. Shortly afterwards there were two-speeds and chain drive, followed by models with Precision, water-cooled Green or Villiers engines, as well as the JAP ones.
1913-1917 For a list of the models and prices of motorcycles see the 1917 Red Book
1915 Three-speeds had arrived, using Sturmey-Archer and Jardine gearboxes.
1916 The sturdy big twin was now equipped with a Jardine four-speed gearbox, which was a very special feature in the teens when three-speed gears were common. The foot-boards were aluminium castings, as were the horizontally split primary cases. The magneto was an American Splitdorf, which was specified for many English machines in the war years when there was a real shortage of British built magnetos. Secondary transmission was by rubber belt and the front forks were Druid.
1920 Post-World War I saw the company back in the listings with one model that had a 770cc JAP V-twin engine and Sturmey-Archer transmission.
1921 Several models were now available, including a 976cc version along with 293cc and 597cc sv JAP singles plus a 269cc Villiers model - all with two speeds.
1921 Motorcycle 500cc. Exhibit at Nottingham Industrial Museum
1923 The largest twin was listed with three speeds or a four-speed Jardine gearbox, and in solo and sidecar forms. Yet another model had a Blackburne single engine.
1924 The range shrank to the 147cc Villiers, 293cc JAP and the 976cc V-twin.
1925 They were using Blackburne engines in two sizes and touring sv or sports ohv. The firm then stopped making their own machines.
Notes
For a couple of years afterwards the company remained in the trade, building motorcycles for New Gerrard.
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
- [2] Yesterday's Antique Motorcycles web site
- The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle by Peter Henshaw. Published 2007. ISBN 978 1 8401 3967 9