P and R of Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, were bicycle and motorcycle makers, forerunner of Phelon and Moore, later Panther.
- 1896 Joah Carver Phelon and his nephew Harry Rayner started business making a quadricycle.
- 1901 Produced their first motorcycle, in a format that was to last for over sixty years with a De Dion-type engine replacing the downtube of a heavy-duty bicycle frame, and an all-chain drive, unlike its contemporaries. The usual bicycle chain and pedals were still fitted. The design was good and so it was offered to firms around the Coventry area, but the only interest was shown by Harry Lawson.
- Humber then began to make the machines to the P and R design although the origin was not publicized. Only a few P and R motorcycles were constructed, and most of those were sold locally.
- 1903 Harry Rayner was killed in a car accident, so Joah Phelon concentrated on his original business and built a few machines under his own name, until the end of the year.
- 1904 Joah Phelon met Richard Moore and formed Phelon and Moore which later became Panther.
See Also
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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