• Rare model from a premier make • An older restoration • Requires mild re-commissioning • Eligible for the Banbury Run and other prestigious events Zenith motorcycles were manufactured from 1904 until 1950 in a variety of factories in or around London. From the early days proprietary engines were used, such as Fafnir, Precision, JAP, Bradshaw and Villiers. The driving force behind Zenith was chief engineer, and company owner, Frederick Barnes, who was responsible for the famous 'Gradua' gear. Worked by a hand-wheel or crank handle, the Gradua mechanism varied the diameter of the engine pulley while simultaneously sliding the rear wheel back and forth in the fork slots, thus maintaining correct belt tension. Its advantages showed most effectively in speed hill climbs, and in pre-WW1 days Zenith machines gained many successes as the rider could change gear during the ascent while the other competitors had to make do with a single choice of ratio. Rival riders and manufacturers thought that this was an unfair advantage so many leading clubs excluded Zeniths from their hill climbs. Zenith was quick to recognise the publicity value and took the word 'Barred' as their trademark. Despite adding a Villiers-powered economy model to the range, Zenith failed to weather the financial storms of the early 1930s. After a succession of closures and changes of ownership it re-emerged after WW2 with a solitary model: a 750cc JAP-powered sidevalve v-twin, which lasted only a few more years. Dating from Zenith's Vintage-era heyday, this sidevalve-engined Zenith-JAP ('The six which pulls like an eighty') was purchased by the immediately preceding owner, David Fallows, in approximately 1970, at which time it was complete but in poor condition and needing restoration. Some years later, the engine and gearbox were entrusted to well-known engineer Brian Thompson to be stripped and rebuilt, after which the cycle parts were passed to Weeden Racing Restorations for refurbishment (see invoices on file). The Zenith saw little use over the ensuing years, covering only 298 recorded miles. 'WM 550' had not been used for at least ten years when it was purchased by the current owner at Bonhams' Oxford sale in August 2014 (Lot 57), since when the fuel tank has been repaired. The Zenith has been kept in centrally heated storage since acquisition, and we are advised that mild re-commissioning will be required before it returns to the road. Accompanying documentation consists of the aforementioned restoration invoices, two old MoT certificates (most recent expired September 1994), a 1928 Zenith sales catalogue, 1992 VMCC valuation, sundry correspondence, old/current V5/V5C Registration Certificates, and an old-style continuation logbook listing two owners between May 1942 and August 1968. A capable and stylish mount for next year's Banbury Run.
• Rare model from a premier make • An older restoration • Requires mild re-commissioning • Eligible for the Banbury Run and other prestigious events Zenith motorcycles were manufactured from 1904 until 1950 in a variety of factories in or around London. From the early days proprietary engines were used, such as Fafnir, Precision, JAP, Bradshaw and Villiers. The driving force behind Zenith was chief engineer, and company owner, Frederick Barnes, who was responsible for the famous 'Gradua' gear. Worked by a hand-wheel or crank handle, the Gradua mechanism varied the diameter of the engine pulley while simultaneously sliding the rear wheel back and forth in the fork slots, thus maintaining correct belt tension. Its advantages showed most effectively in speed hill climbs, and in pre-WW1 days Zenith machines gained many successes as the rider could change gear during the ascent while the other competitors had to make do with a single choice of ratio. Rival riders and manufacturers thought that this was an unfair advantage so many leading clubs excluded Zeniths from their hill climbs. Zenith was quick to recognise the publicity value and took the word 'Barred' as their trademark. Despite adding a Villiers-powered economy model to the range, Zenith failed to weather the financial storms of the early 1930s. After a succession of closures and changes of ownership it re-emerged after WW2 with a solitary model: a 750cc JAP-powered sidevalve v-twin, which lasted only a few more years. Dating from Zenith's Vintage-era heyday, this sidevalve-engined Zenith-JAP ('The six which pulls like an eighty') was purchased by the immediately preceding owner, David Fallows, in approximately 1970, at which time it was complete but in poor condition and needing restoration. Some years later, the engine and gearbox were entrusted to well-known engineer Brian Thompson to be stripped and rebuilt, after which the cycle parts were passed to Weeden Racing Restorations for refurbishment (see invoices on file). The Zenith saw little use over the ensuing years, covering only 298 recorded miles. 'WM 550' had not been used for at least ten years when it was purchased by the current owner at Bonhams' Oxford sale in August 2014 (Lot 57), since when the fuel tank has been repaired. The Zenith has been kept in centrally heated storage since acquisition, and we are advised that mild re-commissioning will be required before it returns to the road. Accompanying documentation consists of the aforementioned restoration invoices, two old MoT certificates (most recent expired September 1994), a 1928 Zenith sales catalogue, 1992 VMCC valuation, sundry correspondence, old/current V5/V5C Registration Certificates, and an old-style continuation logbook listing two owners between May 1942 and August 1968. A capable and stylish mount for next year's Banbury Run.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
