Founded by Gordon Francis and Arthur Barnett, Francis-Barnett set up shop in the old Excelsior works in Coventry in 1919. The downturn in the motorcycle market in the early 1920s prompted F-B to switch from producing expensive, high quality machines to the more utilitarian. First seen in 1923, the first of these was the triangulated, pin-jointed, straight-tube frame models whose novel method of construction gave rise to the ‘Built Like A Bridge’ advertising slogan. This straight-tube ‘Fanny B’ is powered by the 148cc Villiers two-stroke engine that was newly introduced for 1932 on the Model 25 Lapwing. The Lapwing was available in several versions, this one being the top-of-the-range Model 34, which was equipped with dynamo lighting and coil ignition. Acquired by the vendor in 1972 as a long term restoration project, the machine was brought back to running condition only a few years ago but has not been used on the road since it was last MoT’d in 1966/67. The machine is offered with old-style continuation logbook (issued 1966), expired MoT (1967) and Swansea V5C registration document.
Founded by Gordon Francis and Arthur Barnett, Francis-Barnett set up shop in the old Excelsior works in Coventry in 1919. The downturn in the motorcycle market in the early 1920s prompted F-B to switch from producing expensive, high quality machines to the more utilitarian. First seen in 1923, the first of these was the triangulated, pin-jointed, straight-tube frame models whose novel method of construction gave rise to the ‘Built Like A Bridge’ advertising slogan. This straight-tube ‘Fanny B’ is powered by the 148cc Villiers two-stroke engine that was newly introduced for 1932 on the Model 25 Lapwing. The Lapwing was available in several versions, this one being the top-of-the-range Model 34, which was equipped with dynamo lighting and coil ignition. Acquired by the vendor in 1972 as a long term restoration project, the machine was brought back to running condition only a few years ago but has not been used on the road since it was last MoT’d in 1966/67. The machine is offered with old-style continuation logbook (issued 1966), expired MoT (1967) and Swansea V5C registration document.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
