A 1913 Zenith Gradua at the Brooklands 100 centenary event.
This Zenith was built to the specifications of privateer racer Hal Hill, one of the North West London Motorcycle Clubs fastest riders. Hal had the machine painted in the racing colours of Freddie Barnes – the founder of Zenith and very successful competitor of the period.
The bike is powered by a 996cc J.A.P side-valve engine with a bore and stroke of 90 x 77.5mm, and was capable of 70mph on the track.
This era of bike features the Gradua system, which helped in hill climb events as the rider was able to select the correct gear during the ascent, while other competitors had to make do with a single choice of ratio. A number of rattled competitors felt that the Gradua afforded Zenith with an unfair advantage, and as a result many clubs banned Zenith from their hill climbs. Zenith was quick to identify the publicity value, and took the word ‘Barred’ and used it as their trademark.
Hal Hill used this speed machine at Brooklands, and on many long distance rallies and hill climbs before and after the First World War. The bike lived on Monument Hill, Weybridge up to 1953, when it was obtained by the present owner and restored into this impeccable example.
Thank you to the team at the Sunbeam Motorcycle Club, and the Brooklands Museum for putting on a cracking motorcycle event for proper old motorcycles.
an article by The Girder Club
If you would like to be kept up-to-date with the latest news and information on vintage motorcycles, feel free to sign up to our newsletter, which we aim to ping out each month.
Leave a Reply