The 2025 South of England Classic Motorcycle Show and Jumble (an event by ELK Promotions) was quite the spectacle this year as it celebrated the centenary of the Brough Superior SS100, in addition to the 90th anniversary of the death of Lawrence of Arabia.
A collection of Brough Superiors mustered at the event to commemorate the occasion; here is a look over the bikes that illustrate the evolution of a motorcycle icon.
George Brough founded Brough Superior in Nottingham, England in 1919. Prior to establishing the business, George worked for his father’s motorcycle business where he built up extensive knowledge and experience in motorcycle design and construction.
1924 980cc SS80
In 1919, with his war duty completed, George got down to business to create and manufacture his very own motorcycle. The venture needed a trademark name, and one that represented the vision of what was to be the motorcycle of all motorcycles. The name “Brough” was already associated with his father’s machines, however in the midst of discussions, a friend remarked “If it’s so superior, why not name it the Brough Superior?”. The brand was born and in 1920 the first prototype was released which was powered by an overhead-valve 980cc V-Twin from J.A. Prestwich. The motorcycle was so popular that within 48 hours of the announcement, a handful of cheques from hasty enthusiasts were on the table.
In 1921 George moved his manufacturing facility from the premises opposite the family home, to a new site on Haydn Road, and by April, the works were in full chat.
The SS80 (Super Sports) was the first real production bike – ‘SS’ for Super Sports, and ‘80’ for a guaranteed 80mph! It was powered by a 988cc J.A.P. side-valve V-twin and was available for a modest price of £90 – enough to purchase a nice house outside of London at the time! Motor Cycling conducted the first press test of the new model and summed it up as follows:
“To sum up, the SS 80 Brough Superior is a high-speed mount of great refinement which offers luxurious and effortless travel coupled with a high standard of reliability and silence.”
1924 980cc SS80
In 1923, H.D. Teague from The Motor Cycle compared the Brough Superior to the ‘Rolls-Royce of motorcycles’ after testing the SS80. The comment underlined the high quality craftsmanship of Brough Superiors and George used this to the company’s advantage, including it in his sales brochure for 1924. Well why wouldn’t you?
In 1924 the SS80 was revised and that year it would be accompanied by the impressive 1000cc J.A.P. powered SS100 – the 100mph, over-head valve monster. The SS100 was a development of the SS80 and claimed to be a replica of the machine used by Bert Le Vack in 1924 to break nine world speed records. The SS100 was guaranteed to have hit at least 100 mph on the Brooklands track, and each one was assembled, track-tested, dismantled, and afforded five coats of enamel before being shipped. Among the most devoted customers was Colonel T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) who was a personal friend of George Brough, and owned several of his motorcycles.
It was a tasty machine, and one for those only with deep pockets.
1926 1000cc Alpine Grand Sport
In 1926, Brough Superior announced the Alpine Grand Sports. This new machine took its name from the Austrian Alpine Trial which had been contested by several SS100 machines. One of these bikes was ridden by George Brough himself, which resulted in the award of six cups, including one for ‘Best Performance’.
The introduction of the Alpine Grand Sports coincided with that of a new frame for the SS100, and the AGS came as standard with a lower compression ratio (making it more suitable for touring), a small flyscreen and a pair of toolboxes. It really did look the business.
1926 1000cc Alpine Grand Sport
This particular machine was sold new to Ernest Baltinglass Parsons of Argos Hill in East Sussex, who by the mid-thirties found the machine hard to fire up and therefore sold it to Crittles Garage of Crowborough. It was removed from the road in 1941 for repairs to take place but never made it back and sat in pieces for several decades.
In 2023 the dismantled machine was reconstructed with a mechanical restoration which retained the character of the motorcycle. They don’t really get much better than this.
1929 980cc SS80
The SS80 continued to be a popular mount in the late 1920s, despite the overhead-valve (and soon overhead-camshaft) motors stealing the limelight. The SS80 was a popular choice among riders seeking a balance between speed and affordability.
This bike was first sold to Jared Cavendish Horner in 1929, a sea captain and friend of T. E. Lawrence. It came with a deluxe specification which included twin headlamps for a superior view down the dark dusty tracks of the time, linked front brakes for that extra bite, and Bentley and Draper suspension. A feature of interest on this motorcycle is the bracket on the rear mudguard that was used to load the Brough onto the ships – it probably toured the world with the captain!
1930 1000cc SS100
This exceptional SS100 departed the Brough Superior works in Nottingham in 1930 and has some history at the infamous bank of Brooklands. In 1935 the machine was in the hands of a chap called Jack Swaine who used the bike, bolted to a sidecar, for general family duties… that was until the amateur racing scene became more accessible to aspiring boy-racers.
The SS100 was an extremely capable racing machine, and so began the transformation of a practical utility bike, to a track monster! The task was handed to Eric Fernihough – he replaced the cylinder heads with forward facing dirt-track types, and installed special cams, albeit the original touring (7:1) compression ratio was retained. The exhaust system was modified to suit the new setup, and the cantilever type rear suspension was locked up with struts in an attempt to improve the handling of the bike.
Jack took his newly modified Brough to the Brooklands Motorcycle Clubman’s Day in 1935 and did extremely well… he came 1st in the Flying Kilometre sidecar event (unlimited capacity) and 3rd in the Flying Kilometre Solo event (750cc+). The next chapter of the motorcycle is unknown, however in recent times the bike was resurrected having been laid up for the best part of 30 years.
1933 1000cc SS 100
The SS 100 continued to be number 1. on the top 10 wish list of every boy racer in the 1930s. The 1000cc J.A.P. remained in the bike and had proven its worth in the 1920s.
In 1927 Eric Fernihough set a new world speed record of 122.38 mph on an SS100 at the Brooklands race circuit, an accomplishment which really solidified the concept of an exceptionally fast and muscular motorcycle.
1933 1100cc 11/50
In 1933, the 11/50 was announced, and it was quite the brute. The 11/50 was powered by a 1096cc side-valve supplied exclusively to the Nottingham factory by J.A.P. The model was conceived as a torquey, effortless tourer and could exceed 90mph in solo form or pull a heavy sidecar at up to 75mph.
This bike is the first 11/50 model that was registered to Nottinghamshire in March 1933. It has recently been rebuilt from a wreck and into this fabulous example which has 0 miles on the clock!
1934 1100cc 11/50
The 11/50 became favoured by police forces and military units due to their reliability and torquey workhorse characteristics. A number of 11/50s were used in World War II by the British military, particularly for dispatch and sidecar duties.
This 11/50 is best known as Bessie-B to friends and left the factory in January 1934 where it went to Laytons of Oxford. The 11/50 was rescued from a back yard in 1973 and a thorough restoration was completed in 2001. The teddy bear rides in memory of Bob Starmore.
In the mid 30’s, George Brough became frustrated as J.A.P. motors took a downturn. And so, in 1935 Brough Superior shifted to Matchless which enabled the company to continue to churn out a brand of motorcycle that had top standards. 1935 was also marked by adversity as T.E. Lawrence was killed when he pitched over his SS100 near his Dorset home, lost control and went over the handlebars.
1936 1000cc SS80
By 1936 the SS80 was well over a decade old but continued to be a solid character in the world of two wheels.
This SS 80 was supplied to Hooleys Garage in Nottingham in 1936 and has been in the current owner’s family for the best part of 55 years. It has been subject to an extensive rebuild and has completed the Austrian Rally which included a ride over the Timmelsjoch Mountain Pass in Italy.
1939 1000cc SS 100
As the war started to simmer, tools were downed in the factory and motorcycle production came to a halt. The works turned to the war effort and the capabilities of the factory to produce high-precision engineering resulted in the supply of Merlin crankshafts for Rolls-Royce.
This machine would have been near to one of the last Brough Superiors built and has experienced the world, having been to Wales, Sweden, the USA and New Zealand in its lifetime. It is a chrome-dazzling example of where Brough had come and represented utmost class in the world of two wheels.
1939 1100cc 11/50
This is another latecomer which is owned by Mike Smith and is a wonderfully original example of the model. It was purchased in 1949/ 1950 by his Cyril Leppard who was a founding member of the Brough Superior Club in the early 1950s.
It was well used and taken with Cyril to Australia in 1968, however in 1969 he was unfortunately killed in a motorcycle accident and the bike sold many years later to a local collector. Mike was keen to repatriate the Brough, after all, Cyril was his grandfather. After numerous visits to Australia, Mike was able to purchase his grandfather’s old bike, and it was put back on the road in 2008 where it has covered thousands of miles including trips to Ireland, Scotland, Austria and Italy.
After all, that’s what Broughs are all about.
Thank you to Elk Promotions for putting on a fantastic event as always, and to the Brough Superior Club for convening an impressive collection of Broughs to mark a momentous occasion in this iconic brand.
an article by The Girder Club
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