Beschreibung:

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-WWI days Zenith machines gained many successes as the Zenith 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. Although the expensive Gradua system gave way to a more conventional Sturmey-Archer countershaft gearbox in the 1920s, Zenith continued to pursue its racing and record breaking activities with enthusiasm. Fred Barnes himself enjoyed considerable success at Brooklands, where in 1922 Zenith rider Bert Le Vack became the first man to lap at over 100mph on a motorcycle – in the rain. In 1928 a Zenith-JAP ridden by Oliver Baldwin established a world motorcycle speed record of 124.62mph at Arpajon in France, while Joe Wright later raised the record to 150.736mph using his supercharged Zenith-JAP 'reserve bike', his favoured OEC having succumbed to mechanical problems. Significantly, when Wright's record was set, in 1930, the company was temporarily out of business. Despite adding a Villiers-powered economy model to the range, Zenith failed to weather the financial storms of the early '30s. 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 1913, this magnificent Zenith 'Gradua' is powered by a sidevalve JAP v-twin engine of 770cc displacement, rated at 6hp. Two versions of the 6hp Zenith were available for 1913, with or without the rear-hub clutch, this being one of the 'clutch' models. This arrangement was offered for 1913 only, a countershaft being fitted from 1914 up to the end of the Gradua gear in 1923. The accompanying old-style logbook (issued 1949) records the date of original registration as 15th March 1921, this being shortly after the introduction of the Roads Act of 1920, which required local councils to register all vehicles at the time of licensing and to allocate a separate number to each. (Many vehicles, although in existence for several years in some cases, were only registered for the first time after the Act's passing). The first owner listed is one Arthur Edward Smallbone, of Sompting near Worthing, with Basil Keys listed as '1st Change'. The entry is not date-stamped, though it is believed Basil bought the Zenith in the 1970s. The machine carries a tax disc dated 31st December 1949 and is offered with the aforementioned buff logbook and old-style Swansea V5. It is known that 'LH 453' took part in the Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club's Pioneer Run as far back as 1938 (entrant number '25', rider F J B Budgett) when it was awarded a Club Ashtray. The Zenith was entered the following year as a motorcycle combination, again ridden by Budgett, whose brother was entered on a Douglas. (The Budgett brothers ran a garage in Redhill, John Charmers & Son). 'LH 453' was back in 1949 as a solo, the programme caption reading, 'Welcome return of a rider and machine who gained awards in pre-war Pioneer Runs.' No doubt there will be an equally warm welcome when the Zenith makes its next appearance on the Run.