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-WW1 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 Zenith's Vintage-era heyday, this Zenith-JAP is believed to be one of a team of four sent by the factory to race in Australia, all of which competed in and around Sydney and country Victoria. This particular Zenith was bought from a Melbourne motorcycle collector, who had owned it for some time but had done little with it. Before this it was owned by a collector in country Victoria, who owned it for many years and had dreams of riding it but never did. Prior to this the machine was owned by an old Gippsland dairy farmer, who had acquired it back in the late 1950s. He recalled the Zenith being ridden and raced in many hill climb events. This Zenith's JAP 'GTO' overhead-valve engine (of 1928 model-year manufacture as indicated by the '/C' suffix) is mounted in Zenith's cradle-type frame. Similar to that used by the factory for its world record machines, this chassis was extremely rigid to cope with the rough roads and racetracks encountered in the 1920s, Brooklands included. Other noteworthy features include a twin-float Amal racing carburettor; bevel-driven ML racing magneto; Castle forks (as used by Brough Superior but also supplied under licence to Zenith); Sturmey Archer hand-change three-speed gearbox; Royal Enfield wheels; Brooks saddle; and twin fuel fillers. Professionally restored, with all work undertaken to the highest standards, the Zenith has been kept in a private climate-controlled museum since the completion of its restoration and has not been run for some time. It is a beautiful motorcycle that presents well and would be a worthy addition to any collection, capable of standing alongside a Brough Superior SS100 but at an affordable price.