Where Are They Now? THREE Classic Motorcycle Brands That Were Revived
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- Wobbly Phil tracks down three classic bike brands that were re-launched in the 2010s. Are they still thriving?
Please do consider subscribing as it costs you nothing but really helps the RUclips algorithm understand that 3Phils is an established channel with interesting content. Thank you.
If you're feeling generous and fancy leaving us a tip, using the Super Thanks button helps keep our channel going. It takes a lot of time, effort and resource to make these videos so we'd really appreciate it. Thank you.
Don't forget to join us on Facebook too!
www.facebook.c...
Credits and links:
1930 Brough Superior SS100 - Jay Leno's Garage
• 1930 Brough Superior S...
Horex Regina 400 004 - Classic Motorcycles
• Horex Regina 400 004
HOREX Treffen Vorchdorf Österreich Juli 2023 - HOREX WERKSTATT
• HOREX Treffen Vorchdor...
Fit For A Lord! The Forgotten Classic British Motorcycle - 3Phils
• Fit For A Lord! The Fo...
#classicmotorcycles #classicmotorbike #BroughSuperior #Horex #Hesketh
I did spot a running Hesketh parked up outside the National Motorcycle Museum at it's open day. They have a nice example on show there as well. I kind of admire what Lord Hesketh did with the family fortune. FI then build motorcycles, a quick way to blow his wad.
As for Brough Superior, I've never thought their modern interpretation looked as good as the original. I'm sure it's not long ago I spotted one hiding under some Aston Martin styled bodywork at Motorcycle Live. Think they were asking in the region of £93,000 for one 😮
BS did form some kind of hook-up with Aston Martin a few years ago. 100 bikes were apparently being made, but I couldn’t find any confirmation of 100 being produced. There are a few up for sale on auction sites at anything up to £200,000!
Three marques that I've really no interest in, but I watched this anyway 'cuz you make me smarter, Phil!
Ay thankee! It was a bit of a toss-up which three to cover, there have been so many. Feel free to suggest any that you might be interested in that you’d like me to make a video about! 🙂
That was a fine commentary with a perfect balance of tragedy and irony. Wonderful all round. 😊
Thank you! It’s always nice to be told we’re doing something right here at 3Phils. 🙂
@3PhilsYou would have been justified in pointing out the face of old E.T. himself on the Brough cylinder heads, but maybe you're more gentlemanly than me.
Superb Phil 👍
Thank you! 🏍️👍
Very interesting, especially for a Yank like me who's ridden for >50yrs, and I love your dry, razor-sharp humor. Cheers from Kentucky!
Thank you! 🏍️👍🇬🇧🇺🇸
As a long term Moto Morini owner and rider (not quite in the same league as Brough 😉) it's reassuring to see the Morini marque revived. Designed in Italy and built in China, have you seen the new "3 1/2" due for release later this year? Great channel thanks Phil 👍
That’s very kind of you to say so, thank you! I’ve always had a soft spot for Moto Morini, but its recent history has had ups and downs like the other marques I mention in the video. Still, it does seem to have a great range of bikes on sale now. My only cynical comment (I can’t help myself!) would be that it’s now owned by a Chinese fridge company.
I wonder what will become of the spaghetti eastern brands (see what I did there?) like Morini and Benelli as I see their revival as a way to make Chinese manufacturers palatable to western markets.
Now the likes of CFmoto and Voge are mainstream brands there is no need for disguise, so will they fade away?
@DerekJames-s8g That’s a very interesting question. I know some will object to me saying this, but the Japanese were copiers (or licensers) post 1945 until the Japanese government injected huge subsidies into the industry in the 1950s and 1960s, and I wonder if the that’s the way Chinese bikes will go / are going? Again, it’s controversial, but I’d argue that spaghetti westerns re-invigorated and brought originality and innovation (like the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers) to a tired genre, whereas I can’t imagine Chinese manufacturers being capable of that - even with their huge subsidies!
Triumph did it right. They are not good nostalgia bikes, they are just good bikes. Relatively affordable too.
The common theme with many of these once iconic British brand revivals is they seem to be GARNERed with rogue CEOs at the helm.(see past Norton revivals)
I guess to understand why this keeps happening we only need to ask why that bastard isn't in jail. It appears that to get away with theft all you need to do is steal at least a million, then you're good to go.
Thanks for diving headfirst into the murky waters of marque revivals. Recently I saw a new DOT motorcycle on the cover of Open Road (the MAG journal). The history of DOT seems different to the marques mentioned in the video in that the same company has continued since 1906 but with breaks in motorcycle manufacturing. They seem to be making bikes again, with two models on their website. I can't find any road tests here on RUclips, only dreamy promotional videos. MCN has run at least one article about them. I learned that the 650cc engine is Kawasaki derived. All good, apart from hearing one running and seeing someone riding it.
DOT was originally on my list but I decided against it because, like you, I couldn’t find much in the way of background. And as you also mention, it’s more or less been a continuous entity since 1906, albeit ‘relaunched’ in 2021. Their new bikes look interesting though, so I think I’ll have a little dig around! 🏍️👍
@3Phils Thanks. I look forward to seeing anything you find out.
I had a bike which had mental issues, in the morning i had to talk nice to it, and it would start and then randomly accelerate a peoples and cars. It would do a ton, loved it.
Velocettes need to be talked to nicely, and also say thank you when they get you home safely.
@EbenBransome it was a yammy
A company can produce a great looking and technologically advanced motorcycle, but the bottom line is 'Will it sell in volume?' because that is where the profit is.
Not a fan of these 'revivals.' Heritage & history should be earned not merely applied with a decal.
I left out the heritage marques that just rebadge Chinese bikes, which seems like the ultimate disgrace to me, on the grounds that at least they seem to earn a crust. Perhaps I was too generous?
@3Phils The Benelli revival doesn't seem too bad, in fact Watsonian are selling a Benelli combination as a product, and they know their stuff. The rest, well, not remotely interesting.
@3Phils I think CF Moto are showing the way ahead, in building their own brand. Motorcycle owners can often be fiercely loyal to & proud of the marque they own. That's kinda difficult when your bike is sold under several different marque names around the globe. Makes them seem generic & disposable IMHO.
@ The only thing about CF Moto is that all their products seem to have been designed by that Discworld god who was really, really keen on cockroaches.
🤣
"Soon after the Bankers ran off with all of our money". Very succinctly put!
Hesketh doesn't really count because it had no history. Taking 2 cylinders off an F1 engine is not where you start designing bikes.
Your observation about Horex reminded me that when women start remodelling their rear end it's usually a sign of increasing desperation for attention, not a good one.
Brough though. Lawrence of Arabia bought his from DiFazios (a good old Wiltshire name) in Frome, an establishment I occasionally frequented (and occasionally kick myself for not buying the lovely BMW single they once had in). DiFazio wanted to expand into racing front ends but were held up because they couldn't find a production manager in the area. However, Broughs were basically Bitzas - bits o' this, bits o' that - lovingly brought up their standards and assembled. They fell down a pothole when they decided to design and build their own engine, ridiculously expensive in small volume. Which is what all three brands in this video seem to have done, with the same result.
There have hardly been any new small aircraft engines for exactly the same reason. Not enough sales to cover R&D and certification.
Brilliant insight there, as ever. Thank you. I recall Norton taking two cylinders off a Cosworth V8 engine and that didn’t end particularly well either! I’m going to be honest, I’ve never really understood the appeal of Brough Superiors, not to the tune of half a mill anyway!
@3Phils One of my cousins was an engineer warrant officer in the RN in WW2. He had an SS80 which he used to travel from Portsmouth to Hertfordshire, in wartime conditions. It was fast and reliable by the standards of the day, and the use of JAP engines meant spares were available.
Mind you, his thing was Bristol radials, he knew a bit about air cooled engines. And he had access to fuel!
@3Phils Look up the info on the final version of the Norton Cosworth Challenge when Quantel took over the further development......not such a disaster after all.
For 1988 the bike was fitted with an experimental mechanical fuel injection developed by Cosworth and produced 120 bhp (89 kW) at 10,500 rpm.
Graves asked Surtees to find a British rider and Roger Marshall was signed up.[34] At Daytona Marshall defeated Stefano Caracchi [es] on the works Ducati 851 after a hard-fought battle.
Marshall went on to win the Battle of the Twins races at Spa and Assen later that year. Having achieved his objective of winning with the bike and having spent £100,0000 of his own money on the project, Graves retired the bike at the end of the year.
Horex is selling off the last available VR6 (6 cylinders, 55,000 euros, 1200 cc, 163 hp, 220 kg) this year. It is not clear whether there will be any further VR6 production.
However, Horex is building and selling the newly developed Regina Evo (1 cylinder, 37,500 euros, 600 cc, 48 hp and a fabulously light 133 kg - due to the high use of carbon). With its power and low weight, it certainly rides like a moped on steroids. (The Regina was the most famous motorcycle of the old Horex factories.)
Thanks for the update. I saw the new Horex Regina had been launched and wish it all success! I didn’t include it in the video because it seems like ‘early days’ and I’m not sure they’ve gone on sale yet, but you’d probably know better than me. 🙂
@3Phils I hope so. I rely on the famous "Motorrad Katalog", year 2025. Publisher is "Motor Presse Stuttgart". But I don't think the bike will have great success, because of the high price.
AJS, Francis-Barnett and Ariel might be worth a look at too. The first two are basically Chinese-derived I think, but they might be ok, I don't know. Ariel use a Honda engine I think.
I hear rumours of new DOT and CCM motorcycles too. We need the truth!
Great channel, keep up the good work!
Thank you! I was going to include AJS but to be honest they’ve actually been going forever, they’re now essentially re-badging Chinese bikes. Ariel, I believe, stopped production of their bike recently. DOT are an interesting little company and I might be doing something on them soon, so watch this space! 🏍️👍
"Wrinkly Riders".... I thought I was going to pee myself!!
I find Tenas For Men help with that particular problem. 🤣
@3Phils I'm 66yr old, still riding. Everyone I know thinks I'm crazy. I guess I'm in the wrinkly rider club. That's funny I don't care who you are!
I’m right behind you age-wise and everyone thinks I’m crazy too. But I get Grumpy Old Man Syndrome if I can’t get out on a bike!
Good job brother.
A simple bike, no hype or jazz or what ever it is called.
Vespa 500, Honda CB no bullszit bikes.
I knew a guy who once totalled a Horex VR6 😂
I just hope some idiots don't try to resurrect Laverda because, no doubt, it will be electric and/or a sad pastiche of a great machine.
At least if it was electric, the electrics would probably be better than on actual Laverdas.
@@EbenBransome Funnily enough the electrics on Laverdas were pretty good. They bought in stuff from Bosch and Nippon Denso. All of mine were very reliable.
Laverda also made quite a good combine harvester and were bought out by Fiat Agri.
It didn't have a three cylinder engine.
@@JukeboxGothic IIRC early versions of the triple and the twin (Alpina,Alpino, can't remember the gender) were not at all good. Sound slike that changed later.
I repalced everything other than the ignition sensor on my Ducati with Nippon Denso. It was a good move.
@@philhawley1219 I never saw it, but somebody swore blind he had seen a Norton combination into which someone had grafted the engine off a Massey-Ferguson tractor, just so he could call it a Normas. I didn't believe it, there really wasn't room.
The French built Brough bikes remind me of Voxans.
Same engine. An 88 degree V twin for some peculiar reason. 90 degrees is more normal for a good purpose (see Guzzi and Ducati). Perfidious Gallic awkwardness.
Mmm I wonder if we will be talking about beloved Japanese and American brand revivals in a few years ???
Don't worry. By then Indian companies will have bought them all.
Have you seen the new Horex Regina?
I’m aware that it was launched in 2022, but I couldn’t find any for sale, which suggests it’s not made it to market yet? But I’m very happy to be proved wrong! 🏍️👍🇩🇪
….wrinkled rider from Germany here. You pronounced Horex just right.
Danke schön! 🇬🇧👍🇩🇪
The Jawa revival bikes are interesting, if only for the fact they have 2 strokes too many and one cylinder too few.
Also, does Les Harris's company still own the Matchless name?
Good question! As far as I can make out the owner of Matchless Motorcycles Ltd, the company, is currently a gentleman who seems to ‘warehouse’ companies, presumably in the hope that someone might someday want to re-animate them and buy them off him. For example, he also owns National Coal Board Ltd, White Star Line Ltd and Meccano Ltd. It doesn’t automatically mean he owns the trademark, though. I did a bit of research on AJS for the video, and they’re still going, albeit rebadging Chinese bikes these days.
Correction Phil, the Horex is VR6 powered.
You’re quite right, of course, and thanks for the correction. 🙂 I’ll have a word with myself!
@3Phils don't be harsh on yourself, you just had a Homer moment. D'OH! 😁
@fredtracy3931 Ha! Maybe it was that crate of Duff I chugged while I was writing the script! 🍺🍺🍺
@3Phils 😅
Bit harsh today ain't we ? Harsh but hilarious 😂😂😂.
Hehe! It’s been a tough week. That’s my excuse! 🤣🤣🤣
Alas...terrific video, however!
Thank you! 🏍️👍
If I had the kind of money to buy a boutique brand of motorcycle, I'd sooner have a regular bike worked over by a well respected and established custom shop. At very least, one would hope thereafter that replacement mechanical parts wouldn't be like hens' teeth. I see that the firm in France is still doing well producing Egli Vincents though. Others like Wakan come and go very quickly indeed.
I just find it disappointing that these things are announced and often seem to obtain funding without what you’d imagine would be a sensible business plan. Although I’m a cynic by nature, I really don’t have anything against folk trying something and working hard to achieve it. In fact one of the reasons publication of this video was delayed was because I had a sudden (and uncharacteristic) wave of sympathy wash over me, resulting in me editing out two other marques which are trying their best, bless!
😀
I feel sorry for that poor woman at 3:58, who is now immortalised in this video. I wonder who she was? although it`s probably better not to ask
It’s Donatella Versace! Off of Wikipedia. I don’t think it’s much of a secret that she’s addicted to plastic surgery. That was her in 2010, when she was 55.
@3Phils Crikey!
She can charge £920 for a pair of trainers, you don't need to feel sorry for her. Or the rich mugs that buy the ghastly, tasteless tat they make. (Nobody cares about my opinion, it isn't libel.) For less money, you could go to actual Savile Row and get something really good with no logos visible. Tailors put their label on the *inside* of the jcket pocket.
The fashion world is badge engineering, sticking an expensive label on something knocked up in a Bangladeshi sweatshop. To be fair, even the worst bike badge engineering isn't in that class of awfulness.
Dare I mention Ralph Lauren shirts? Or would that be overstepping the mark?
@ Thanks for the tip-off. My wardrobe will have to remain incomplete then! The the info however, does fit in quite nicely though with the theme of over - indulgent folly
the french,,,,, Quirky bunch
BS is a mess. Overpriced overhyped ugly garbage!