Full Story & History

1923 Grigg V-Twin, Blackburne 750cc Engine Info call 616.719.5917 or visit www.Liquidap.com After being hidden away for decades, one of the world’s rarest motorcycles has recently surfaced. Grigg motorcycles are extremely rare and only four-- including the one just found-- are thought to survive. In fact, the world’s only known example was lost from history for many years. The 750cc shown here is the only known 750cc example and thought to be the pinnacle of their production. The marvel of this Grigg, is not that it is better than its competitors, only that it was a departure from the rest. It is one that under close scrutiny stands out for its harmony and overall rarity of design. This machine is incredibly interesting. We know Grigg made a number of motorcycles and at most, only a handful of this particular model. Today this Blackburne model is the only surviving example of large displacement and luxurious livery. This was able to be lovingly restored by a consummate artist, Charles Williams (Chas). Williams restored this model with high degree of attention to detail. There are many great restorers to choose from and one immediately comes to mind; Todd Millar for his restoration of beautiful Parrilla Racers. Like Millar, I knew Williams had a similar mind set. They both restored a bike for their own satisfaction. They were consumed with minute detail, extreme care, and preservation of this rare artifact. Chas Williams restored this Grigg along with many other Vincent’s in much the same way. Williams, as restorer, was able to have the perception that the machine as a whole was to be considered a work of art-- with a broad palette of lines and curves that satisfied the eye. Chas was exceptional at his work and his machines set many records at auctions. Chas Williams restored this machine with loving attention. While it took him many years, when it was completed it sat locked away in his personal collection. It was unseen and unknown to most of the outside world. The motorcycle world is a richer place for the likes of Harry Grigg! Harry Grigg was born in 1887 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. Early on in 1911, he was employed as an automobile engineer of motor cars at age 24 in London. By 1920 in his early thirties, he began living his life’s vision as owner/director of the Grigg Motorcycle Company. On May 10th, 1920 Harry Grigg founded the Grigg Engineering Company with a capital of £10,000 in £1 shares. The Memorandum of Association states that the object of the company was to acquire the business of engineers and manufacturers carried on by Harry Grigg at the Winchester works, in Twickenham. The Grigg & Griffiths prospectus states that the Winchester works was erected in 1919 and expanded in 1921. The only other director was Howard Grigg of 21 Beaconsfield Road, St Margaret’s, Twickenham. Harry Grigg’s own address is given as the Winchester Works while both Harry and Howard are listed as engineers. The brothers had a business model that included doing machining and assembly work for a number of other companies beside their own which helped propel their own company. Starting in 1920, The Grigg Company entered the market with a basic scooter. We can only imagine how long Harry worked over the design of his new machine before making it a reality. I can personally picture him burning the midnight oil after working his regular job, dreaming up a machine that would allow him to become a manufacturer. This scooter he had come up with had a 145cc two-stroke engine mounted to the rear wheel, a magneto ignition, single speed, no-clutch, and the transmission was by belt. The frame was open, tubular with bicycle forks and had no weather protection. It was indeed very basic, meant for the entry-level rider. In 1921 The engine was enlarged to a 162cc to produce a lightweight motorcycle in a duplex, tubular frame. A year later, a three-speed version of the motorcycle was launched as Harry grasped for a way to move from the dying scooter market. To put this into perspective, we can look at the likes of a Ner-a-car Scooter. Thousands of these were sold in England during this period but by 1927 they disappeared from the market. You could say the Grigg was best-suited for ladies and men of small stature. Although well-built and improving with constant upgrades to its technology, the market they were addressing was not strong enough to provide sufficient income. Nonetheless, they had a busy production schedule. Along with the machines of their own design was the following projected work load for the year 1923: • George McKenzie motorcycles- up to 50 per week • The Wooler motorcycle - up to 50 per week • Metro-Tyler scooters- up to 5 per week • Metro-Tyler Light car - up to 5 per week Grigg, like other engineers, was empowered by the need to create. Regardless how ingenious the designs, they all had to surmount the need for capital. Without the funds from buyers and investors there could be no future. As so often quoted, “Necessity is the mother of invention”, this became his motto. Now, I wouldn’t suggest that Harry Grigg was on the same level as a Turner, Hedstrom, Bill Harley, Phillip Irving, or Erik Buell. Those men worked for more substantial companies with much greater restriction on design and costs. Unlike them, Harry was his own boss and could allow his dream to become reality. As is often the case, when the dream outreaches the short vision of the public, it lingers and dies. Even though a design may be quite significant it doesn’t necessarily catch onto the tastes of the general public. The Vincent Series D enclosed models failed for this reason. Thirty to forty years down the line, it came back as “all-the-rage”. Motorcycle manufacturing in England at this period was still basically a cottage industry. Hundreds of companies had existed. It was a time of little standardization and major innovation. Each enterprising engineer was at his drawing board into the late hours of the night, hoping to invest the industry with a new advance in technology. They searched for a better way for the machines to handle, be propelled, looked for simpler, more-effective controls. So many innovations by so many engineers and designers make it difficult to say who was first with an idea. Each new invention might have been borrowed or improved along the way as there were so many new ideas being thrown around. Harry Grigg made a substantial departure in direction. The smaller machines he had been producing were both slow-selling and had minimal profits. He aspired to reach a more affluent market. To do so, he needed a larger engine range, a more substantial frame, and to capture the attention of discriminating buyers. An eye-catching machine with far greater allowance of new amenities and controls would secure this market. Keep in mind, some Brits like Douglas, among others, were still pushing their bikes to start them with no clutch. Harry Grigg had two important attributes working in his favor; he had an eye for beauty in design and originality. Using much of what he had learned and seen from others, he created his new substantial motorcycle, with stylish touches that would catch the eye and showcase his new innovations. Harry had his own vision of style and his new motorcycle would have features that would set it apart a hundred years later, if not for eternity. In 1923 Grigg debuted the new larger range of machines. Available with a variety of models fitted with 247cc and 343cc Villers, 195cc ohv Shaw motors for the new midrange machines. During that year he gave us a most interesting, charismatic motorcycle. The Grigg we show in the accompanying photos with Blackburne four-stroke 696cc V-twin engine was destined to become his crowning achievement. The exquisite new machine had details worthy of the attention of a more discriminating clientele. In the photos, one can see the curving ripples of the rear tail light. At a time when some machines didn’t even have lights, those that did were quite a plain, functional part. Harry’s small-but-exquisite gem of a light has such beautiful lines. Then the eye takes us to the unusual panniers. Even the distinguished Brough Superior or a Montgomery would have had rectangular leather panniers but Grigg was only content to make his with angles that give the machine a look of motion at rest and also highlight the triangular lines of the frame. His top-of-the-line competitors might have been satisfied with a simple leather strap to cinch the pannier closed but for Grigg it would have to be a tidy mechanical lock with key. The rear prop stand had a spring-loaded catch like many others, but the Grigg also had an unusual mechanical device that can be locked or released as needed. Somewhat spindly by today’s standards, the frame was light weight, and triangulated--similar to the triangulated Cotton design. This was a design that was widely imitated by the British industry in 1960’s and 1970’s by some very successful racers. Above all, it was a different look that screamed, “This bike is not like the others! It marches to the beat of a different drummer.” A neat bit of sculpture, that nestled in the frame like a gem in a setting was the gas tank.

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