BROUGH

700 Flat-Twin Model G – 1920

Like father, like son

The Brough Superior motorcycles built by George Brough are well-known, particularly because of the fatal attraction the marque held for Lawrence of Arabia. But before the son built the Superior, the father built plain Broughs – and built them well.

Superior Attitude

William Brough had been building motorcycles since 1902. But when his son, George, wanted to produce his own bikes, Brough insisted that they should not be built under the same name. So George added the "Superior”. Yet there was nothing "inferior" about father William's Broughs, which stood out among the dated designs of 1920 as an example of modern motorcycle design.

Original Construction Method

The first Brough motorcycle of 1902 had a single-cylinder engine fixed to the front downtube of an ordinary bicycle frame. It followed a light car built in 1898, a second car and a tricycle, all with De Dion engines. In 1908 came a more conventional motorcycle with a single-cylinder engine mounted in a loop frame; a V-twin was added in 1911. George piloted his father's Broughs to first place in the London-Edinburgh Trial in 1910, 1911 and 1912. The first Brough flat-twin was launched in 1911. The construction method was original: cylinder, head, intake and exhaust pipes were all separate. These pipes, set at 60 degrees, carried the overhead-valve gear. The gearbox was bolted beneath the rear cylinder. William Brough stuck to this layout until 1925. Of the seven Broughs competing in the 1920 London-Edinburgh Trial, six won gold medals, one a silver. The final Brough was an 810cc side-valve model.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 496cc (70x64.5mm) or 692cc aircooled flat-twin four-stroke; ignition; total-loss oiling by hand and mechanical pumps

Valves: overhead

Fuel System: carburetor

Transmission: Sturmey-Archer 3-speed, chain final drive

Suspension: girder forks (front); rigid (rear)

Brakes: rim (front); dummy belt rim (rear)

Wheels: 26x3 inch wire cl incher (front & rear)

Produced in limited numbers, the "first-generation" Brough motorcycles are now very rare.