ABC with 398 cc, 1919.
It was the first motorcycle fitted with a transverse boxer engine and it was manufactured in England (1919 – 1921) and France (1920 – 1923). Both firms decided to stop this project because the total production didn’t reach 3000 units between the English Sopwith Aviation and French Gnome et Rhône, due to its high production cost.
ABC motorcycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer established in 1914 by Ronald Charteris in London. Several British motorcycle firms started up with the name “ABC”, including Sopwith. The All British Engine Company Ltd. of London was founded in 1912 and later changed to ABC Motors Ltd. With chief engineer Granville Bradshaw, Charteris built a range of engines throughout the First World War. From 1913 ABC produced motorcycle engines.
In 1918, ABC made a motorcycle with a 400 cc flat-twin engine mounted with its cylinders across the frame, several years before BMW adapted the design. Bradshaw challenged BMW’s use of his patented design in 1926. In 1919 ABC also produced the Scootamota – an early motor scooter. The company stopped producing motorcycles after 1923 because of competition from cheaper manufacturers.
Moto Bassella museum, Catalonia, Pyrenees, Spain
