‘The present year should be more successful from the motorists point of view than any of its predecessors. Never has the prospective buyer had so wide a range to select from……….  Reliability too has been appreciably improved. Journeys of 60 miles and upwards can be undertaken with a motor-cycle of 1½hp or a Rolls-Royce of 50hp with almost a certainty of arriving at the destination. The light car will be the car of the year. Prices for reliable models range from the £128 Morgan and £165 Austin to 600 guineas (£630)’.

The Museum has a great collection of motorcycle badges but no motorbike! Come and see them all in our fantastic Transport Gallery. The badges represent famous British companies who all started producing motorcycles at the very beginning of the twentieth century. Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) was founded in 1861 and, as its name suggests, manufactured firearms but expanded in to motorbikes in 1903. The Norton and James bikes were also originally made in Birmingham whereas Triumph and Francis Barnett were produced just down the road in Coventry. The only producer not based in the Midlands was Matchless who were founded in 1899 in Plumstead, London.

All of these manufacturers became important in the racing world. The British Motorcycle Racing Club, the oldest in the world, was formed in 1909 and based at the Brooklands circuit in Surrey. Although there have been various mergers and take-overs through the years, most of the Companies are still active.