Coventry Eagle

Coventry Eagle
legal form
founding	1897
resolution	1939
Reason for dissolution	closure
Seat	Coventry , UK
Branch	Bicycle manufacturer, motorcycle manufacturer

JAP engine in a Coventry Eagle from 1920

Coventry Eagle

Coventry Eagle 250 (1935)

Coventry-Eagle was a British bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer based in Coventry from 1897 to 1939 .

history

The bicycle manufacturing company was originally founded under the names of the founders, Hotchkiss, Mayo & Meek . In 1897, when Meek left the company, the name was changed to Coventry Eagle . In 1898 people began to experiment with motorized vehicles. The first motorcycle was built in 1899. The hand-made machines from supplied components prove to be reliable and at the beginning of the First World War , the model range included motorcycles with Villiers and JAP engines.

In the early 1920s, the range changed depending on the engines available. The manufacturer shuttled between five engine suppliers: Villiers, JAP, Sturmey-Archer , Blackburne and Matchless . The Flying 8 model was probably the most admired motorcycle at the time and looked similar to the contemporary Brough Superior . During the Great Depression in the 1930s, Coventry-Eagle focused on the manufacture of two-stroke models . Production continued until the beginning of the Second World War in 1939.

In the 1930s, the company released a range of sporty bicycles under the Falcon brand . After the Second World War, the company gave up the motorcycle branch because it would have been too small for an economic operation, and concentrated on the manufacture of racing bikes. The company was renamed Falcon Cycles and later became part of the Tandem Group .

Motorcycle models

model	Construction year	Remarks
269 ​​cc	1913	Two-speed Villiers engine
3.5 hp	1913	Single cylinder
5 hp	1914	V 2 engine with three gears
500 cc single	1921
680 cc V-twin	1921	JAP engine
Flying 8	1923
8 hp Super Sports Twin	1923
Flying 6	1927	Side- controlled 674 cc two-cylinder engine
150 cc	1935	Double port two-stroke engine with manual transmission on the left side of the machine and Albion gearbox
L5 249 cc 35 Silent Superb De Luxe	1935	Villiers engine and Albion four-speed gearbox, pressed steel frame
N35	1937	Flying 350
N11 250 cc	1937	Pullman

Individual evidence

1. ^ Motorcycle Publications . Classic Motor History. ( Memento of the original from August 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 4, 2014. 
2. ↑ 1928 Coventry-Eagle Flying 8 . Real Classic. ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 4, 2014. 
3. ^ Erwin Tragatsch : The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Motorcycles . Quantum Publishing, London 2000. ISBN 1-86160-342-8 . P. 560.
4. ^ Coventry-Eagle Motorcycles - Brief History of the Marque: Coventry-Eagle . CyberMotorCycle.com . Retrieved December 4, 2014.

Web links

Commons : Coventry-Eagle  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Coventry-Eagle gallery . CyberMotorCycle.com
• Coventry-Eagle Silent Superb at realclassic.co.uk