1926 Brough Superior SS100 Alpine Grand Sports

1926 Brough Superior SS100 Alpine Grand Sports

Audrain Automobile Museum gives us a summary:

The Alpine Grand Sport version was named after Brough Superior’s success in the 1925 Alpine Trial, a tough regularity event held annually in Austria. A team of six SS100s, one of which was ridden by George Brough himself, dominated the event and won the Best Performance award. Production models offered to the public featured a lower-compression JAP KTOR racing engine (made by Joseph A. Prestwich, Ltd.), a small fly-screen for wind protection and fully equipped tool boxes mounted to either side of the rear luggage rack. This machine also has the sprung frame option, which greatly improved the ride quality on rough roads. Brough pioneered the use of dual interconnected mufflers, which improved performance without excessive noise, important for motorcycles intended for road use.

Brough Superiors were owned by many wealthy and famous motorcyclists, including the well-known British writer, spy and army officer T.E Lawrence (who fought alongside Arab guerilla forces during the First World War and became known as Lawrence of Arabia, ). Lawrence owned seven Brough Superiors, including four SS100s. He was fatally injured in a riding accident in 1935 when he swerved to avoid two young cyclists. 

Specifications:

• Engine: OHV 50-degree twin-cam v-twin, 998cc 
• Transmission: Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hand-change gearbox with chain drive
• Horsepower: 50 bhp
• Top Speed: 100+ mph

Strumey-Archer, last I heard of them they were making three speed hubs for bicycles. Seems they are still in business, though their products are now made in Taiwan.

Things were changing fast back then. The 1920 Zenith was the first motorcycle to offer any kind of transmission and here, six years later we have a three-speed gearbox.

This post started as a jigsaw puzzle, but the finished image wasn't as clear as I liked so looked around for a better one. Click to embiggenate.