Zenith Motorcycles V-twin 1925
Zenith was established by Freddie Barnes in Weybridge, Surrey, UK, in 1904 and produced motorcycles until 1950.
The first Zenith was known as the Bicar and featured centre-hub steering and a Fafnir engine. It was later equipped with a sprung sub-frame and called the Zenette, and from 1908 it featured Barnes’ patented Gradua infinitely-variable transmission that comprised an engine pulley with flanges that moved in and out under control of a hand wheel with the belt tension maintained by a linked mechanism that moved the rear wheel back and forward in the frame. The Gradua transmission was used with J.A.P. engines ranging from 500cc to 1,000cc but was discontinued as belt-drive was superseded by chains.
Although various Zenith models were equipped with Bradshaw, Green and Villiers engines, most were fitted with J.A.P. units ranging from 250cc to 1,100cc. This 1925 example is equipped with a 680cc, side-valve, V-twin J.A.P. engine and chain drive to a three-speed Sturmey-Archer hub gearbox. Drum brakes are fitted front and rear and the coil-sprung girder front fork features an adjustable damper. It was acquired for the NZ Classic Motorcycles collection from a private vendor in Ripon, Yorkshire, via an auction in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, in July, 2009. It was supplied with copies of a UK Registration Certificate and a period Zenith sales booklet.