The Scott Motorcycle Company
Encyclopedia
The Scott Motorcycle Company was owned by Scott Motors (Saltaire) Limited, Shipley, West Yorkshire
, England and was a well known producer of motorcycles and light engines for industry. Founded by Alfred Angas Scott
in 1908 as the Scott Engineering Company in Bradford
, Yorkshire
, Scott motorcycles were produced until 1978.
, which he is credited with inventing. The first few machines to his design were produced by Bradford
based car firm Jowett
in 1908 and soon after he set up as a manufacturer in his own right at premises in Grosvenor Street Bradford.
Scott made several appearances at the Isle of Man TT
Races between 1910 and 1914 with specially built racing machines. In 1910 a Scott was the first two-stroke motorcycle ever to complete a full TT course under race conditions and in 1911 a Scott ridden by Frank Phillip gained the TT lap record of 50.11 mph (22.4 m/s) continuous average speed. This winning streak continued with Scott's being the fastest machines in 1912, 1913, and 1914 as well as winning the event in 1912 and 1913.
. This did not prove to be as successful as the Scott motorcycle but Scott never returned to the Scott Motorcycle Company.
After the war production restarted with the 532 cc Standard Tourer and in 1922 Scott introduced the Squirrel, its first sporting model to be offered to the general public. This had a slightly smaller 486 cc engine to bring it within the 500 cc competition limit but, with aluminium pistons and careful preparation, it produced more power. In addition, many heavy accessories such as foot boards and leg shields which had been fitted to the touring models were dispensed with, making it a very light and competitive motorcycle. It was followed by the Super Squirrel, with a further revised engine of 498 cc or 596 cc, which was the mainstay of production in the mid-1920s. Although they never regained their pre-war form, Scotts continued to compete successfully in sporting events scoring a 3-4 in the 1922 TT and a third in 1924. A three-speed gearbox with conventional clutch was offered from 1923 and in this form the machine had some success as a trials
motorcycle.
. Available with 500 or 600 cc engines, these were even heavier than the pre-war versions and expensive for the performance offered. Sales were disappointing.
initially continued to build the same model from Shipley-made spare parts. These "Birmingham Scotts" remained available into the 1960s. In 1956 Holder began development of a 596 cc model with a duplex frame and telescopic fork front. When Matt's son David Holder moved the remaining stock to the former Triumph Motorcycles factory at Meriden
he found that his father had accumulated a huge collection of original Scott parts, including Miller headlights and Burgess silencers. In 1958 the Birmingham Scott was updated by adding a swinging arm frame and the dynamo was replaced by an alternator. A new 493 cc motorcycle called the Scott Swift was announced but never went into production, although Holder continued to develop and produce one-off Scott motorcycles until 1978.
test. The team also developed a 52 bhp water-cooled 500 cc version, but competition from Japanese two-strokes meant that the project was not fully developed.
from building copies of the engine so they designed their own. Effectively one-off bespoke motorcycles, only about 20 were produced in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with the last being made in 1975.
and its Kerrison Predictor
, it was produced during the Second World War by both Scott and its former partners Jowett
.
It was air-cooled, petroil lubricated and featured a loop scavenge design with two opposed main transfer ports supplemented by a third "boost" port opposite the exhaust. This arrangement was patented by Scott in 1939, but is often mistakenly believed to be of post-war origin as it was later widely adopted for motorcycle racing engines and power boats after its "reinvention" in the late 1950s by East German motorcycle manufacturer MZ
.
Shipley, West Yorkshire
Shipley is a town in West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, north of Bradford and north-west of Leeds....
, England and was a well known producer of motorcycles and light engines for industry. Founded by Alfred Angas Scott
Alfred Angas Scott
Alfred Angas Scott was a motorcycle designer, inventor and founder of the Scott Motorcycle Company. A prolific inventor, he took out over 50 patents between 1897 and 1920, mostly concerning two-stroke engines and road vehicles. Scott was a keen potholer and the second president of the Gritstone club...
in 1908 as the Scott Engineering Company in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, Scott motorcycles were produced until 1978.
Development
A gifted engineer, Alfred Scott was a pioneer of the development of the two-stroke engine and after some experiments with one of his engines fitted to a Premier bicycle, Scott designed and patented a vertical twin two-stroke engine in 1904 and developed a complete motorcycle from scratch featuring a 450 cc two-stroke twin-cylinder engine mounted in a triangulated frame. Innovative features included a two-speed chain transmission in which the alternative ratios were selected by clutches operated by a rocking foot pedal and a kick startKick start
Kick start refers to a method of starting an internal combustion engine by pushing a ratcheting lever with one's foot. Kick start mechanisms were almost universally a part of motorcycle engines before the mid-1970s, and were phased out of production over the next twenty years or so as electric...
, which he is credited with inventing. The first few machines to his design were produced by Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
based car firm Jowett
Jowett
Jowett was a manufacturer of light cars and light commercial vehicles in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England from 1906 to 1954.-Early history:Jowett was founded in 1901 by brothers Benjamin and William Jowett with Arthur V Lamb. They started in the cycle business and went on to make V-twin engines...
in 1908 and soon after he set up as a manufacturer in his own right at premises in Grosvenor Street Bradford.
Pre-war competition success
While Scott's production machines were marketed as a kind of luxury "wheeled horse" for the Edwardian Gentleman, there was valuable publicity to be had in competition success and the early Scott motorcycles were so powerful that they often easily beat four-stroke motorcycles of the same capacity. Event organisers deemed the Scotts to be "overly efficient", and penalised them by multiplying their cubic capacity by 1.32 for competitive purposes, which of course resulted in good (free) advertising for Scott.Scott made several appearances at the Isle of Man TT
Isle of Man TT
The International Isle of Man TT Race is a motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man and was for many years the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world...
Races between 1910 and 1914 with specially built racing machines. In 1910 a Scott was the first two-stroke motorcycle ever to complete a full TT course under race conditions and in 1911 a Scott ridden by Frank Phillip gained the TT lap record of 50.11 mph (22.4 m/s) continuous average speed. This winning streak continued with Scott's being the fastest machines in 1912, 1913, and 1914 as well as winning the event in 1912 and 1913.
First World War
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 halted production of civilian Scott motorcycles. Alfred Scott developed a three-wheeled machine gun carriage which was not taken up by the military and in 1919 he left the company he had founded to develop the vehicle for civilian use as the Scott SociableScott Sociable
The Scott Sociable was an English automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1925 by the Scott Autocar Company of Bradford, Yorkshire an offshoot of the Scott Motorcycle Company.During World War I Alfred Angas Scott had made sidecar machine gun carriers...
. This did not prove to be as successful as the Scott motorcycle but Scott never returned to the Scott Motorcycle Company.
The Scott Squirrel
Motorcycle trials
Motorcycle trials, also termed observed trials, is a non-speed event on specialized motorcycles. The sport is most popular in the United Kingdom and Spain, though there are participants around the globe....
motorcycle.
Second World War
In 1935 the Scott Three cylinder motorcycle was launched as a water-cooled 750 cc in-line machine. This was superseded by the 1000 cc version and proved to be another example of innovative engineering by the Scott company. Neither made it into quantity production, however, due to the outbreak of the Second World War and the failing business finances.The Flying Squirrel
Shortly after the end of the Second World War (1946/7) Scott relaunched the Scott Flying SquirrelScott Flying Squirrel
The Scott Flying Squirrel was a motorcycle made by The Scott Motorcycle Company between 1926 and the outbreak of World War II.-Development:The Squirrel name was used for Scott motorcycles since 1921 but with the death of the founder Alfred Angas Scott in 1923 the unorthodox Scott two-stroke...
. Available with 500 or 600 cc engines, these were even heavier than the pre-war versions and expensive for the performance offered. Sales were disappointing.
Birmingham Scotts
In 1950 the company went into liquidation and was acquired by Scott enthusiast Matt Holder's Aerco Jig and Tool Company in Birmingham. From his premises in St Mary's Row, Holder, who was an expert silversmithSilversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
initially continued to build the same model from Shipley-made spare parts. These "Birmingham Scotts" remained available into the 1960s. In 1956 Holder began development of a 596 cc model with a duplex frame and telescopic fork front. When Matt's son David Holder moved the remaining stock to the former Triumph Motorcycles factory at Meriden
Meriden, West Midlands
-External links:*****...
he found that his father had accumulated a huge collection of original Scott parts, including Miller headlights and Burgess silencers. In 1958 the Birmingham Scott was updated by adding a swinging arm frame and the dynamo was replaced by an alternator. A new 493 cc motorcycle called the Scott Swift was announced but never went into production, although Holder continued to develop and produce one-off Scott motorcycles until 1978.
The Bulmer workshop
Fabricator Brian Bulmer teamed up with two-stroke engine tuner Brian Wolley and rider Barrie Scully to develop a racing version of the Birmingham Scott air-cooled 350 cc twin, setting a record for the Barton Hill Climb and achieving 115.4 mph (51.6 m/s) in a Motor CyclingMotor Cycling (magazine)
Motor Cycling was one of the first British motorcycle magazines. Launched in 1903, its green cover led to it being called "The Green 'un" to distinguish it from its rival publication The Motor Cycle. The editor, Graham Walker, was a dispatch rider in the First World War and had a successful racing...
test. The team also developed a 52 bhp water-cooled 500 cc version, but competition from Japanese two-strokes meant that the project was not fully developed.
Silk Scotts
The 1970s also saw the launch of the George Silk Scott. Based on the Birmingham engine, manufacturing rights prevented Silk EngineeringSilk Engineering
Silk Engineering was a British motorcycle manufacturer established by George Silk and Maurice Patey and based at Darley Abbey, Derbyshire. They produced Silk 700S two-stroke motorcycles until 1979...
from building copies of the engine so they designed their own. Effectively one-off bespoke motorcycles, only about 20 were produced in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with the last being made in 1975.
Stationary engines
In the 1930s Scott manufactured a number of stationary engines with the aim of raising funds following the decline in motorcycle sales. Some of these engines were derived from motorcycle units, for instance the DSE was a watercooled version of the Lightweight Squirrel engine and the SE had the same bore and stroke dimensions as the long stroke Flyers. The PA stationary engine however was different. Designed to meet a Ministry requirement for a portable electrical generator for the Bofors anti-aircraft gunBofors 40 mm gun
The Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
and its Kerrison Predictor
Kerrison Predictor
The Kerrison Predictor was one of the first fully automated anti-aircraft fire-control systems. The predictor could aim a gun at an aircraft based on simple inputs like the observed speed and the angle to the target...
, it was produced during the Second World War by both Scott and its former partners Jowett
Jowett
Jowett was a manufacturer of light cars and light commercial vehicles in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England from 1906 to 1954.-Early history:Jowett was founded in 1901 by brothers Benjamin and William Jowett with Arthur V Lamb. They started in the cycle business and went on to make V-twin engines...
.
It was air-cooled, petroil lubricated and featured a loop scavenge design with two opposed main transfer ports supplemented by a third "boost" port opposite the exhaust. This arrangement was patented by Scott in 1939, but is often mistakenly believed to be of post-war origin as it was later widely adopted for motorcycle racing engines and power boats after its "reinvention" in the late 1950s by East German motorcycle manufacturer MZ
MZ Motorrad- und Zweiradwerk
MZ Motorrad- und Zweiradwerk GmbH is a motorcycle manufacturer located in Zschopau, Germany. MZ an acronym, stands for Motorradwerk Zschopau in the Erzgebirge region of Saxony...
.