Motorcycle Industry Trade News snippets

A couple of interesting stories emerging from our trade pals at British Dealer News:

UK built Peregrine Motorcycle debuts at NEC Show


The Peregrine ‘OW16 Replica’.

Retro style, modern technology

Nowhere else in the UK can you get your hands on a brand-new, hand built, parade eligible, fully road-legal two-stroke sportster. The ‘OW16 Replica’ combines authentic, classic Yamaha race bike looks with a subtly updated specification that brings the riding and owning experience firmly into the 21st century.

How the original Yamaha OW16 looked

Its on-the-road price is expected to be around £19,000 and can be built to your specifications- available Spring this year!

www.peregrinemotorcycles.co.uk


First Chinese TT Racer

Race version of this expected to debut at the TT in June

WK Bikes plans to enter the first Chinese motorcycle to race in the Isle of Man TT. Though the entry had not been made at the time of writing, WK’s general manager Henry Maplethorpe says this is serious intent and an entry would be sought following initial track testing.

The race bike, a WK650 twin version of the one in the picture above, was displayed at Motorcycle Live. It is being prepared by WK dealer Hampshire Motorcycles in Waterlooville for the  Supertwin TT race, rider yet to be named. 'The ultimate aim is to produce an off-the-peg budget racer for £7000', said Maplethorpe.

Ex-Racer buys Matchless


Veteran Italian entrepreneur and ex-racer Franco Malenotti, who sold the Belstaff apparel brand he had owned since 2004 to Swiss luxury goods and fashion group Labelux last Year, has satisfied his taste for iconic British bike-related brands for a second time, emerging as new proprietor of the historic Matchless motorcycle marque. Matchless, founded in 1899 by the Collier family and builder of the first single-cylinder TT winner in 1907, was acquired by AMC in 1938 and continued in production until 1966, when AMC went bust.

Matchless G80- something like this to be produced again?

The marque re-emerged in 1987 when Les Harris needed a replacement product after his licence to manufacture Meriden- style Triumph twins expired. Harris then produced a Matchless G80-monikered 500cc single with an Austrian-made Rotax motor and Italian parts-bin running gear until 1990.

After a further 16 years of oblivion, the name subsequently changed hands again when it was auctioned by Bonhams for £45,000 in 2006. The buyers were a quartet of Greek motorcycle enthusiasts - Panagiotis Mariolopoulos, Nikolaos Stoumbos, Ilayali Galani and Panagiotis Zarifopoulos. However, their fantasy of using the marque on a range of modern bikes never came to fruition.

Malenotti says that he plans to revive the marque with an initial limited-edition production run of a retro Matchless bike inspired by the 1960s-era G8O. He also reportedly adds that a part of the new Matchless business plan centres on having an extensive apparel and accessories line to accompany motorcycles, making the new company very much an exercise in vintage motorcycle lifestyle branding.  

This latest Malenotti enterprise is apparently to be based in London, but perhaps not Plumstead, Where the original factor was located. 

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