Hesketh Motorcycles
Encyclopedia
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
manufacturer, based in Daventry
Daventry
Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...
and Easton Neston
Easton Neston
Easton Neston is a country house near Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, and is part of the Easton Neston Parish. It was designed in the Baroque style by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. Easton Neston is thought to be the only mansion which was solely the work of Hawksmoor...
.
The company was formed by Alexander, 3rd Lord Hesketh, in 1980, then after his two ventures went bust from 1984 onwards, the marque has been maintained and improved by Broom Engineering, now based at Turweston Aerodrome
Turweston Aerodrome
Turweston Aerodrome located near the village of Turweston, on the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, is a former Royal Air Force World War II bomber training facility, now a business park and airfield....
near Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
.
Background
The project was inspired by Lord Hesketh, who planned to revive the failing British motorcycle industry and at the time had a background of F1 racing being the last private team to win a Formula OneFormula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
Grand Prix
Grand Prix motor racing
Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver...
, with James Hunt
James Hunt
James Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in . Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman...
at the wheel. Lord Hesketh wanted to use the skills and facilities built up in that pursuit to greater effect and production of a quality motorcycle was born.
The Hesketh motorcycle was developed on the Easton Neston estate, with the prototype running in the spring of 1980 using a special Weslake
Weslake
Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, with premises in Rye, East Sussex, England. Weslake was a cylinder head specialist who had been instrumental in modifying the side valve standard engine used in the first SS sports car. He also worked on the larger SS engine: "The...
engine. The V-twin V1000
Hesketh V1000
The Hesketh V1000 is a British motorcycle originally designed and built by Hesketh Motorcycles in Daventry, Northamptonshire. Lord Alexander Hesketh had been planning the production of a new British motorcycle since 1974 and began talks with engine specialists Westlake in 1977 about the development...
(based loosely on the marketing panache of the Vincent Motorcycle), offered all sorts of advances; for example, it was the first British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
bike with four valves per cylinder and twin overhead camshafts (although commonplace in Japanese machines).
Hesketh Motorcycles
Hesketh V1000
The Hesketh V1000 is a British motorcycle originally designed and built by Hesketh Motorcycles in Daventry, Northamptonshire. Lord Alexander Hesketh had been planning the production of a new British motorcycle since 1974 and began talks with engine specialists Westlake in 1977 about the development...
motorcycles in Daventry
Daventry
Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...
.
However, there were numerous problems. The bikes were heavy, made worse by a high riding style; and unreliable, with numerous manufacturing problems adding to an overheating rear cylinder due to lack of air flow. The resultant bad press combined on top of an underdeveloped bike, lack of cash and a collapsing market meant that after the production of 139 bikes, the company went into receivership.
The Triumph Motorcycles co-operative looked at buying the rights to the machine, as they lacked a new model beyond the aged Triumph Bonneville
Triumph Bonneville
The Bonneville is a range of British motorcycles, made in three different production runs from 1959 to 1983, and 1985 to 1988, by the now-defunct Triumph Engineering in Meriden; and since 2001, by Triumph Motorcycles in Hinckley. It is named after the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, where Triumph and...
. A V1000 machine even appeared with a Triumph badge on its tank, but Triumph also lacked funding to buy and develop the machine.
In 1983, Lord Hesketh formed a new company called Hesleydon Ltd to manufacture a revamped V1000 with a full fairing, called the Vampire. However, although the company had produced a motorcycle with export potential in mind, the Vampire retained too many of the V1000's faults and only 40 were produced before the company closed again in 1984.
Broom Engineering
Mick Broom was part of the original development team of the Hesketh marque, and was based with the development team in the old laundryLaundry
Laundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...
at Easton Neston
Easton Neston
Easton Neston is a country house near Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, and is part of the Easton Neston Parish. It was designed in the Baroque style by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. Easton Neston is thought to be the only mansion which was solely the work of Hawksmoor...
. When the original Hesketh Motorcycles plc company went into receivership, Broom was part of a team funded by Lord Hesketh that supported the owners of the original machines, offering maintenance and modifications to the bikes sold. This funded team eventually became Hesleydon Ltd, who obtained the necessary certification to sell overseas and went on to develop the Vampire after requests for a touring version of the V1000.
Combined with the general down turn in motorcycle market, the high cost of the parts and the inability to raise finance to implement volume production assembly methods, Lord Hesketh sold Hesleydon to Broom to form Broom Development Engineering
Broom Development Engineering
Broom Development Engineering is a British motorcycle manufacturer, and provides research and development services to the automotive and aerospace industries...
.
Based in the same outbuildings where the development of the V1000 had begun, Broom and his team began improvement of the V1000 into a reliable "gentleman's" long distance tourer. This included the resolution of the overheating problems through both increased oil flow, as well as a radiator to cool the rearward cylinder. Broom has produced up to 12 motorcycles per annum, as well as developing the Vulcan and Vortan machine.
Silverstone
In 2006, having been forced to leave Easton NestonEaston Neston
Easton Neston is a country house near Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, and is part of the Easton Neston Parish. It was designed in the Baroque style by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. Easton Neston is thought to be the only mansion which was solely the work of Hawksmoor...
after its sale by Lord Hesketh to Leon Max
Leon Max
Leon Max is a Russian-born American fashion designer and retailer.-Early life:Leon was born Leonid Maxovich Rodovinski born in 1954 in Leningrad, Soviet Union . The son of a playwright, he attended an English school and read the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald...
, and Max's intention to turn the stable block into a call centre for his Max Store clothing brand, Broom Engineering relocated to Turweston Aerodrome
Turweston Aerodrome
Turweston Aerodrome located near the village of Turweston, on the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, is a former Royal Air Force World War II bomber training facility, now a business park and airfield....
near Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
. However, just before the move, and at the point where most items were in packing crates, a robbery occurred with total value of £40,000 – including irreplaceable records, tools, and bikes.
In late 2010 the Hesketh Motorcycle business was taken over by Mr Paul Sleeman who relocated the business closing down the works at Turweston airfield for a shop based location south of London. His intention is to continue support for the present machines while continuing the long history of development of the machine which will lead to more model options and expanding the manufacturing capacity to satisfy the demand for this special machine well into the future having been in continuous production now for 30 years.
Models
- Hesketh V1000Hesketh V1000The Hesketh V1000 is a British motorcycle originally designed and built by Hesketh Motorcycles in Daventry, Northamptonshire. Lord Alexander Hesketh had been planning the production of a new British motorcycle since 1974 and began talks with engine specialists Westlake in 1977 about the development...
- V-twin 1000cc gentleman's tourer. The original machine came with a nickelNickelNickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
plated Reynolds 531 frame. 139 produced - V1000 EN10 - as V1000, but with oil cooling improvements developed by Broom engineering, mostly including oil radiator to cool rearward cylinder. Most of the original machines have now had these obvious improvement modifications. Around 60+ machines produced by Broom. The latest version comes with spoked wheels, to allow fitment of radial tyres
- Vulcan - a V1000 EN10 with a series of modifications including a bored out 1200cc engine
- Vampire - touring based version of the V1000, with fairing and optional panniers. Around 50 machines so far delivered between Hesleydon and Broom
- Vortan - bored out 1100cc, sports version of the V1000 with highly modified chassis. Only one produced so far