Hesketh Motorcycles
Hesketh Motorcycles is a British motorcycle manufacturer, initially based in Daventry and Easton Neston.
The company was formed by Alexander, 3rd Lord Hesketh, in 1980, then after his two ventures failed, from 1984 onwards the marque was maintained and improved by Broom Engineering based at Turweston Aerodrome.
The marque is currently operating from Kingswood in Surrey.
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 One Grand Prix, with James Hunt 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 engine. The V-twin V1000 (based loosely on the marketing panache of the Vincent Motorcycle but looking much-like a contemporary Ducati 860GT), offered all sorts of advances; for example, it was the first British bike with four valves per cylinder and twin overhead camshafts (although commonplace in Japanese machines).
Hesketh Motorcycles
After two years of development, the project was announced to the press and partners were sought for the manufacturing. However, none were forthcoming and so Lord Hesketh formed Hesketh Motorcycles plc. In 1982 a modern purpose built factory was set up to manufacture the Hesketh V1000 motorcycles in Daventry.
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 with 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. 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 Development Engineering
Mick Broom was the development engineer/ test rider as part of the original development team of the Hesketh marque, and was based with the team in the old laundry at Easton Neston. When the original Hesketh Motorcycles plc company went into receivership, Broom was part of a team funded by Lord Hesketh which 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, Hesleydon ceased trading and Broom continued to support and develop the bike alongside development work for other motorcycle factories and clients Broom Development Engineering.
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 through increased oil flow to cool the rear cylinder. Broom produced up to 12 motorcycles per annum, additionally developing the Vulcan and Vortan machines.
Silverstone
In 2006, having been forced to leave Easton Neston after its sale by Lord Hesketh to Leon Max, 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 near Silverstone Circuit. 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. This slowed progress on the intended small scale production at the new location.
Current status
After failing to sell the business to Manchester entrepreneur Paul Hesketh, who intended to place the brand on a series of new electric scooters, Mick Broom in late 2010 entered a new arrangement with Paul Sleeman to take over the Hesketh Motorcycle business, relocating it to Surrey. They have been working on new models and more options, opening a Hesketh Centre with a retail shop in Kingswood, just south of London.
Models
- Hesketh V1000 - V-twin 1000cc gentleman's tourer. The original machine came with a nickel plated Reynolds 531 frame. 139 produced
- V1000 EN10 - as V1000, but with oil cooling improvements developed by Broom engineering, including oil radiator to cool rear cylinder. Most of the original machines have now had these improvement modifications. Around 60+ machines were produced by Broom. The latest versions had spoked wheels, to allow fitment of radial tyres
- Vulcan - a V1000 EN10 with a series of modifications including a bored out 1200 cc 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 1100 cc, sports version of the V1000 with highly modified chassis. Only one produced.
External links
- Hesketh Motorcycles. Archiviert vom am 20. Juli 2012. at Broom Engineering
- Hesketh Motorcycles, Kingswood, Surrey
- IanChadwick.com history of Hesketh