1930 Brough Superior SS100 Works MCC Edinburgh Trial Entry For Sale by Auction

National Motorcycle Museum | Solihull, West Midlands

Viewing: Tuesday 25th March from 1pm
Auction: Wednesday 26th March from 9am

Location: National Motorcycle Museum, Coventry Road, Bickenhill, Solihull B92 0EJ

1930 Brough Superior SS100 Works MCC Edinburgh Trial Entry
Ridden by George Brough himself

Estimate
£200, 000 - £240, 000

Registration No: JO 1170
Frame No: 1030
MOT: Exempt

Built for and ridden by George Brough himself in the Edinburgh Trial of 1930
Featured in publications and Brough records
Restored by Tony Cripps in 1980
Previously on loan to the National Motorcycle Museum
Earlier design high-level exhausts on each side
Brough Superior is probably the most iconic and evocative name in motorcycle history, being made by George Brough in his factory on Haydn Road in Nottingham from 1919 to 1940. Only approximately 3, 048 examples were manufactured over the 21 years of production and there is thought to be only around a third of those still in existence. George Brough was a racer, designer, and showman, his father William E. Brough had been making Brough motorcycles in Nottingham since 1908 and continued to do so until 1926, but George was convinced he could improve on his father's designs, adding 'Superior' to the name to emphasise this. His motorcycles were all designed to offer high levels of performance and exceptional build quality with most being custom-built to the customer's needs, rarely did any two leave the factory in the same specification. His flair for marketing was highlighted when he successfully sought permission from the illustrious car maker to describe his machines as "The Rolls Royce of Motorcycles". Combined with his insistence that only the best components were used in the creation of the bikes bearing his name and then assembled with a level of care and precision beyond that of other manufacturers, it ensured that motorcycles leaving his premises were more than the sum of their parts. Each one was assembled twice, with the first dry assembly being to test the fit of all the components before being disassembled for parts to be painted or plated as needed. After final assembly each bike was test ridden to ensure that it performed to specification and was personally certified by George Brough. His competition background resulted in machines that handled and went as well as they looked and with the bespoke nature of the machines, any would-be owner could tailor their choice of basic model to their own requirements. Broughs were always rare and expensive with prices ranging from £100 to £200 in the 1920s and 1930s. Since the average annual salary in Britain during the 1930s was around £200, only the wealthy could afford to indulge themselves and George built up an impressive client list, the most famous being T. E. Lawrence "Lawrence of Arabia" who owned eight Broughs throughout his life. The outbreak of World War II brought an end to production with the factory engaged in war work completing crankshafts for Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and at the end of hostilities, the lack of suitable engines forced the company to close down.

'JO 1170' was built c. May 1930, however, it was a machine that wasn't to enter ownership until the August of that year, it was at this point that it received the 'JO' registration number. Of particular interest is the fact that before it was sold it was ridden by George Brough himself in the Edinburgh Trial, as 'HP 2122'. The machine was subsequently represented as an illustration in a publication by W. J Brunel. The machine can also be seen in a photograph within the Brough Superior Club archive, depicted as part of a winning team in the Inter-Club Trial. There are a further three photographs in the works archive showing the outfit on a 1930s continental German tour, somewhere in the Mosel, Frieburg region. Move forward to 1963, a further record of 'JO 1170' shows the SS100 was owned by a R. A Bill. By 1974, it went to Stratford-upon-Avon motor museum before entering the hands of Mr Robert Brown in 1978. Restored by Tony Cripps in 1980, by 1986 the SS100 was with Bryan Verrall before taking its place on loan to The National Motorcycle Museum. Of note, and an unusual feature of this example, are the earlier high-level exhausts on each side. It is expected that 'JO 1170' will be brought to a running condition by the museum and in time for the sale. We are grateful to the Brough Superior Club for the information they have supplied.

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