1914 Humber with Wall Autowheel
This Wall Autowheel is attached to my restored 1914 Humber Ladies cycle.
The Humber frame number is 537193 and the Wall engine number is 44929.
While the Ladies Humber has been sympathetically restored, and rides well, the Wall Autowheel engine is unrestored. I bought it and fitted it to the cycle recently, and I have no idea when it last ran. They are very basic engines to work on, and the new owner will need to go through it to get it to run.
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This period advert features the ‘Standard Model’ and has royal endorsements: ‘HRH Prince George of Battenberg and HRH Prince Henry of Prussia ride and recommend Wall Auto-wheels.’
For those of you who forgot your school history lessons, HRH Prince George of Battenberg who zipped around on a Wall Autowheel in his twenties (born 1892) was none other than George Mountbatten (he relinquished the above title in 1917). His sister was Princess Alice, (mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) and brother was Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
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I’ve owned quite a few of these autowheels over the last 25 years. I can still picture them leaning against piles of spares back in the magic old days of Beaulieu autojumble; they were buyable for £50-£100 when I started to collect them, slowly rising in value through the 80’s.
These days they remain by far the cheapest option if you wish to enter the prestigious annual London-Brighton Pioneer Run. What other pre-1914 motorcycle can you buy this cheaply to officially ride those hallowed 60 miles?
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Humber Ltd: Company History
Humber & Company Limited was founded by Thomas Humber at Beeston, Nottinghamshire, in 1869.
In 1887 the company was purchased by Mr. Joseph Horton of Birmingham who already owned Joseph Devey’s bicycle company in Wolverhampton.
After Horton’s take over the company started building Humber machines at Devey’s old factory; Ashes Works, Pelham Street, Wolverhampton.
Humber also had works in Great Brickkiln Street, Wolverhampton. In 1896 the company acquired a factory in Pountney Street, and also had showrooms in Queen Street. Humber later built a new works at Stoke in Coventry, and in 1900 production moved there. Ashes Works closed and remained empty until it was sold to Clyno in 1912, and the Pountney Street factory was later taken over by cycle makers Sharrett & Lisle.
In 1877 Humber went into partnership with Marriott and Cooper. This was not to last, and Marriott and Cooper started producing and selling their own Humber bicycles. These were made in Wolverhampton by Dan Rudge. At this time Humber called its cycles ‘Genuine Humber’ bicycles to distinguish them from Marriott and Cooper’s products.
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PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BIDDING
OWNER: BuyVintage Online Auctions
LOCATION: Brighton, E.Sussex, United Kingdom
DELIVERY: is not included in this auction. Our website contains details of recommended delivery services.
United Kingdom – delivery is £70 for a 2-wheeler to most parts of the UK.
Europe – delivery is under €400 Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, etc.
North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan – we’ll organize shipping for you.
PAYMENT: Paypal is okay for cheap items; otherwise deposit only on paypal please.
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AFTER PURCHASE: Please email me your phone numbers; I prefer to speak to all purchasers personally.
FEEDBACK: I do everything I can to make your purchase a pleasurable experience. But I only leave feedback when someone has taken the trouble to leave it for me.
VEHICLE CONDITION: Vintage vehicles are wonderful beasts – but each has an individual personality and they sometimes have bad days just like you and me.
You will need basic mechanical skills (or a local mechanic) to use one on a regular basis.
2-Stroke engines – and cyclemotors in particular – are notoriously unreliable. Basic servicing is generally required if unused for even a few weeks.
These are rare vehicles whose values are not necessarily based on running order.
Unless an auction description specifically states that the vehicle is running, THE VEHICLE IS SOLD FOR RESTORATION.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE ABOVE, PLEASE DO NOT BID.
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