Founded 1868 | ||
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Humber Limited was a pioneering British motorcycle manufacturer. Humber produced the first practical motorcycle made in Britain by fitting one of their Humber bicycles with an E. J. Pennington two-horsepower motor in 1896.
Limited sales at the onset of the Great Depression in 1929 brought an end to their manufacture.
History
Early Humber motorcycles were built under licence to Phelon & Moore with a single-cylinder P&M engine and two-speed chaindrive transmission. Disputes over royalty payments and P&M's desire to make their own motorcycles led to this licence being terminated in 1905, so later models had Humber 496 cc, 596 cc and 746 cc engines.
Success with one of Pennington's 340 cc two-speed V twin engined Humbers in the first ever Isle of Man Junior TT in 1911 boosted the motorcycle sales.