1928 Coventry-Eagle 348cc, Frame no. 2855 Engine no. IY/T 59182/M

1928 Coventry-Eagle 348cc
Frame no. 2855
Engine no. IY/T 59182/M
'The Coventry Eagle motorcycle was born out of a bicycle company formed by Messrs. Hotchkiss, Mayo and Meek in 1890, selling 'Royal Eagle' cycles at their Hill Cross factory. – Damien Kimberley, Coventry's Motorcycle Heritage. Coventry is located in England's industrial West Midlands, second in size to its neighbor Birmingham. Coventry-Eagle built a diverse range of motorcycles using proprietary engines from 1901, though in significant numbers only after WW1.

Six Coventry-Eagles were offered for 1923, all JAP-powered except for a Blackburne-engine 350, ranging from the formidable and famous Flying Eight to the diminutive S14 Ultra-Lightweight. The Flying Eight which, with its 1,000cc JAP v-twin and muscular good looks, was a worthy rival for the Brough Superior, and a Brooklands contender. The early-1930s Depression forced Coventry-Eagle to abandon its larger models and concentrate on producing bread-and-butter lightweights. In 1927 they had launched a landmark two-stroke featuring a novel pressed-steel frame, adopted by the larger models the following year, which remained a characteristic until closure in 1939. Postwar the company made bicycles 'again' as Falcon Cycles.

The rare machine offered has the Blackburne 350 four-stroke, side valve engine installed complete with a Sturmey-Archer two-speed, foot-shift gearbox with chain drive. The magneto was rebuilt as were the wheels (Buchanan Spoke and Rim, Inc.) Some receipts come with the bike. The vendor found the bike in San Luis Obispo, California and restored it fully in 2018 as a 'static' exhibit and thus it will require re-commissioning before starting and running.