Brough Superior SS80

The Brough Superior SS80 was a luxury motorcycle designed and built by George Brough at the Brough Superior works in Nottingham, England, from 1922 until the outbreak of the Second World War. Its name came from Brough's guarantee that every machine could reach 80 miles per hour, and it was developed in 1920, soon after the company was set up. Early machines used a 988 cc J.A.P. sidevalve V-twin engine; from 1935 a 982 cc Matchless V-twin was fitted instead. Of the 1,086 SS80s built, 460 carried the Matchless engine. The SS80 De Luxe added a fully sprung rear wheel, bottom link front forks, a patented rolling stand and a specially tuned engine. George Brough used a tuned SS80, later known as Old Bill, to become the first rider to lap Brooklands at over 100 miles per hour on a sidevalve machine, and the motorcycle went on to win 51 of 52 races. Period reviewers called it the Rolls-Royce of motorcycles.