Lawrence of Arabia on a Brough Superior ( 1925 )
T he last Brough Superior was built eighty years ago , and the first was produced nineteen years before that . The enduring question is , why are these machines so revered , and sought after , by collectors of classic motorcycles all over the world ? There is no simple answer to this . Although we could start with the fact that any motorcycle that is promoted as ‘ The Rolls Royce of motorcycles ’, a claim eventually endorsed by the Rolls Royce car company , is sure to arouse interest and respect . The first Brough motorcycles were built in Nottingham by William Brough , whose son George joined the company , but became dissatisfied with the company ’ s products . He wanted something faster and more luxurious . George then founded his own company , also in Nottingham , in 1919 . In 1921 he produced his first motorcycle , retaining the family name , but importantly , adding Superior , hence the name Brough Superior was born . George Brough was a man of his word . In his 1926 catalogue for the SS100 , he said that his new creation was “ a machine made essentially for an experienced motorcyclist who realises that just as a racehorse needs more attention than a hunter , so an SS100 , with its colossal output of power , requires more attention than the average sports machine . Give it the necessary attention and you have a machine that can always be relied upon to show its back-number plate to anything on wheels likely to be met on the roads ” George ’ s aptitude for promotional ingenuity peaked in the brochure that
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