The Roll Royce of motorcycles
Every serious motorcyclist will have heard the name at one point in his life: ‘Brough Superior’.
George Brough was the son of William Brough, an English motorcycle producer who had been building motorbikes in England since the turn of the century.
But growing up between motorcycle parts George wanted more and was ambitious enough to start his own brand just after the war in 1919. The son was convinced he could improve on his father’s designs, and made sure all motorcycles produced in his factory were high performance and of superior quality.
To achieve this all motorcycles were actually assembled twice. The first round was to make sure all parts fitted properly, whereas the second and final build was after all materials that needed to be painted or plated had been given the required treatment. After that all machines were test ridden to make sure they performed up to specifications.
It goes without saying that the Brough Superior were expensive and clients came mostly from higher echelons in British society.
Lawrence of Arabia: Eternal Brough Superior icon
Lawrence of Arabia, also known as Thomas Edward Lawrence or T.E Shaw (when he enrolled in the
Royal Air Force), was a British author. He owned no less than seven Brough Superiors. He was a fanatical rider. His Broughs were so important to him that he used to write about them in letters and in his books. The ultimate brand ambassador. Each of his Broughs was given a name that was similar to a royal lineage, going from George I to George VII.
In his book The Mint, Lawrence dedicated an entire chapter (The Road) to the pleasure he had of riding across England in the morning to get the best ingredients for a brunch.
This chapter is still considered as one of the most beautiful odes to riding motorcycles.
Ton up
Brough Superior was the first brand to have produced motorcycles that could go ‘Ton up’ (above 100 mph) even before the expression became common in the British café racer scene in the sixties.
The original factory produced motorcycles between 1919 and 1940. After the war it ceased production. It was not until 2014 when a by French motorcycle expert Thierry Henriette bought the rights to the brand name.
Presenting ‘The Lawrence’
After relaunching the iconic brand with Lawrence of Arabia’s legendary ‘S.S.100’ in collaboration with Aston Martin to create the only existing bike of the brand, French owned Brough Superior decided to set out to produce the most high end motorcycle of the world, the “Lawrence”.
In line with the original way of producing more than a century ago, modern day Brough superiors are also hand-built using only the best materials available (titanium, carbon fibre, aluminium), the production of the Lawrence benefited from the excellent network within the French aeronautical while it was being developed.
Launch delayed
A highly anticipated revelation of the bike was scheduled for the EICMA 2020 fair in Milan, but the show was cancelled due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lawrence was only recently released to the public online.
This new model represents a milestone for Brough Superior. Inspired by the mechanical architecture
of the S.S.100, the Lawrence has unique curves that were only possible to be created by using
carbon fibre. The frame of the motorcycle is in titanium, and its fork is a Fior type in aluminium.
The engine has entirely been developed internally by the Brough Superior engineers. The production
technology and the engineering skills that are required to build this bike partly come from the
aeronautical industry that is very influential in the region of Toulouse, France. The world’s leading
spaceships, satellites and aircrafts are also produced in the same region.
Limited edition
The original brand only manufactured only 3.048 motorcycles during the factory’s lifetime.
Only 188 editions of this 21st century edition will be produced. The number 188 is echoing the
birth date of T.E. Lawrence: 1888.
With the high standard of quality it is hardly surprising the price tag is in the upper regions as well. The French factory has set it around 66 000 euros, the definite price depending on local taxes.
The proud owners of the brand name describe the birthplace of their latest brainchild as “a mesmerizing place where ideas take shape into beautiful objects.”
Each part of a Brough is thought, drawn and designed by the Factory’s engineers and designers. It is
then hand-built with the finest existing materials by Brough Superior’s craftsmen.
Welders, polishers, painters and saddlers are working in harmony within the headquarters of the
company.
Some parts like wheels and swingarms are cnc-ed by local machinist partners. Their expertise allows Brough Superior to meet the same quality requirements as in the aeronautical industry.
The BikeBrewers team is in high anticipation of an invite to travel to the South of France and fly this baby around in the lovely French countryside in search of the right ingredients for a decent picnic.
