Lot Ended
Description
From a deceased estate; current owner since 1966; restored in 1971 and
in regular use since; veteran of many Pioneer Runs; original number plate; rare
machine with lots of history and lots to like!
“GOOD NEWS! Drudgery and
fatigue are forever ended! Nevermore will you feel fagged out ten miles from
home. No need now to tramp on foot, wearily trundling your cycle uphill. And
why? Because the Wall Auto-Wheel makes physical effort unnecessary by
substituting mechanical in place of muscle
power!”
As the period sales brochure
boldly proclaimed, the Wall Auto-Wheel was a pioneering ‘clip-on’
engine which transformed the humble bicycle into a cut-price motorbike. Launched
in c.1913 and marketed under the slogan 'No more pedalling!', it was designed
and built by AW Wall of Birmingham and distributed via Auto-Wheels Ltd of
Kensington, London.
It consisted of a self-contained subframe housing a
118cc single-cylinder four-stroke engine, a fuel tank and a drive wheel.
Producing around 1hp, it could be fitted to any bike and
would bowl along happily at 15-20mph. Unlike modern motorised bikes where the
engine is mounted to the frame, the Auto-Wheel was attached to the side of the
bicycle’s rear wheel via a pivot arm, an ingenious arrangement which meant the
engine didn't put direct stress on the bicycle's spokes or chain. Simple to
operate, the rider would pedal to start the engine and then use a
handlebar-mounted lever to control the throttle via a cable.
Exact production figures are uncertain, but it is thought that around
12,000 were made, the first 5,000 with Wall engines and the rest with BSA
pattern engines, before production came to an end during World War One. It is
thought that only a few dozen still survive today.
On offer here from a deceased
estate, this particular Auto-Wheel dates from 1914 and was acquired by the
current owner way back in July 1966. Invoices show that he completely restored
the Auto-Wheel in 1970/71 and proceeded to use it regularly over the next 50
years, as shown by no fewer than 33 old MOTs from 1972 – 2020 plus 34 old tax
discs from 1956 – 2015.
This included taking part in
the London-to-Brighton Pioneer Run on numerous occasions, a prestigious event
restricted to pre-1915 machines. A 1982 copy of Classic Bike magazine
contains a four-page feature on that year’s Pioneer Run, showing a photo of this
very machine and reporting that it was one of four Auto-Wheels that took part
that year, “reflecting a growing interest in these devices”.
A Pioneer Certificate is also in the file along with a good deal of
Auto-Wheel Register correspondence, historic photos, a buff logbook detailing
four owners prior to the current owner plus much publicity material and
technical literature relating to the model (some of which is shown in the
photos).
Coming from the same stable as
the two 1914 Douglas motorcycles elsewhere in this catalogue (Lots 208 and
209), this rare and interesting Auto-Wheel looks to be in very good condition,
as does the c.1914 gent’s bicycle it is attached to.
The icing on the
cake is the original Shropshire-issue number plate, BNT 42, which is
transferable according to the V5C and doubtless has a value of its own.
On offer here at no reserve, this wonderful Wall is well in tune with
modern trends and will knock any electric 'Boris bike' into the
weeds. 'No more pedalling', hooray!.
Consigned
by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com