Duzmo Motorcycles

Duzmo Motorcycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer active during the early 1920s. The business was founded in Enfield Highway, London, in 1919 by John Wallace, an engineer and motorcycle racer whose practical experience began before the company existed. While still at school, Wallace established a workshop in his garden and assembled a motorcycle from separate parts. He later secured an apprenticeship with Collier & Sons, and his interest in competition developed after his father bought him a Rudge racing motorcycle. Wallace raced at Brooklands and initially rode for JAP, although that relationship ended after the company discovered that he was under age. During the First World War, Wallace met the noted rider and engineer Bert le Vack. The two men worked at the Scottish automobile manufacturer Arrol-Johnston, where they were involved in aircraft-engine design. Their wartime engineering experience influenced Wallace's postwar work. After the war, he designed a racing motorcycle engine and sold the design to the Portable Tool and Engineering Company of Enfield Highway. The company appointed Wallace as its chief designer, and Wallace and le Vack collaborated on the development of a complete motorcycle intended for production. The resulting machine became the Duzmo. Although Wallace and his colleagues wanted to manufacture it, the directors of Portable Tool and Engineering decided to wind up the company. Wallace therefore borrowed money to continue independently and produced motorcycles under his own name. Engines for the early Duzmo machines were manufactured by the Advance Motor Manufacturing Company of Northampton, while Wallace's business focused on the motorcycle design and assembly associated with the Duzmo name. Wallace designed the final Duzmo in 1923. It incorporated several unusual engineering features for its period, including an inclined engine and a low seat. The design was not produced at scale: only one example of the final model was built. Wallace subsequently ran out of money and sold the business to D. J. Sheppards. The transfer ended his direct involvement with Duzmo. He returned to aircraft-engine design at D. Napier & Sons and later died in 1983. Duzmo is therefore best understood as a small, technically distinctive British motorcycle venture rather than a long-running mass manufacturer. Its historical importance rests on Wallace's transition from racer and experimental builder to independent motorcycle designer, the collaboration with Bert le Vack, the use of externally manufactured engines, and the innovative but commercially unsuccessful final design.

Duzmo emerged from John Wallace's early combination of hands-on mechanical work, motorcycle competition and formal engineering employment. Before founding the marque, Wallace built a motorcycle in a garden workshop while still at school, apprenticed with Collier & Sons, and raced at Brooklands on a Rudge machine. He also briefly rode for JAP before the company learned that he was under age. Wallace's engineering career broadened during the First World War. He and Bert le Vack worked at Arrol-Johnston, a Scottish car manufacturer, on aircraft-engine design. After the war, Wallace created a racing motorcycle engine and sold the design to the Portable Tool and Engineering Company in Enfield Highway. The company made him chief designer, and he and le Vack developed the Duzmo motorcycle around 1920. The intended manufacturing arrangement collapsed when Portable Tool's directors decided to wind up the company. Wallace borrowed money and continued independently, producing Duzmo motorcycles under his own name. The machines used engines manufactured by the Advance Motor Manufacturing Company of Northampton, making Duzmo an example of a small specialist marque that relied on an outside engine supplier rather than a fully integrated manufacturing operation. Wallace designed the last Duzmo in 1923. This model included an inclined engine and a low seat, features that distinguished it from more conventional motorcycles of the period. Commercial resources were insufficient, however, and only one example was built before Wallace ran out of money. He sold the business to D. J. Sheppards and returned to aircraft-engine design at D. Napier & Sons. Wallace died in 1983. The available historical record presents Duzmo as a brief, independently developed British motorcycle enterprise whose surviving significance is principally technological and biographical rather than commercial.

• 1923

  Final Duzmo designed

  [1]Duzmo Motorcyclesen.wikipedia.org

  Wallace designed the final Duzmo, featuring an inclined engine and low seat. Only one was built before financial difficulties forced the sale of the business.

• 1923

  Business sold to D. J. Sheppards

  [1]Duzmo Motorcyclesen.wikipedia.org

  After running out of money, Wallace sold the Duzmo business to D. J. Sheppards.

• 1920

  Duzmo motorcycle developed

  [1]Duzmo Motorcyclesen.wikipedia.org

  John Wallace and Bert le Vack developed the Duzmo motorcycle after Wallace's work as chief designer at the Portable Tool and Engineering Company.

• 1919

  Duzmo founded in Enfield Highway

  [1]Duzmo Motorcyclesen.wikipedia.org

  John Wallace founded the Duzmo motorcycle business in Enfield Highway, London.

A small British motorcycle maker centered on John Wallace's racing experience and experimental engineering designs.

• Motorcycles · 1920

  Duzmo motorcycles

  Duzmo motorcycles were British machines developed by John Wallace with assistance from Bert le Vack. The early motorcycles used engines manufactured by the Advance Motor Manufacturing Company of Northampton. The marque grew out of Wallace's racing and engineering work and was produced under his own name after the Portable Tool and Engineering Company decided to close. The final design, completed in 1923, used an inclined engine and a low seat, but only one example was built before Wallace's financial difficulties ended his control of the business.

• 1923

  Introduction of the final Duzmo designGeneration change

  Background

  Wallace's final motorcycle design followed the earlier Duzmo development work and reflected his interest in distinctive engineering solutions.

  Action taken

  The design adopted an inclined engine and a low seat. Only one motorcycle was built.

  Aftermath

  Wallace ran out of money and sold the business, preventing the final design from becoming a substantial production model.

  Source

• 1920

  Wallace continued production independentlyStrategy

  Background

  The Portable Tool and Engineering Company, which employed Wallace as chief designer and supported development of the Duzmo, decided to wind up its business.

  Action taken

  Wallace borrowed money and proceeded to build Duzmo motorcycles under his own name, using engines supplied by the Advance Motor Manufacturing Company.

  Aftermath

  The independent venture produced a small number of motorcycles but ultimately lacked the financial resources to continue. Wallace later sold the business to D. J. Sheppards.

  Source

1. 1Duzmo Motorcyclesen.wikipedia.org