Since the dawn of the internal combustion engine, man (and woman) have been desperately trying to improve the performance of the tubes or beams a power unit is bolted to. This process will never stop. Here are a select few
Special frames are as old as the story of motorcycling itself. In the pioneer days, every frame was a special, as a plethora of tiny manufacturers bolted proprietary engines into their own chassis. All these early frames had to do was keep the wheels roughly in line with each other, and the riders mostly elevated from the surfaces of unmade roads.
As machines evolved, motorcycle manufacturers got better at building frames to harness the usually modest power of their engines, and to stay rigid under mostly feeble braking. Some of them even added suspension into the mix.
Some brands were better than others at offering a good balance of engine and chassis. The more sporting riders were wise to it to, transplanting the best engines into the best frames. For example in the 1950s, there was no better combination than a Triumph engine in a Norton ‘featherbed’ frame. The Triton, no less.
Aftermarket frame makers started to come into their own after that time, often motivated by the demands of competition. There were the Rickman brothers with their Métisse off-road, then later road and track, chassis, Colin Seeley with his race and road bikes, Fritz Egli started on Vincents, and Dave Degens with his Dresda Tritons.
By the time the era covered by Practical Sportsbikes dawned, with Japanese motorcycles dominant, the disparity between performance and handling was growing. Despite a promising start with light and middleweight bikes in the 1960s, the Japanese seemed incapable of building a big bike with a decent frame in the 1970s.
The Rickmans, Eglis, Seeleys and Dresdas bridged the horsepower/handling gap for the latest generation engines, and other special frame names entered the arena; Moto Martin, Nico Bakker, Harris Performance, Hejira, Magni, Maxton, P&M, PDQ, Spondon and Bimota to name but a few of the more significant players.
As before, many of these started out specialising in competition chassis but would also meet the requirements of the most exacting road riders. The big manufacturers would often look to the expertise of these specialists to build their race bikes and you’ll find more than one road bike that has ‘borrowed’ from special frame builders.
Of course, some road riders wanted the style and kudos of an aftermarket frame even above its capabilities, and the special chassis firms were happy to have the business of the more ‘custom’-minded too. In celebration of the long tradition of special frame manufacture, we sent out an open invite to owners to come to Deenethorpe Airfield in Northampt
