Vincent Black Shadow

Vincent Black Shadow, Philip Vincent and Phil Irving
Piero at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

The fastest production motorcycle in the world when it appeared – with a black engine and a speedometer reading to 150 mph.

Philip Vincent and the Australian engineer Phil Irving designed a motorcycle in which the engine was part of the frame. That made the machine short, stiff and light, and with its V-twin the Black Shadow reached about 125 mph.

The engine and gearbox were enamelled black, which gave the model its name. Vincent built few and expensive machines and stopped production in 1955, but the Black Shadow is now one of the most sought-after motorcycles.

Materials: Black-enamelled 998 cc V-twin, steel and aluminium

Manufacture: Made by Vincent in Stevenage from 1948 to 1955.

The black-enamelled, finned engine.

No frame under the engine – the engine itself carries the machine.

The large round speedometer reading to 150 mph.

The 998 cc V-twin had a 50-degree angle between the cylinders. The engine was a stressed part of the frame; above it sat only a short steel beam, which also served as the oil tank. The machine had double drum brakes on both wheels.

A black-enamelled engine, a large speedometer calibrated to 150 miles per hour and a short, compact shape.