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ABC motorcycles

Logo: Piero at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

British motorcycle manufacturer

ABC motorcycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer established in 1914 by Ronald Charteris in London. Several British motorcycle firms started up with the name "ABC", including Sopwith. The All British Engine Company Ltd. of London was founded in 1912 and later changed to ABC Motors Ltd.2 It ceased to exist in 1923.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1919Founded1
  • Industryautomotive industry1
  • HeadquartersLondon1

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ABC motorcycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer established in 1914 by Ronald Charteris in London. Several British motorcycle firms started up with the name "ABC", including Sopwith. The All British Engine Company Ltd. of London was founded in 1912 and later changed to ABC Motors Ltd.2

Products and brands

ABC FIREFLY 250cc

Only one prototype was made in 1916, the original engine and gearbox where found and used to make an exact copy.

See here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaFHanJ4FD0

ABC 400 cc

Produced between 1919 and 1925, the ABC 400 had a 398 cc horizontally opposed twin-cylinder overhead-valve four-stroke engine, four-speed gearbox with an H-gate and was fitted with an advanced (for the time) carburettor from Claudel-Hobson to give a top speed of 70 mph (110 km/h).

Read the full text

ABC 500 cc

French manufacturer Gnome & Rhone produced an improved 493 cc version of this machine under licence until 1925.

Between 1920 and 1924 they produced over 3,000 of the 'French' ABC but relatively few have survived.

ABC Skootamota

The Bradshaw-designed Skootamota was an early scooter built by Gilbert Campling Ltd. and sold as the ABC Skootamota.

The Skootamota handled well and was very stable despite small wheels. The single-cylinder 123 cc engine was located above the rear wheel and drove it by chain. Early Skootamotas had exhaust over intake (EOI) engines but later versions had OHV engines. The Skootamota had external contracting band brakes on both wheels. The saddle and spacious footboard provided rider comfort. The Skootamota, quickly imitated by competitors, had a top speed of just 15 mph (24 km/h). It ceased production in 1922.

From Wikipedia’s article on ABC motorcycles, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1923Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1919Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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