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Zenith Motorcycles

Logo: The original uploader was Piero at Dutch Wikipedia . ( Original text: onbekend ), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Former British motorcycle manufacturer

Zenith Motorcycles was a British motorcycle and automobile manufacturer established in Finsbury Park, London in 1903, by W. G. Bowers. Automobile manufacture only lasted from 1905 to 1906. The first Zenith motorcycle was the 'BiCar' of 1903, based on Tooley's Bi-Car design, which was purchased by Zenith for its own production.2 It ceased to exist in 1950.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1904Founded1
  • Industryautomotive industry1
  • HeadquartersLondon1

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Zenith Motorcycles was a British motorcycle and automobile manufacturer established in Finsbury Park, London in 1903, by W. G. Bowers. Automobile manufacture only lasted from 1905 to 1906. The first Zenith motorcycle was the 'BiCar' of 1903, based on Tooley's Bi-Car design, which was purchased by Zenith for its own production. The BiCar was a unique design with hub-center steering and a low-slung chassis with the engine (from Fafnir in Germany) centrally fixed.2

The story

Between 1905 and 1906, the company introduced the Popular model, which had a two-cylinder, 6HP Stevens engine and a belt driven rear axle.

From Wikipedia’s article on Zenith Motorcycles, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

The Zenette motorcycle and Zenette tri-car had a novel form of rear suspension at a time when most motorcycles had none, partly because of the effect rear suspension had on the tension of the drive belt. In the Zenette this was overcome by having the swinging arm pivoted near the centre of the engine and mounting the engine on the swinging arm. The Zenette motorcycle had another instantly recognisable feature, the fuel tank and battery were at the rear of the engine space, leaving a bare top tube.

From Wikipedia’s article on Zenith Motorcycles, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1950Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1904Founded Founded1

Sources

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

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