Registered 19th April 1927 this beautiful and rare Zenith 6-80 fitted with its correct 680cc JAP side valve engine was restored while in the care of a previous owner who purchased the bike sometime in the 1970’s. Complete but in poor condition the bike was slowly brought back to life by Weeden Racing Restorations, the engine and gearbox were stripped and rebuilt by well known engineer Brian Thompson after which the bike was hardly used only covering a reported 298 miles. Passing to the previous owner in 2014 the bike was laid up in a heated garage receiving a further repair and repaint of the fuel tank before passing through our own workshop for some recommissioning work to bring it to road worthy usable condition. Supplied with a small history file including some restoration invoices and an original buff logbook from 1942 that confirms this elegant vintage motorcycle has only had 4 owners since. Retaining it’s original registration number WM 550 the bike is in great working order and is presented in very fine overall condition.
Zenith Motorcycles were founded in London by W G Bowers in 1903 and produced bikes until 1950, featuring engines from Fafnir, Precision, JAP, Bradshaw and Villiers. Chief engineer Frederick Barnes pioneered the infamous Gradua variable drive belt tensioning system that gave a massive advantage during hillclimb competitions. Although a relatively small manufacturer it also gained significant successes in speed contests throughout the 1920‘s. Zeniths held more ‘Gold Stars’ for 100 mph + laps of the Brooklands circuit than any other marque with rider’s such as Bert LeVack and Joseph S. Wright.
Perhaps not as well known as other exotic British manufacturers Zeniths have an equal pedigree and continue to be highly prized by collectors and enthusiasts alike, this fabulous example is also supplied with the current UK V5C logbook, an original Zenith sales brochure and is Eligible for the 2018 VMCC Banbury Run.
