Clyno

Clyno Engineering Company, later Clyno Engineering Company (1922) Ltd, was a motorcycle and car manufacturer that operated in Thrapston from 1909 to 1910 and then in Wolverhampton from 1910 to 1929. During this time they produced over 15,000 motorcycles and between 36,000 and 40,000 cars, at one point becoming Britain's third largest car manufacturer.

Clyno was founded in 1909 by the cousins Frank and Ailwyn Smith. The company took its name for the pulley designed for belt-driven machines which was known as the "inclined pully", becoming abbreviated to the "clined" and then Clyno. The cousins' original workshop was in their hometown of Thrapston, Northamptonshire.

In 1910 the opportunity arose for Clyno to purchase a factory in Wolverhampton. The factory belonged to the Stevens Brothers who had supplied engines to Clyno previously but had entered voluntary liquidation in 1910 leading them to seek a sale. The purchase by Clyno was completed on 15 October 1910 and the company transferred from Thrapston to Wolverhampton. The company exhibited for the first time at the 1910 motorcycle show at Olympia, displaying motorcycles, adjustable pulleys and telescopic stands.

Clyno continued to exhibit at every possible trials attracting attention by taking on hills previously thought unclimbable. This attention brought business to the company with orders in excess of manufacturing capacity in 1912. The same year the company took over the unoccupied Humber cycle factory which was on the other side of Pelham Street from their original factory.

The company's success proved to be something of a double-edged sword as the constant pressure to perform at trials required constant development, pushing the company beyond its financial means. It was decided that the company needed to produce an affordable motorcycle which they did in 1913, releasing a 250cc motorcycle, one of the first to be sold fully ready for the road. Exhibited at the 1913 motor cycle show the model was a major success.

As with many manufacturers, the First World War was a time of prosperity for Clyno. Together with Vickers they created a |motor cycle with machine gun attachment, which was produced in large numbers. The choice of Clyno over its competitors as supplier of the standard motorcycle combination outfit for the Motor Machine Gun Service was made in 1915, and is said to have been a decision taken by Winston Churchill. At the Armistice in 1918, there were 1,792 Clyno motorcycles in the possession of the British armed forces: 1,150 at home, and 642 overseas, including 478 in France. Clyno also signed an agreement with the Russian war commission to supply their army on top of their business with the British forces.

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