Vincent HRD Meteor 500 TT Single

Motorcycle History

Vincent HRD Meteor 500 TT Replica

With Phil Aynsley

Although the name ‘Vincent’ is widely associated with 1000cc V-twin motorcycles, its early single-cylinder models are less well known.

Vincent HRD 500 TT Replica — Before the Comet, there was the Meteor 500 TT Replica

Philip Vincent actually started by buying the defunct HRD company (less the manufacturing space), from OK-Supreme in Birmingham after they acquired HRD for that company’s factory.

HRD itself was the creation of ex-Royal Flying Corps pilot Howard Raymond Davies, who together with E J Massey, set up HRD Motors in 1924. The company produced motorcycles using bought in engines, mainly from JAP, but entered voluntary liquidation in 1928.

Philip Vincent’s new firm was called Vincent HRD Co. (the Vincent appearing in small letters above the much larger HRD), again using other brand motors. It wasn’t until 1950 the ‘HRD’ was dropped.

Engineers Massey and Australian Phil Irving both moved from HRD to the new Vincent HRD company. The first in-house motor design, an OHV 500cc single, appeared in 1934 and was known as the “Series A” Meteor (previous models had used the Meteor name, hence the ‘Series A’).

The Meteor made 26 hp at 5300 rpm. After the success of the 1935 IoM TT, where seven bikes had been entered with five finishing between seventh and 13th, a range of high performance models were sold, including the Comet.

A number of TT replicas (with TTR engine numbers), were built in both production racing and road going trim. Several of the original TT race bikes are believed to have been ‘remanufactured’ to TTR spec before being sold as new after the factory withdrew from IoM competition.

The bike seen here is thought to be one of those bikes. It was sold, new, to Kiwi Ponty Fitzgerald of New Plymouth in 1937. After many owners it was obtained by Tim Parker in 1975 and has been campaigned in classic races ever since, both by him and it’s current owner (as of 2013 when I shot it).

The engine and frame numbers are much earlier than other 1937 bikes, with the engine number appearing to be over-stamped from TT32. This would indicate a late 1935/early 1936 build date.