Francis-Barnett Coventry The Complete Story

Author: Arthur Gent, Hardbound, 208 Pages, ISBN: 9781847972460, Published, 2011

Francis-Barnett was central in the two golden eras of the motorcycle industry, the 1930s and the 1950s.The company was founded in 1919 by Gordon Francis and Arthur Barnett, and based in Lower Ford Street, Coventry, England.

The 1930s were certainly the halcyon days of the British motorcyling industry with over eighty marques in production and machines exported all over what was then the British Empire as well as the rest of the world. Francis-Barnett played
a key role in the industry with the production of it's 'home to work' commuting two-strokes at the peak of the British motorcyle sales.

Francis-Barnett was known mainly for their lightweight two-stroke motorcycles. They were innovative in their approach to design by first using the unique triangulated frame in
1923 and then again changing the frame design completely for the 1933 Cruiser. The engines were all bought-in, with all the two-strokes being supplied by Villiers; this enabled Francis-Barnett to concentrate their design efforts on the frame. It was not until the late 1950s that
parent company AMC (Associated Motor Cycles) decided to design and build their own engines.

This fascinating book covers the period from the birth of the company in 1919 to its demise in 1966. It is primarily intended to be an authoritative work of reference for those wanting to establish the authenticity of a machine, particularly as the company's
early records were lost during the bombing of Coventry during World War II and the postwar records appear to have been destroyed with the collapse of the parent company. It also provides a fascinating account of the history of the people and events that made Francis-Barnett the great company it was.