The ‘New’ Brough Superior
Few motorcycles possess the class and legend of the Brough Superior. The Broughs were-and remain-the loftiest of royalty in the two-wheel world. T.E Lawrence (aka "Lawrence of Arabia") owned seven Brough Superiors in his lifetime, daily skirting the narrow back roads of Dorest, blurring the countryside and rickety fences with the adrenaline of speed, ultimately dying aboard one on a sunny day in May, 1935.
All of which has only served to immortalize the Brough Superior.
As the mighty Brough Superiors amass more birthdays they are becoming exceedingly rare and, as goes the scenario, more pricey. It makes the possibility of throwing one of the original beasts down the pavement, grinding down the precious hand-crafted metal and sand cast engine covers, a near sacrilege.
So, what do you do if you are determined to obtain that romantic notion of piloting a powerful Brough at speed? You contact Brough Superior Motorcycles LTD, in Austria. The company is producing the Brough Superior anew. True to the original workings, crafted from what they refer to as "new metal," you can have a new Brough built for you. They aren’t cheap, but they’re considerably less than trying to obtain one of the original machines at auction these days.
The new/old Brough Superiors have all the antiquated allure-good and bad-of the romance of true motorcycling of the era. Loud, with plenty of vibration, stiff clutch pull and the vague impression of stopping via drum brakes. When men were men and motorcycles had kick starters.
To recapture some motorcycling history go to: www.brough-superior.com
Location Photography by Robert Stokstad
