Barter
Barter of Aston Gate, Bristol were motorcycles produced from 1902 to 1905.
The Fairy / Fee motorcycle was produced from 1906 to 1907.
1902 Barter Engine - produced by Humpage, Jacques and Pedersen
1902-5 The machines were designed by Joseph Barter. He was later joined by Walter Moore. The engine had its drive pulley mounted on the camshaft so that, as it was larger than usual, belt slip was reduced. It was a primitive affair with the engine inclined above the frame down-tube and only a few were built.
Joseph Barter first offered the single-cylinder machine under his own name until, in 1905, he turned to a flat-twin engine design, firstly called Fée. The Fée engine was 2.5hp and mounted high in the frame of a stock bicycle with braced forks. It had a large flywheel on the left and the transmission was by chain to a countershaft. This carried a clutch and then went by belt to the rear wheel. Within a year the name had been anglicised to Fairy and was the fore-runner of the Douglas.
1905-06 Barter designed side-valve flat twins with 198cc / 346cc / 676cc engines.
In 1907, after Joseph Barter had joined Douglas, the name was taken up by them.
See Also
Sources of Information
- The British Motorcycle Directory - Over 1,100 Marques from 1888 - by Roy Bacon and Ken Hallworth. Pub: The Crowood Press 2004 ISBN 1 86126 674 X
- The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle by Peter Henshaw. Published 2007. ISBN 978 1 8401 3967 9