Coventry-Eagle Cycle and Motor Co

Coventry Eagle were motorcycles produced between 1899 and 1940. The company was based in Foleshill Road, Coventry.

• Victorian era. Production began with the building of bicycles and then tricycles assembled from bought-in parts. These cycles were well-built and popular, which accounted for the continued success of the firm.

• Edwardian era. The earliest range had included a model with an MMC engine hung from the downtube and by this time it had increased to a range of singles in loop frames. Little detail is available regarding the company during this period, although it is known that they continued constuction with bought-in parts.

• 1914 The range now included three models. The smallest was lightweight and powered by a Villiers engine. The other two models used V-twin Abingdon engines.

• 1921 Since the end of World War I, only singles had been built, but the company returned to the V-twin for this year only.

• 1922 The company produced only singles, once again.

• 1923 The JAP V-twin returned, together with the appearance of the famous sporting twin 'Flying Eight'.

• 1928 The policy of four-stroke only came to an end with the arrival of twin-port, supersport Villiers engines. The company also began to use forks from pressed sheet steel. Although this was common in Europe, Coventry Eagle were the first major British company to use this method - a move that proved to be very successful for the following decade.

• 1931 Twins were dropped and only the production of two-strokes continued for some years. Many of the models were stylish and distinctive with large exhaust systems.

• 1940 Production, drastically cut because of the war, soon ceased and was never resumed again.

Sources of Information

The British Motorcycle Directory - Over 1,100 Marques from 1888 - by Roy Bacon and Ken Hallworth. Pub: The Crowood Press