Cotton

Cotton have been producing Motorcycles since 1919.

Francis Willoughby Cotton began designing in 1913, devising a straight-tubed triangulated frame that gave excellent handling. Trained as a lawyer, he was able to prevent design copy.

• 1919 The Gloucester-based Cotton firm began production of a 269cc Villiers two-stroke engine driving an Albion gearbox.

• 1922-1925 The range was expanded and Cotton machines were successful at the TT.

• 1930 A saddle tank had been added and the range of models remained extensive with engines from Villiers, Blackburne, JAP and Sturmey-Archer.

• 1931 Rudge Python joined the range and by now there was something for everyone. This served the company well during the depressed times of the 1930s.

• Post-war. Little had changed since the 1930s and few bikes were built or sold.

• 1954 Pat Onions and Monty Denley now had ownership of the company and they redesigned and changed the two-stoke engine.

• 1960 Scrambles models were introduced as well as a sports version.

• 1961-1963 The range expanded with modified engines and new frames.

• 1964 Fewer models were produced as the emphasis was more on sports and competition, and this set the trend for the next few years.

• 1968 Decline continued and Villiers ceased proprietary engine production, which effected many British firms.

• 1970s Kit-form trials bikes were produced and the Cotton-EMC road racer, as well as various motocross models. The company became very involved with CCM and Armstrong; those bikes eventually became Armstrong models and the Cotton name thus came to an end.

• 1991 Fluff Brown revived the Cotton name and since then replicas of the 1960s bikes have been built by AJS Motorcycles of Hampshire. This company was formed when FB-AJS took on the AJS line in 1974, and the nostalgia boom of the 1990s saw continued demand for these machines.

Sources of Information

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