British

Mercury Motorcycles

A Brief History of the Marque

Manufactured 1937 by Mercury Motors, 1a, Canterbury Road, Croydon

Designed by Laurie Jenks of Croydon in 1933, only four were built using Scott water-cooled two-stroke twin-cylinder engines housed in an aluminium frame, and fully enclosed aluminium bodywork. Mudguards were nickel plated. Jenks had plans to develop a three-cylinder einspurauto version.

Not all were impressed by the design. Occhiolungo writes, "... this was the decade of the most beautiful motorbicycles of all time (arguably), full of Art Deco flourishes, chromed fishtails, two tone paints, swooping mudguards, etc. This bike looks like a lead balloon that has gone flat."

Sources: Phil Aynsley, The Vintagent