Runwell motorcycles were produced between 1910 and 1914, at works in Lawson Street, Birmingham. The firm was founded by William Henry Jennings (born 1873 in Derby, England).
The machine had a TDC 3½ hp engine with U. H. magneto, B and B carburettor, Albion free-engine clutch or an Armstrong three-speed hub, rim brakes and Saxon forks.
Motorcycle production appears to have ceased with the onset of war, but it resumed bicycle manufacture after the amnesty and continued until the 1940s at the Lawson St address. During the 1930s they were one of Britains major bicycle manufacturers, and exported to many British Commonwealth countries. They also had a depot in Java. In the 1950s they manufactured automotive parts and accessories. There is no further mention of the firm after 1961.
N.B. A March 1910 advertisement read 'Famous Runwell Cycles and Motor Cycles', and a publication in September of that year advertised a 3.5 h.p. Runwell Motor Cycle which had 'been used for trials only'.
Perfect motorcycles were also produced between 1913 and 1914 when a link was formed between the Perfect and the Runwell Cycle Co. The main offices and works were in Lawson Street, Birmingham.
The Perfect was offered in two sizes. The engines were either 2¾ hp or 3½ hp, listed as a TDC when the tank carried the Runwell label. Similar in style to most of the other machines of the period, it had a Bosch magneto, B and B carburettor, direct-belt drive with the option of an Albion free-engine clutch or an Armstrong three-speed hub, rim brakes and Saxon forks. Both were short lived.
Sources: Graces Guide, onlinebicyclemuseum.co.uk.
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