A Brief History of the Marque
Manufactured: 1920-1927, Landskrona, Sweden
Enoch Thulin was a Swedish aviation pioneer. In 1914 he flew from Malmö to Stockholm in 4 hours and 17 minutes nonstop, a distance approaching 500 kilometres.
In 1915 he founded AB Enoch Thulins aeroflygplanfabrik in Landskrona - later named AB Thulinverken - and also established an aviation school in Ljungbyhed.
During the First World War many Swedish factories were involved in the production of military equipment, and AB Thulinverken was among those producing aircraft engines. When the armistice finally arrived the company sought other avenues of commerce, and ventured into the automotive market.
After Thulin's death in a graphically horrific aviation accident1 in 1919 the firm built three different models of motorcycle, the MC I, MC II and MC III. This project, instigated before Thulin's demise, was the responsibility of Thord Ångström and Ivar Malmer.
The MC I was a longitudinal 1000cc horizontally opposed twin which made its first appearance early in 1920. This was followed a few months later with the MC II, a 570cc V-Twin. In 1923 the MC III was presented, powered by a 350cc single. All engines were of sidevalve configuration.
The last motorcycles were built in 1925.
From 1920 to 1928 the firm built automobiles under licence to a German concern. Thulin also built prototype snowmobiles (slädbil) but it appears these did not enter production.
Sources: Konditori, ottw.es, Gert Ekström, Bjorn's Story
Notes:
1. Reports of the crash which killed Enoch Thulin suggest that his head was detached and bounced along like a football. It was later determined that he had entered a spin from which, at the time, there was no method of recovery. In many countries spin recovery is now part of the training syllabus, and almost all glider pilots are adept at the art.
Several of the Thulin automobiles survive, but there are no known examples of the motorcycles.
Frera built a 570cc V-Twin so it is possible that that engine, or a duplicate of it, was employed in the Thulin MCII.
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