1953 Vincent Rapide Series 'C'

[JimMayor007]

The Vincent 1000 Vee Twin set a land speed record of 160.73 mph on pump gas at the Bonneville salt flats in 1952, ridden by the infamous 52 year old Rollie Free, a record which would stand for 19 years.......one of the reasons Jay Leno favors Vincents in his impressive motorcycle collection.

The Series 'B' and 'C' Vincents were a brilliant late World War ll collaboration of UK owner Phil Vincent's marketing aptitude and designer Phil Irving's prodigious engineering concepts.

A devout Brit, I have owned and lovingly cared for my Vincent since 1973 and restored it twice: the second restoration was a total meticulous refurbishment by myself over a two year period, stripping it down to every last nut, washer and spring. An accomplished and perfectionist spray painter, I refinished a grand total of 97 individual components in black two part PPG epoxy, giving the bike an incredible black gloss.




More Pics and Info HERE

[slimcolo]

looks great, but I thought the 50's record set by Vincent was a little lower like 152 (or was this another,possibly production speed record) I've never known anyone who owned one of these but have known about 5 Rapide owners, and one Comet owner.

[jstark47]

I don't care how fast they go...... I just love the way Vincents look. Thanks for sharing, JimMayor.