While BSA and Norton have grabbed the headlines in the run-up to the UK's Motorcycle Live 2021 show, another revived British brand has quietly taken its turn in the spotlight. Also, Dot Motorcycles is back after revealing two new models which mark the Manchester-based brand's first release since 1984.
In modern times, Dot Motorcycles is a project of Dr Anthony Keating, in direct consultation with Guy Martin. The bikes are largely hand-built at the National Center for Motorsport Engineering, which is a school of the University of Bolton in the Manchester area. Specialist items like the saddle were outsourced to other British companies, but overall, said Anthony Keating, Dot wanted to keep all chassis engineering in the UK as much as possible.
The historic Dot Motorcycles brand began in the early 1900s, when founder Harry Reed established the company in Salford, near Manchester. In 1908, he won the Isle of Man TT twin-cylinder category on a Dot Motorcycles motorcycle that he had built by hand, powered by a Peugeot engine. Very quickly, he built and sold five different models to the public in 1911. Although this family of enthusiasts fought to keep the brand going, Dot Motorcycles closed its business in 1978.
From the beginning, Dot Motorcycles built chassis and preferred to source engines from suppliers it deemed appropriate at the time. At the time, this meant Peugeot or Villiers, but in 2021, the 650 cc twin-cylinder Kawasaki was chosen. At the time, the name "Dot Motorcycles" was supposed to mean "Devoid of Trouble", an element that the 2021 incarnation of the company is keen to replicate.
At Motorcycle Live 2021, Dot Motorcycles unveiled two models powered by this same engine: the Reed Racer, which is a café racer, and the Dot Demon, which is a scrambler. As you can see in the video, the photos don't show them off. Showa forks and Brembo brakes adorn the two new Dot motorcycles which have been hand-built in Bolton.
Pricing and availability for these hand-built machines are yet to be revealed, but if this is the first time you've heard of Dot Motorcycles, it seems unlikely that it will be the last.
