The Bat No. 2 was a British

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

made in 1913 by

Bat Motor Manufacturing Co. Ltd The Bat Motor Manufacturing Co. Ltd was a British motorcycle manufacturer that operated between 1902 and 1926. Significant innovations developed by the company included one of the first motorcycle suspension systems, with a leading link front ...

Penge Penge () is a suburb of South East Greater London, London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross. Etymology The name ''Penge'' is first attested in charter of ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. Offered with a choice of Bat's own two-speed gearbox or with a conventional (for the time) belt drive, sales were good but production ended on the outbreak of the First World War one year later.

Development

The Bat Motor Manufacturing Co. Ltd produced motorcycles between 1902 and 1926. The 'Bat' name is often wrongly written as ''BAT'' as people thought it came from the way the motorcycles were nicknamed ''Best After Tests'', but it actually came from the founder, Samuel Robert Batson. Despite some competition success, Batson decided to concentrate on office equipment and sold the company to Theodore Tessier in 1904. Tessier was innovative and developed one of the first motorcycle suspension systems, with a leading link front fork. Tessler's son continued riding Bat motorcycles in competition and it was from this that the nickname was developed into a marketing slogan. The Bat No. 2 used outdated engineering even for its time, however, with no front brake. The No. 2 model was available either with Bat's own two-speed countershaft gearbox and an unusual linked spring system for the saddle and footboards, or an alternative specification (without the springs ) that had a belt drive to an Armstrong three-speed rear hub. Although it was also known as the ''Light Roadster'' the engine was a well-proven 770cc

V-twin A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders are arranged in a V configuration and share a common crankshaft. The V-twin is widely associated with motorcycles, primarily installed longitudinally ...

side-valve four-stroke from

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

engine specialists

JAP ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word " Japanese". In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term offensive because of the internment they suffered during World War II. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, ''Jap ...

; Bat also offered 650cc, 964cc and 980cc options. The Bat No 2 also featured a specially sprung saddle to improve rider comfort on the poor roads of the time. To raise awareness of the motorcycles, Tessier began serious competitive racing and achieved over 200 wins, setting numerous speed records. Bat also managed seventh place in the 1913 Senior TT. Production ended on the outbreak of the First World War. when the factory switched to producing munitions. Bat sold all their remaining stock of Bat No. 2 motorcycles to the Russian military but was never paid, so discontinued the No. 2 after the war.

References

{{reflist

Development

References

See also