The Ruby Cycle Co Ltd. 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 ...

manufacturer based in

Ancoats Ancoats is an area of Manchester, England, next to the Northern Quarter, the northern part of Manchester city centre. Historically in Lancashire, Ancoats became a cradle of the Industrial Revolution and has been called "the world's first ind ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. Founded in 1909 the factory produced a range of motorcycles under the ''Royal Ruby'' brand until 1932.

History

The Ruby Cycle Co. were originally bicycle makers based in Cannel Street,

surrounded by the

cotton mills Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a wikt:boll, boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almo ...

and like many bicycle makers of the time turned to producing by motorcycles from 1909. The ''Royal Ruby'' motorcycles were expensive as all the cycle parts were manufactured by the company in Manchester, but engines were brought in from

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 ...

and Villiers. The range included 250cc 2 strokes and 4 strokes as well an unusual 'Ladies Model' with a specially lowered frame. Top of the range was a 976cc side valve

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 ...

. During the

first world war World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

production at the factory turned to munitions and components to support the war effort, but in 1916 a large export order for the V-twin was commissioned by the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

. The motorcycles were produced but delivery of the order was disrupted by the outbreak of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

in 1919. Although a few motorcycles were delivered to Russia, it is not clear whether all payments were forthcoming. After the war ended the British motorcycle market was saturated with ex military machines, but munitions work had supported the company and, with a re-arranged board, a new factory was built on Moss Lane,

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

where production of motorcycles restarted in 1921, together with their own Ruby leaf sprung forks and rear suspension using the same method, but the results were very expensive, sales were extremely slow and the company went bust completely in 1922. The name was sold to Albert Horrocks of

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

in 1927. Horrocks developed a new saddle-tank motorcycle in 1928 with Villiers and JAP engines and Albion and

Sturmey-Archer Sturmey-Archer was a manufacturing company originally from Nottingham, England. It primarily produced bicycle hub gears, brakes and a great many other sundry bicycle components, most prominently during its heyday as a subsidiary of the Raleigh ...

gearboxes. Royal Ruby motorcycle production ended around 1931 but one-off motorcycles may have been assembled from spare parts up to 1933.

Cyclecars

As well as motor cycles the company also made

cyclecars A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive motorized car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the ca ...

at two separate times. There was a major boom in cyclecar production before World War I and between 1913 and 1914 one was made under the Royal Ruby name with 10hp V twin JAP engine, two speed gearbox and either shaft or belt drive to the rear wheels. Only a few are thought to have been made. Another Royal Ruby car, this time a three wheeler was announced in 1927 with single cylinder JAP engine but only a prototype was apparently made designed by Maurice Edwards. A modified version appeared in 1928 called the MEB (Maurice Edwards Bolton) made by commercial vehicle bodybuilders Bromilow and Edwards in Bolton. A tuned version had some success at Brooklands and Montlhery driven by Gwenda Stewart and Douglas Hawkes between 1930 and 1932.

References

External links

* http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Ruby_Cycle_Co * http://www.yesterdays.nl/royal-ruby-1913-p-1111.html {{British motorcycle manufacturers Defunct motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1909 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1932 Defunct companies based in Manchester Manufacturing companies based in Manchester 1927 mergers and acquisitions 1909 establishments in England 1932 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1932 British companies established in 1909

History

Cyclecars

See also

References

External links