Vincent Motorcycles closed its doors in 1955. The Vincent Black Knight was the among the last bikes that the company produced. This motorcycle marked a few milestones other than being the last model to be produced by an iconic company.
Sales of Vincent motorcycles plummeted during 1952 and 1953, so the company began design and production of the series D machines that included the Black Knight. The Knight was touted as a ‘two-wheeled Bentley’ by Phil Vincent. It was the first and only model to sport full-fairing, much to the chagrin of Vincent enthusiast. The fairing provided an inadvertent boost to performance. Most early owners of the Knight never experienced the increased performance because they typically removed the fairing the second they got the bike home.
This stripping off of the fairing coupled with the low production numbers, 200 in total, make an intact specimen nearly impossible to find. And imagine how much an antique motorcycle insurance policy on such a machine would set you back. Probably more per annum than the cost of most modern production bikes.
Despite an upgraded electrical system and a switch to a coil and distributor, the Black Knight never caught on with riders of the day and the company eventually closed its doors in December of 1955. Today the Black Knight is a great milestone in riding and should be celebrated as such.
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