page_title: Francis-Barnett
hierarchical_section_title: Francis-Barnett
caption_attribution_description: English: Fitted to a Francis Barnett. Villiers D series engines&#160;: 122cc (50x62mm) The 10D was intoroduced in 1949.
context_page_description: Francis & Barnett Limited was an English motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1919 by Gordon Inglesby Francis and Arthur Barnett and based in Lower Ford Street, Coventry, England. Early motor cycles were affectionately known as ' Franny B'. Motorcycles were produced for enthusiasts and was reasonably affordable for citizens for use as general transport. The majority of the lighter motorcycles used Villiers and later Two-stroke engine and later Associated Motor Cycles AMC engines. During the 1930s the 250cc Cruiser model 250 cc was developed with a faired engine that protected those riding from any oil or dirt – one of the first of its kind to do so. AMC took over Francis & Barnett Limited in 1947 combining this with the James motorcycle models in 1957. The combined company remained in business until 1966.
  Lea Francis Works in Much Park Street.
  The Lea Francis cycle and motorcycle business had been formed by Graham Francis and R.H. Lea in 1895., who was the son of Graham Francis who manufactured motorcycles under the name 'Lea Francis', went into partnership with Arthur Barnett to create Francis & Barnett Limited.
context_section_description: Francis & Barnett Limited was an English motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1919 by Gordon Inglesby Francis and Arthur Barnett and based in Lower Ford Street, Coventry, England. Early motor cycles were affectionately known as ' Franny B'. Motorcycles were produced for enthusiasts and was reasonably affordable for citizens for use as general transport. The majority of the lighter motorcycles used Villiers and later Two-stroke engine and later Associated Motor Cycles AMC engines. During the 1930s the 250cc Cruiser model 250 cc (15 cu in) was developed with a faired engine that protected those riding from any oil or dirt – one of the first of its kind to do so. AMC took over Francis & Barnett Limited in 1947 combining this with the James motorcycle models in 1957. The combined company remained in business until 1966.
   Lea Francis Works in Much Park Street.
  The Lea Francis cycle and motorcycle business had been formed by Graham Francis and R.H. Lea in 1895., who was the son of Graham Francis who manufactured motorcycles under the name 'Lea Francis', went into partnership with Arthur Barnett to create Francis & Barnett Limited. Gordon married a lady whose father was Arthur Barnett and already producing Invicta motorcycles. Both Francis and Barnett both related by marriage started in the same company's workshop as that of Bayliss Thomas and Company Limited in Lower Ford Street, Coventry, established in 1874, who produced the Excelsior model. They were reformed as the Excelsior Motor Cycle Company in 1909. Photograph of Excelsior No1 Works, Bayliss Thomas and Company taken outside the works before 1909 - this is the same works that Francis-Barnett move into.  The first English motorcycle produced which continued until 1965. At first Francis Barnett machines were little more than re-badged Invicta motor cycles. During the 1920s Francis Barnett made supple sheet metal work and pressings for the motor industry that proved successful. In 1947 Francis Barnett took over Clarendon Pressings and Welding Company Limited. In 1948 Output was increased and Industrial trolleys and pressed fabricated parts for the motor industry were made. Photographs and story of Clarendon Pressings and Welding Company, in Clarendon Street, Earlsdon, Coventry. 
  The very first new Francis-Barnett motorcycle was well pronounced by its bright red and black fuel tank and J.A.P. two speed 292cc side valved Sturmy Archer Engine (John Alfred Prestwich Engines), but production costs were an early problem. Gordon Francis learned from his army days having seen damaged motorcycles in his Motor Transport Workshop and considered a design of bolted straight tubes as a simple replacement frame. He overcame cost factors by first looking at the problem of frequent fractures of the motorcycles frames and evolved a six straight tubular frame with one of the pairs specially formed. The hub of the rear wheel up to the saddle and footrest formed a triangle and the frame below the tank an inverted triangle. The tank itself was held in position by similarly formed tubes. The frame could be bolted together with basic tools. In 1923 he exhibited a machine with this type of frame at Olympia. Riders like Tom Meeten took part at Brooklands and Scottish 6-Day Trials and stunts such as riding up Snowdon. On 12 July 1928 a trio of riders started at the foot of Snowdon at Llandberg Base Station. John Moxon and Geoffrey Jones from Villiers and Eric Barnett from Francis Barnett. They covered 3,600 feet in 22 minutes. The Supersport 172cc 2.75HP was awarded Gold and Silver medals at the Scottish six day Trials in 1924.
  
  Continuing with cost factors and simplicity in mind the new wheels of the new Francis Barnet were on spindles and easily removed. The 147cc Villiers two-stroke engine with flywheel magneto was light with a two speed Albion gearbox, a three speed was an option, and very easily reassembled and at a very low cost. The construction came with a no breakage forever guarantee. Other 250cc and 350cc machines were also produced with a sidecars as an option. The Pullman model followed i
caption: Villiers 10D Engine
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Francis Barnett", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D5100", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2013:01:01 23:24:26", "Image ExifOffset": "256", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1010", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "11878", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/100", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:09:02 11:41:05", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:09:02 11:41:05", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "415241/62500", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "2", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "25", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "90", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1024", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1124", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[2, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "37", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "6377632", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[16, 85, 7/2, 28/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "16.0-85.0 mm f/3.5-5.6"}