In 1903 the Dot Cycle and Motor Manufacturing Company was established by Harry Reed in Salford, Lancashire, United_Kingdom. By 1906 they had built their first motorcycle using a Peugeot engine.
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The Harry Reed years (1903 – 1926)
Early Dots used Peugeot and Fafnir engines, and there were Blackburne, Villiers, Bradshaw (later ABC ) and JAP models to follow. In 1908 a Dot-Peugot ridden by Harry Reed won the World Championship for the Flying Kilometre at Blackpool, as well as winning the Multi Cylinder class in the second Isle of Man TT, at an average speed of 38.5 mph. From 1923 the company slogan was “Devoid Of Trouble”[1] In 1926 there were financial difficulties that resulted in the departure of Reed, now 50 years old, and a restructuring of the company, but the Great Depression was to come. Production and racing continued till 1932.
Depression and WW2 (1932 – 1945)
In 1932 motorcycle production ceased, and would not resume until 1949. Contract engineering work allowed the firm to survive.
The Burnard Scott Wade Years (1945 - 1975)
After WW2 Dot made three wheeler commercial vehicles, designed by Wade, using the rear of a 197 cc two-stroke Villiers-powered bike with a steerable two-wheeled platform up front. These machines could be equipped with various special purpose bodies. It could be a truck, rickshaw, or ice cream van.[2] This line of vehicles were so successful that Dot began building motorcycles again in 1949, with two-stroke Villiers engines. They would later use Minarelli and Sachs engines.[3] In 1951 Dot won the Manufacturer’s Team Prize in the Ultra-Lightweight TT, but the road bikes were not as popular as their nimble lightweight scrambles and trials bikes. These were outperforming the heavier four-strokes. Off-road motorcycle competition would soon be dominated by lightweight two-strokes. Three wheelers ceased production in the late fifties.
End of production
In 1966 motorcycle production slowed drastically, and the last complete machines were sold between 1973 and 1975. A new machine was shown by Wade in 1978, but never produced. The company and factory are still there, by the Mancunian Way/Chester Road at Hulme in Manchester. They still supply spares and information to Dot owners.[4]
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