1903-1905 Evelyn Hugh Owen designed and built the 492cc machine. The difference between this machine and most others was a shaft drive that incorporated a form of clutch. The machine was short lived - if it actually existed. An illustration of the machine displays a bevel drive which was unlikely to have survived a trip to the corner store.
The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile has doubts about Owen's claims to have ever manufactured cars, suggesting he may have been a fantasist "in the Walter Mitty mould".
The Aeolus name was trademarked by Bown in 1877, and. according to Tragatsch, Bown built Aeolus motorcycles powered by his own engines from 1914 to 1916. E.H. Owen had no relationship with Bown.
THIS new machine, differing widely from every other motor cycle, has been designed by Mr. E. H. Owen, of the Motor Transport Co., of 72, Comeragh Road, W., and is of English manufacture throughout. The principal points of interest are the novel means by which the transmission of the power is effected, obviating the use of belts, chains, or friction drives, with their attendant disadvantages.
The engine, which rotates in the same direction as the line of travel, is securely bolted in a vertical position to the frame. Upon an extension of the engine crankshaft is a bevel wheel, at right angles to which is fitted a light shaft, having at either end bevel wheels in constant mesh with that on the crankshaft and toothed wheel fixed to the hub of the rear road wheel. All these wheels are entirely encased, and run in grease. A special form of clutch is fitted on the propeller-shaft, operated by the hand lever in starting, and the speed is usually controlled by the foot pedal, providing a free engine for traffic, and descending hills, etc.
The Motor Cycle November 4th, 1903, page 753.
Sources: Tragatsch p69, Graces Guide; The Motor Cycle.
March 2022
Graham Clayton writes, "Edward Hugh Owen claimed to have built cars from 1901 up to the late 1920's, but none were ever seen - maybe the Aeolus was a similar figment of his imagination?"
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