OEC Motorcycles

Today in Motorcycle History

Temple Motorcycles

Manufactured by CF Temple and Co Ltd, 11 Edgware Road, Marble Arch, London, 1924-1928

Claude Temple was a Brooklands motorcycle racer who established many records. He built specialist machines for sporting road riders and racing.

The motorcycles employed 500cc OHV singles, 992cc V-Twins and an overhead cam Atlanta engine from OEC, the latter known as an OEC-Temple.

On the 9th May 1926 at Arpajon, France, Claude Temple rode an OEC-Temple-Anzani to the world speed record of 121.41 mph.

A 1926 brochure advertised the OEC Temple with a British Anzani OHC 1000cc engine. The price was £135.

An OEC Temple-JAP was the subject of a huge scandal in 1930 when Joe Wright took the world speed record at Arpajon, achieving over 150mph. It later transpired that the machine used was not, in fact, an OEC but a Zenith, Wrights' faithful back-up.