Redrup motorcycles were produced between 1920 and 1921 in Leeds by Beaumont Motors to a design by Charles Redrup, a Welshman who had a background in aviation.
Charles Redrup had been interested in both rotary and radial engines as early as 1904 (fitted to the Barry motorcycle) and in 1912 he built a combination engine that was mounted in a motorcycle so that both sections drove the rear wheel by shaft.
After the end of World War I, he produced a design for a radial three-cylinder engine, rated at 2¾ hp. His main interest was in engines, but in order to prove it successful, he commissioned a few complete machines. He rode one of the two entered in the 1920 A-C. U. (Auto-Cycle Union) Six Days Trial.
During 1921, the rights to the production of the Redrup engine were acquired by the British Radial Engine Company, who made motorcycles of that name.
Redrup continued in the field for many decades, developing engines for the likes of Avro, Vickers, Crossley and Bristol. During WWII he was involved in secret squirrel stuff developing the bouncing bomb used by the Dam Busters.
In 1948 he and his son built another Redrup motorcycle using his radial engine mounted in an Enfield chassis.
Sources:
Graces Guide
The Knife and Fork Man: the life and work of Charles Benjamin Redrup. William Fairney, 2007
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