A. W. Wall Ltd was a motorcycle manufacturer based in Tyseley from 1911.
As manufacturers of the Roc motorcycle, Wall experimented with a number of unorthodox designs and was financed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, of Sherlock Holmes fame.
The Wall Tricar had a sidecar type body that was mounted onto a 3-wheeled chassis and used tiller steering though in 1914 this was replaced by a more conventional steering wheel. The Tricar was powered by either a 4½ hp or 6 hp Precision engine that was used in the company's motorcycles. Manufacture of the Tricar ceased in 1915.
The company also produced Liberty Engines
Wall Motorcycles were produced between 1903 and 1904 by A. W. Wall of Guildford, Surrey, to his own design.
The frame was extended and lowered with a bolted-in tube running below
the top tube to support the tanks, which were grooved to fit to both. A
2¾ hp engine with magneto ignition was fitted and the drive pulley incorporated
a clutch. Both seat and handlebars were set well back in the style of a
pacing machine and, in 1904, the make became the Roc. He was also
involved with the Auto Wheel
and numerous other ideas and designs in the formative years of the industry.
Roc motorcycles were produced from 1904 to 1914.
A. W. Wall's attempts at the Auto Wheel, reported in Motor Cycling, was shown on stand number 88 at the Stanley Show.
The horizontal engine of 1.5" bore and 2" stroke was an air-cooled, two-stroke, flat twin; only one cylinder fired; the other, by way of a long truncated piston, pumped the charge into the working cylinder. The hub contained a flywheel and 6:1 reduction gears. The mudguard was the oil and petrol tank.
Auto Wheel numbers started at 3,000 for 1913. They claimed to have sold 1,750 units that year so this would mean that at the end of 1913 they should have reached 4,750.
For 1914 they started at 4,000 but, as they had already used 750 of this series, they must have started at 4,750. The claim for 1914 was that 10,000 units had been laid down: 5,000 by Auto Wheels and 5,000 by BSA. If this claim was carried out then 1914 Auto Wheel's engine numbers should have reached 9,750.
1913 early units had tubular engine mounts front and rear, induction direct over the inlet valve and no silencer box on the front engine mount; later 1913 models had a platform engine mount at the back and tubular at the front. 1914 models have platform mounts front and rear, induction into the side of the cylinder block and an exhaust box in the front engine mount.
1910 Stanley Show Report
A. W. Wall, Ltd.
Birmingham. Stand No. 90.
Amongst the various models shown on this stand will be the open frame motor-bicycle, the specification of which carries a chassis of pressed steel similar to that used in car construction, suspension chair seat, two-speed gear, spring forks, valveless silent engine, outside flywheel, shaft transmission through silent worm gear. It is claimed that this is the first rational or all weather machine designed essentially for comfort. The mudguards and footplates are formed integral with the frame, and afford adequate protection to the rider. The Roc. patent clutch and two-speed gear sets will also be shown.
The Wall company was also involved with the Reynolds Runabout
See also Wall Tricar at 3wheelers.com
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