1952 Vincent Black Shadow

An example of muscular British design.

The Black Shadow was built in England from 1948 to 1954. It has a 998cc pushrod 50˚ V twin engine making 55 bhp and driving a 4-speed gearbox to produce a top speed of 125mph. It uses the engine as a stressed member of the frame. And the frame has a cantilever rear suspension.

From Wikipedia:
"The Black Lightning was a racing version of the Black Shadow, with every necessary steel part on it that could be, remade in aluminium, and anything not essential removed altogether, reducing the weight from 458 lb to 380 lb. Every bit the racer, it had a single racing seat and rear-set footrests."





Richard Thompson wrote a popular song about the Black lightning.


Thanks Wikipedia