• Comprehensive, photographically-documented restoration to the very highest standard

• Known ownership history until 1963

• Sublime engine in excellent order

‘Vincent’. With the possible exception of Brough Superior, never has a name said so much. On hearing it uttered, one conjures an image of a machine blacker than the most terrible night and faster than a streak of lightning. 

For what is essentially just an assembly of nuts and bolts, its ability to generate poetic sentiment is astonishing. Like many of the best manufacturers, Vincent Motorcycles only had a reasonably fleeting existence between its creation by Phil Vincent in 1928 and its demise in 1955 occasioned by an unflinching dedication to hand-made, high-quality bikes which simply couldn’t fight against mass production any longer. However, with the Rapide and latterly the Black Shadow, Vincent will always be remembered for its advertising line, ‘The World’s Fastest Standard Motorcycle’.

The single-cylinder Vincent Comet was something of the stalwart of the marque, acting as a sound, reliable seller from 1935 to 1955 to bolster the lower-volume sales of the 1000cc twins like the Rapide and Black Shadow. Although not quite as exclusive as its siblings, it was just as well engineered and would still go faster than we suspect anyone dared take it on the public highway. For a real test of performance, it did, of course run to good effect in various TT races. It was developed for the post-war years into the Series C, which was just about as good as the Vincent singles ever got.

This Comet was originally sold through Conway Motors, the famous Vincent specialist at 301 Goldhawk Road, Shepherds Bush. Founded in 1927 to trade in motorcycles, Conway Motors soon came to specialise in Vincents and the association continued long after the Vincent marque’s demise, with Conways moving to Kent to continue providing parts, engineering and transactions for second-hand Vincents.

The first private owner was a Leslie Arthur Maydom of Hemel Hempstead, and was then passed in 1954 to Joseph Barling of Watford. It returned to Conways in 1956 to be sold to Peter Michael Norris of London NW1, and would change hands again in 1961 to a John Richard Carr of Irchester, Northamptonshire. Carr kept the bike taxed until 1963, after which its history goes quiet.

In recent years, it was discovered in a semi-dismantled state in a garage, looking rather the worse for wear. However, it had the good fortune to fall into the hands of a committed restorer, and it has now been rebuilt to the highest possible standard, with care even being taken to restore and retain the handsome AA badge which was on the bike when it was discovered.

The vendor acquired the bike September, 2020. It joined his small collection of classic motorcycles, all of which have been maintained to a concours-worthy standard. It is with some feeling of regret that the owner has decided to disperse his collection, although not too much as he is only doing so in order to save for a Jaguar XK120.

In addition to its V5, the Comet is sold with an old buff logbook and a couple of receipts from the V.O.C. Spares Co. Ltd.

Most impressive, perhaps, are the three photo albums which show in detail how it was discovered and how the restoration progressed, but also of considerable importance is the rare period literature to be sold with the bike, which includes Vincent Motor Cycles – A Practical Guide Covering All Vincent and Vincent H.R.D. Models from 1935 by Paul Richardson, two different editions of the Vincent Spare Parts List, and a facsimile of the Instruction Sheets for Vincent H.R.D. Motorcycles, Series ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ Models.

Following its restoration, this Vincent must be one of the best anywhere, a claim we would make not only on the grounds of the quality of its restoration but also on account of the good taste with which it has been executed. On the one hand, it’s generally immaculate, with paint which we cannot fault, a seat which is like new, and chrome with an untarnished shine. 

However, the restorer has been sympathetic to originality and preserved patina where appropriate, so close examination of the polished aluminium mudguards and other bare-metal parts reveals a few very subtle marks and scars which, we are sure, each tell their own story. That the restorer has been careful to preserve as much of the bike’s history as possible is apparent from the fact that he has restored the AA badge and kept it in exactly the same position it was in when the bike was discovered.

We inspected the bike very closely and could not find fault with it; it is an outstanding example in every way.

The mechanics of the Vincent reflect its overall condition, which is to say something close to perfection, or else perfection itself. The engine runs exactly as a high-quality piece of engineering assembled by craftsmen ought to, effortlessly and with a steady, even rhythm which suggests that everything is in order for lots of enjoyable motorcycling into the future.

The photograph albums show the engine being rebuilt, and as it has only ever had light use since it was completed, we believe it should perform as vividly and responsively as it did when new. Although he has not MoTed it, the vendor has kept the bike in the very best conditions, well protected from the ravages of weather, so we are in no doubt that it would sail through an MoT with no advisories if it were to be presented for a test.

Vincent motorcycles have a mystique like few others. There have been many very beautiful bikes since Gottlieb Daimler’s Promethean machine first spluttered out of its garage in 1886, and many extremely fast ones, but only the Vincent has the distinction of inspiring a romantic ballad. At the end of the day, it comes down to Vincent getting everything just right. 

The engineering was always to the highest standard, the proportions of the bikes were just right, with the huge engines filling the frame nicely, and the sublime combination of ebony paint and polished aluminium struck an aesthetic cord which other bike makers, no matter how varied their colour palettes, could come close to imitating.

Perhaps the Black Shadow has stolen some of the Comet’s thunder, but this represents an opportunity to sample the same engineering that went into the ‘The World’s Fastest Standard Motorcycle’ for a fraction of the price. You’ll still stop people in their tracks on all the corners and cafés, and have a hell of a good time riding down to Box Hill, so perhaps this really represents better value than a Black Shadow. Either way, this is one of the very best examples around, and since every human soul covets a Vincent (whether they know it or not), you’d better not let this opportunity pass by.