My favourite motorcycles, part 3

Part 1, Part2.
T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, was your typical upper class British public schoolboy; attending high school in Oxford before going on to Jesus College. It was here that his famous masochistic tendencies became more noticeable, often denying himself simple pleasures for no apparent reason. Four eggs ample, he would often attend banquets, but forgo eating. Dickhead. As part of his research for his Doctoral Thesis, The influence of the Crusades on European Military Architecture – to the end of the 12th Century Lawrence embarked on a 300 mile solo walk around the deserts of Palestine to study Crusader forts and castles. Dickhead.
“Stop fidgeting up the back, I'll tell you what all this has to do with motorcycles in a minute. You, boy, get your hand out of that girl's dress. You, girl, see me after class.”
After his graduation, Lawrence moved back and forth between England and the middle east, where he worked as an archaeologist up until the outbreak of the Great War. Most of what happened next is fairly well known, but Lawrence's greatest achievement was undoubtedly owning a string of Brough Superior motorcycles, one of which he was riding when he died. Actually, he wasn't riding it, he had ceased to ride it in rather a spectacular manner and it was this cessation of riding that caused his demise.
As you may be able to tell from this photo, Lawrence was stricken with Duck's Disease. However, he was fairly comfortable financially, so he was able to get his Broughs custom built with 16” rear wheels to accommodate his affliction. Actually, Brough could accommodate pretty much any sort of request you wanted as each Brough was handmade, earning the machines the title of 'The Rolls Royce of Motorcycles'. Rolls Royce didn't object.
Here we see Lawrence taking delivery of a new bike from George Brough. No prizes for guessing what Georgie boy did for a living. He did it pretty bloody well, too, although Brough's used proprietary engines manufactured by J.A.P. , even in my personal favourite, the SS100. The name, like the naming of Triumph Tigers, was a guarantee of its minimum top speed. It is, without doubt the most beautiful motorcycle ever built.


It doesn't matter if you are talking about a 1925 racing special destined for the banks of Brooklands (this track was one of the great tragedies of WW2., along with companies like Rudge-Whitworth.)...



or a 1926 touring model such as this one, right through to....






this stunning 1939 bike delivered to the Sheffield coppers. These bikes are gorgeous. I've never ridden one, indeed I haven't seen one in the metal for about twenty years, but I would murder my family for the opportunity of owning one.
I have nothing more to say, I have to be alone now...