Comments on: The Graet Company

The Graet Company

maxwelton — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 19:47:04 -0800

Hurley-Pugh Motor Bicycle Company Many great motor manufacturers have been lost to the vicissitudes of Progress, but perhaps the least known and greatest of all is Britain's Hurley-Pugh. Manufacturers of gentlemen's motor velocipedes, the business sense of Sir John Hurley, combined with the brilliance of his chief engineer and designer, Alaric Pugh, resulted in machines which, while a trifle difficult to work on, were well ahead of their time. Sadly the company is probably best remembered today for the Isle of Man TT scandal involving chief test rider, Eric "Killer" Steerforth.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 19:47:11 -0800

This stuff is as old as Sir John's Berber valets--but as long as we're getting the goofy stuff out of our veins today, it's worth a read. (A search of metafilter returned zed about the graet men and machines of Scunthorpe--a bit shocking, what?) The humor is sharper if you're familiar with the world of collector motorcycles, but I don't think being a petrolhead is a prerequisite to enjoying the site.

By: sfts2

sfts2 — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 20:05:01 -0800

I won't be able to ride my motorcycle after looking at that site....ouch!

By: Wolof

Wolof — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 20:51:28 -0800

Excellent use of the heretofore inexplicably neglected "wildebeest" tag.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 23:44:00 -0800

"A chance meeting with Old Sir John Hurley in a Piccadilly gentleman's cloakroom..." Splendid.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 04:25:25 -0800

Sir John's business sense may have been overrated. It would be hard to come up with a worse name for a line of motorcycles. "Hurley-Pugh" is even worse than "KIA" the automotive world.

By: cairnish

cairnish — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 07:30:02 -0800

See also Spagthorpe, for a company rooted in the past with tendrils reaching even unto the new century.

By: Pressed Rat

Pressed Rat — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 12:01:37 -0800

Is that you, Flashman?