New flat tanker roars out of the Welsh valleys

There are several manufacturers of retro motorcycles, but few have gone as far as Mark Wardill to revive an old name and give their machine a period feel.

The Wardill Motor and Cycle Works was started in Carshalton, Surrey in 1903 by Henry Wardill Snr to repair and maintain cars, motorcycles and bicycles. In 1927 it became the Wardill Motorcycle Company Ltd, run by Henry Jnr and Percy Wardill to produce the Wardill Motorcycle with a revolutionary patented ‘supercharged’ two-stroke engine.

Now Mark, a direct descendent of Henry Wardill, is re-launching the marque, with a brand-new motorcycle, the Wardill 4, so-called because the last Wardill, made in the 1920s, was named the Wardill 3. The Wardill 4 uses a modern 250cc OHC engine. 

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Apart from the engine, every other part of the bike will be hand-made and finished in-house. It has updated girder forks, a hand-made aluminium petrol tank and a rigid frame made of T45 aviation strength steel. This is hand formed and tig welded. The Wardill is being made at a factory in the Welsh valleys.

The Wardill will give owners the chance to explore flat tank riding on a machine with a modern engine capable of propelling it at 90mph.

Each Wardill 4 can be tailored to the buyer’s specification with an unlimited paint box of colours and a wide range of saddle leathers. Visit www.wardillmotorcycles.com