History
In June 1896 John Starley formed the Rover Cycle Co. Ltd. at the New Meteor Works in Coventry. Starley had become successful making 'safety bicycles' and used the money to import some of the early Peugeot motorcycles from France in 1899 for experimental development. His first project was to fit an engine onto one of his Rover bicycles. However, Starley died early in October 1901 aged 46 and the business was taken over by entrepreneur Harry Lawson.
The company began to develop and produced the Rover Imperial motorcycle in November 1902. This was a 3.5hp diamond-framed motorcycle with the engine in the centre and 'springer' front forks, an improvement ahead of its time. This first Rover motorcycle had innovative features such as a spray carburettor, a bottom-bracket engine, and mechanically operated valves. Featuring a strong frame with double front down tubes and a good quality finish, over a thousand Rover motorcycles were sold in 1904. The following year, however, Rover stopped motorcycle production to concentrate on their 'safety bicycle'. In 1910, designer John Greenwood was commissioned to develop a new 3.5hp 500cc engine with spring-loaded tappets, a Bosch magneto, and a Brown and Barlow carburettor. This new model, also featuring an innovative inverted tooth drive chain and "Druid" spring forks, was launched at the 1910 Olympia show, and over 500 models were sold.
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