The Vincent Black Knight is a British motorcycle made between 1954 and 1955 by Vincent Motorcycles. A year before the factory closed in 1955, Vincent produced the enclosed range of Black Knight and Black Prince. Known as the 'Series D', the Black Knight was an upgraded Vincent Rapide which was fully enclosed to keep the rain and dirt from the rider. As well as allowing Vincent to reduce production costs, the enclosure actually improved performance by directing more air to the rear cylinder. Phil Vincent described it as a 'two-wheeled Bentley' and the enclosed Vincents got a lot of attention at the 1955 Earls Court show. Problems with production of the glass fibre mouldings meant that many riders removed them, which eventually led to financial difficulties and the factory closed on the 16th of December 1955.
Read more about Vincent Black Knight: Development, Launch, Production, Financial Collapse, Difference From Black Prince, Cultural References
Famous quotes containing the words vincent, black and/or knight:
“Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know, But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.”
—Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950)
“The token woman carries a bouquet of hothouse celery
and a stenographer’s pad; she will take
the minutes, perk the coffee, smile
like a plastic daisy and put out
the black cat of her sensuous anger
to howl on the fence all night.”
—Marge Piercy (b. 1936)
“By a knight of ghosts and shadows
I summon’d am to a tourney
Ten leagues beyond the wide world’s end:
Methinks it is no journey.”
—Unknown. Tom o’ Bedlam’s Song (l. 57–60)