Cotton (Motorcycle)
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COTTON MOTORCYCLES SET
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The Cotton Motorcycle Company was founded in 1918 by Frank Willoughby Cotton and originally based on Bristol Road, Gloucester.
As a direct result in Motorcycle competition, particularly Trials F. W. Cotton had designed and patented and patented the triangulated frame, a design that was to become the staple for Cotton Motorcycles until the Second World War years.
When the Great Depression came, Cotton responded by offering a wider range of engines in its patented frame, usually with Burman gearboxes.
Cotton did not return to motorcycle production after World War II, instead they concentrated on enginineering work into the 1950's. On Frank Cottons death the company was re-constituted as E. Cotton (Motorcycles) after Bill Cottons first wife Elsie Ellen Cotton and was owned and managed by Pat Onions and Monty Denley. As before, Cotton made their own frames, and bought in the rest of the components for assembly. The first machine, produced till 1957, was the Cotton Vulcan, with a Villiers engine. In 1955 the Cotton Cotanza was launched powered 248cc by an Anzani engine and a new frame with “pivoted-fork” rear suspension. The frame was also used in a new 1955 Vulcan model, fitted with a Villiers 9E engine and three speed gearbox..The only change for 1957 was a Villiers 2T twin added to the Cotanza range.
There were no further changes until 1959, when all models were fitted with Armstrong leading link forks, and the Villiers 2T twin was dropped.
When Villiers withdrew from building engines, Cotton was forced to look elsewhere, and for a time used Minarelli engines but production was slow. Cotton had been profitably selling bikes in kit form, but changes to legislation proved damaging. By 1970 Cotton relocated to Stratton Road but the main problem remained a regular engine supplier, a problem compounded by the emergance of mass produced Japanese machinery.
The factory was re-located several times during the 1970's and in 1978 moved a final time to Bolton, closing two years later..
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