DOT rigid competition bikes

A two page flyer for DOT competition bikes from c1950. These bikes used the Villiers 197cc 6E motor, a competent power plant that's still popular in pre-65 trials today. DOTs were always nicely styled quality machines and they had a strong competition heritage. Note the odd megaphone end of the exhaust on the trials model.

Vintage DOT JAP

It's not often you come across an old picture of a DOT motorcycle, particularly one from the vintage era. This particular 'Devoid of Trouble' DOT is from 1928 / 1929 and is fitted with a 348cc 'dog-eared' ohv JAP engine, it's a high end sporting mount of the period.

1928 / 1929 DOT JAP 350cc ohv.

DOT Motorcycles 1956

Through the fifties some of the more innovative and interesting motorcycle manufacturers were the smaller guys who built bikes using Villiers engines. DOT definitely fell into that bracket along with Cotton, Greeves, DMW and several others.

DOT were a brand with an illustrious pre-war history, though never in high volume production. Whereas pre-war DOT had used JAP and Blackburne motors along with Villiers, post-war Villiers was the only real option. The post-war range was more off-road competition focussed but there were road bikes too. The most notable post-war DOT feature was their consistent use of Earles forks.

It's timely to reproduce this brochure now as the brand DOT is currently being revived. There are two models being lauched, a street scrambler and a cafe racer both with 650cc parallel twin motors of Kawasaki design but licensed out to China manufacture. There's a DOT website for further details of the bikes, much is made of the bike's Manchester heritage but the site is written in a strange not quite native English. Whatever the story behind that is, the bikes look good and you've got to wish them success.

Dot Vivi 1957

Several of the small British manufacturers tried to cash in on the 1950's scooter and moped boom by importing European models and rebranding them under their own flag. Dot was one of these with their Dot Vivi range.

Vivi mopeds were made in Italy by Officine Viberti (a manufacturer of coach bodies and trailers) in collaboration with the German company Victoria (Victoria engines were used). Viberti Victoria - Vivi.

The Vivi machines were quite competent lightweights having conventional Italian cycle parts and a tried and tested German motor. Dot imported them from 1957 to 1962.

The Dot Vivi showed good sporting potential and 50cc racing was taking off in the late fifties so Dot intitiated their own small scale racing programme - there's a nice article about it on the Classic 50 Racing Club website.

Striking cover design from Dot for
for their Dot-Vivi range.

Here's the base model Dot-Vivi Moped.

The Dot-Vivi Racer is really a racer
in name only. Nice sporty looks but
same front end and motor as the Moped.

And finally the Dot-Vivi Scooterette.
This model is the same as the Moped
with the addition of legshields and an
extra valance on the rear mudguard.

1952 DOT trials and scrambles models brochure

Brochure for the 1952 DOT trials and scrambles models. Love the strange trumpet end to the trials models exhaust! Very competent bikes in their day and would still make decent rides for club events and green laning. Nice and light and in my experience the 6E / 8E Villiers motors are the sweetest of the postwar Villiers offerings. They might not be the most powerful but the characteristics are very likeable.

1952 DOT Trials and Scrambles Models
brochure page 1.

1952 DOT Trials and Scrambles Models
brochure page 2.

DOT Motorcycle Truck

Immediately post war folks were desperate for transport, in most cases the cheaper the better. The DOT Motor Cycle Truck demonstrates just how desparate they were. Mind, if you were a delivery boy used to pedalling around a three wheeled delivery bicycle then the DOT would probably seemed to have been delivered from on high should your employer have blessed you enough to have bought one. I have ridden both the pedalled variety and the DOT motorised and I can testify that peculiar and slightly shoddy as the DOT is it really isn't too bad and is a massive upgrade from the bicycle. Considering that back in the day many of the delivery boys would have only just been in their teenage years the the delivery bicycle would nowadays be thought of as child cruelty. I rode one that was carrying no load; difficult on the flat and painful uphills, fully loaded one can only imagine what it would be like...

Originally launched with a 122cc Villiers 9D twin port engine the later model as shown below upgraded to a 197cc 6E model engine. They offered it in several different truck styles, from the basic open layout that was used predominently by market gardens and dairys to the van layout and there was even a rickshaw version.

There are a few survivors around and though it seems strange to modern eyes the concept of a motorcycle truck was once a popular one. After all it did carry some logic, a lot cheaper than a car and back then most working people were familiar with two wheelers but had no experience of four. Over in America both Harley and Indian offered variations on the theme though in reverse with a motorcycle front end and a car type rear. The Harley version was considered good enough that it was still being used by US police departments through 'till the seventies.

DOT motorcycle truck brochure page 1.

DOT motorcycle truck brochure page 2.

DOT motorcycle truck brochure page 3.

DOT motorcycle truck brochure page 4.