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.
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| DOT motorcycle truck brochure page 1. |
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| DOT motorcycle truck brochure page 2. |
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| DOT motorcycle truck brochure page 3. |
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| DOT motorcycle truck brochure page 4. |
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