Phelon and Moore - Panther purrs back into town
IT'S about 40 years ago that the long-established motorcycle factory of Phelon and Moore at Horncastle Street, Cleckheaton, stopped producing motorcycles and closed its doors.
During the 1960s one Panther motorcycle combination was a daily familiar appearance in the streets of Cleckheaton.
This Panther was in use by P&M carrying the nickname "the Chariot", and was used to transport Panther motorcycles and Panther parts to the railway station and to dealers.
When they closed down, the Chariot was locked away behind the closed doors of Horncastle Mills.
Not all activities came to an end however, as the late Alice Wharton kept the doors open each Wednesday to sell spares to Panther owners until 1975.
She had worked for P&M since 1934, and knew everything about Panthers.
When she stopped doing so, the Chariot was sold to a Panther fan from Huddersfield.
In 1982, he sold the combination to a Dutchman, who passed it on to another Dutchman a week later.
From that moment, the Chariot was neglected until it was offered to the present owner, another Dutchman who now lives in France.
He has painstakingly and lovingly restored it, putting it back on the road, while preserving its original appearance – the way it left P&M in 1975.
Since 1982 several spares from the Chariot "disappeared", but were found again with the help of the Panther Owners Club.
The present owner, Jos Evers, who lives in Les Ardennes, France, now plans to visit Cleckheaton this summer, and to let the Chariot roam the streets of Cleckheaton once again.
Jos is a long time member of the Panther Owners Club and is the caretaker of 10 different models made by Phelon & Moore, ranging from a 1931 Model 90 500cc with an engine based on the famous 1928 TT model ridden by Tommy Bulles, to a 1960 Model 100 combination with P&M sidecar,
He bought his first Panther – a model 75, 350 cc from 1951 – way back in 1981, when he was 21-years-old, and to this day he remains faithful to Panthers.
Each year he visits Panther rallies in the UK and in Europe, on one of his Panthers, naturally.
This year, after 40 years, the Chariot will be back on the road, attending the club's National Rally in the Midlands, and visiting the old factory buildings in Horncastle Street and the Commercial in Cleckheaton.
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Weather for Cleckheaton
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: -3 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 25 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 3 C to 6 C
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