Panther chariot is back
THE grandly titled Panther Chariot will be making a triumphant return to its birthplace this week - all the way from France.
The vehicle was used by Phelon and Moore employees to transport Panther motorcycles and Panther parts to Cleckheaton railway station and to dealers until production ceased at the Horncastle Street works in the 1960s.
While no more bikes were made, the works did open each Wednesday for the sale of spare parts, but when that stopped in 1975, the chariot went to a Panther enthusiast in 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– Jos Evers – 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.
Jos, who lives in Les Ardennes, France, will be visiting Cleckheaton on Thursday, July 24, and it will be the first time in 33 years that the chariot has been back home.
He hopes Panther enthusiasts and former P&M employees will come and meet him and be reunited with the chariot at the Commercial in Bradford Road, Cleckheaton, from 2pm.
Accompanying him will be fellow Panther Owners' Group member Gordon North, of Littletown.
"I'll be riding my Panther into the town and Jos is hoping to put another Panther on the chariot to show how it was used at the Phelon and Moore works," he said.
"He's spent an awful lot of time restoring it to its former glory and it's now just as it was in the 1960s."
Anyone is welcome to go along to the Commercial and meet Jos who is delighted to be able to let the chariot roam the streets of Cleckheaton once again.
Jos has 10 different Panthers 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.
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Weather for Cleckheaton
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
