Did you see these other Classic features?
120 YEARS OF NZ BIKES
BIGGER IS BETTER
1964 649cc Panther Model 120
with Canterbury Sidecar 1964 Solo 645cc Panther Model 120
1959 Solo 645cc Panther Model 120 Present day Panther Model 120,
still running and looking good
From 1965 the company listed one twin and
one single, but in 1968 the 64-year history of
the P&M Panther came to an end, and the
doors closed. Many motorcycle writers were
dismissive of the Panthers. One motorcycle
book says, “As a company, Phelan and Moore
did not undertake change lightly: their final
machines built in 1966 were directly related to
their first ‘sloping singles’, built at the turn of
the century. The bikes were not very powerful,
but they were popular machines for pulling
sidecars”. Another writer says, “Although it was
to be the object of some scorn, it proved an
excellent basic machine for local work and
was to win the prestigious Maudes Trophy
in 1934”. Now, fifty years after the company
closed shop, it is easy to be dismissive about
their achievements. Maybe they didn’t make
many game changing moves, but what they
did make was acceptable enough to last
for more than the previous fifty years and
so must account for considerable design
success, and subsequently public acceptance.
In reality it seems that the failure of the
sidecar market and the unstable state of
scooter manufacturing in England, had
more to do with the decline than any design
shortcomings. P&M’s Panther is simply one
of the many marques that didn’t survive the
massive changes in road transport that were
taking place fifty years ago.
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