Alfred Angas Scott
Encyclopedia
Alfred Angas Scott was a motorcycle designer, inventor and founder of the Scott Motorcycle Company
. A prolific inventor, he took out over 50 patents between 1897 and 1920, mostly concerning two-stroke engines and road vehicles. Scott was a keen potholer and the second president of the Gritstone club. In July 1923 Scott travelled back to Bradford in his open Scott Sociable
wearing wet potholing clothes and contracted pneumonia
from which he died.
, a mill town just north of Bradford
in 1875, Alfred Scott's familty moved to Scotland and he went to school at Melrose
on the Scottish border near Selkirk. They later moved to Uttoxeter
in Staffordshire
where Alfred sudied engineering and design at Abbotsholme School. He was a gifted engineer and inventor and trained in engineering at shipbuilders Douglas & Grant in Kirkcaldy
and worked at W. Sisson & Co Ltd in Gloucester
, where he learnt to design and develop marine engines. Much of Scott's early experimental work was on the development of two-stroke marine engines which he would test by running them for long periods at full power on a water brake. He formed a syndicate of boating enthusiasts with his brothers Herbert and Norman Scott and two others to finance the development of marine engine for motor boats. This included the invention of a pawl and ratchet starter was used which later became part of a patent application for a kickstarter on almost all motorcycles to follow.
Alfred Scott's first motorcycle was developed from his own 2 hp twin-cylinder engine design which he hand built and fitted to the steering head of a bicycle. These engines were used to power equipment such as lathes and light machinery and Scott had been involved in the manufacture of 'Premier' pedal cycles. He developed this prototype into a motorcycle and six were produced under contract by friends with a car company called Jowett
in Bradford. Scott patented an early form of calliper brakes in 1897 (Patent GB 1626 of 1897), designed a fully triangulated frame, rotary induction valves, and used unit construction for his motorcycle engine.
Scott started making boat engines in 1900. He patented his first engine in 1904 (Patent GB 3367 of 1904) and started motorcycle production in 1908 with a vertical two-stroke 450 cc twin, with patented triangulated frame, chain drive, neutral-finder, kick starter (Patent GB 27667 of 1908), and two-speed gearbox. His patented two-stroke engine designs are still the basis of modern two-stroke engines and features such as the first kick start, monoshock suspension, efficient radiators, rotary inlet valves, drip-feed lubricators and centrestands continue to this day.
He formed The Scott Motorcycle Company
in 1908. The motorcycles produced there were very successful in competitions, winning the fastest laps at the Isle of Man TT
(Tourist Trophy race) from 1911 to 1914, with outright wins in 1912 and 1913. Scott's motorcycles were deemed to be 'too efficient' for racing against motorcycles of the same capacity, so their cubic capacity was multiplied by 1.32 for competitive purposes.
Alfred Scott left the company in 1915 and after World War I formed the Scott Autocar Company in nearby Bradford to make a motorcycle/car hybrid called the Sociable
. This was half sidecar and half a car 3-wheeler, originally designed for military use as a machine gun carrier, with a single front wheel on the offside in line with the rear wheel, creating a layout similar to a motorcycle and sidecar combination. The wooden bodywork was mounted on a tubular, triangular frame and the engine was Scott's own design, a 578 cc water-cooled, two-cylinder, two-stroke engine. The idea was not a success and production ended in 1925.
The Scott Motorcycle Company
The Scott Motorcycle Company was owned by Scott Motors Limited, Shipley, West Yorkshire, England and was a well known producer of motorcycles and light engines for industry...
. A prolific inventor, he took out over 50 patents between 1897 and 1920, mostly concerning two-stroke engines and road vehicles. Scott was a keen potholer and the second president of the Gritstone club. In July 1923 Scott travelled back to Bradford in his open Scott Sociable
Scott Sociable
The Scott Sociable was an English automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1925 by the Scott Autocar Company of Bradford, Yorkshire an offshoot of the Scott Motorcycle Company.During World War I Alfred Angas Scott had made sidecar machine gun carriers...
wearing wet potholing clothes and contracted pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
from which he died.
Early life
Born in ManninghamManningham, Bradford
Manningham is an area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, approximately a mile north of the city centre and is seen as the centre of the city's south Asian population.- Geography :...
, a mill town just north of Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
in 1875, Alfred Scott's familty moved to Scotland and he went to school at Melrose
Melrose, Scotland
Melrose is a small town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It is in the Eildon committee area.-Etymology:...
on the Scottish border near Selkirk. They later moved to Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter is a historic market town in Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 13,711, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies close to the River Dove and is near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
where Alfred sudied engineering and design at Abbotsholme School. He was a gifted engineer and inventor and trained in engineering at shipbuilders Douglas & Grant in Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
and worked at W. Sisson & Co Ltd in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, where he learnt to design and develop marine engines. Much of Scott's early experimental work was on the development of two-stroke marine engines which he would test by running them for long periods at full power on a water brake. He formed a syndicate of boating enthusiasts with his brothers Herbert and Norman Scott and two others to finance the development of marine engine for motor boats. This included the invention of a pawl and ratchet starter was used which later became part of a patent application for a kickstarter on almost all motorcycles to follow.
Business
Jowett
Jowett was a manufacturer of light cars and light commercial vehicles in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England from 1906 to 1954.-Early history:Jowett was founded in 1901 by brothers Benjamin and William Jowett with Arthur V Lamb. They started in the cycle business and went on to make V-twin engines...
in Bradford. Scott patented an early form of calliper brakes in 1897 (Patent GB 1626 of 1897), designed a fully triangulated frame, rotary induction valves, and used unit construction for his motorcycle engine.
Scott started making boat engines in 1900. He patented his first engine in 1904 (Patent GB 3367 of 1904) and started motorcycle production in 1908 with a vertical two-stroke 450 cc twin, with patented triangulated frame, chain drive, neutral-finder, kick starter (Patent GB 27667 of 1908), and two-speed gearbox. His patented two-stroke engine designs are still the basis of modern two-stroke engines and features such as the first kick start, monoshock suspension, efficient radiators, rotary inlet valves, drip-feed lubricators and centrestands continue to this day.
He formed The Scott Motorcycle Company
The Scott Motorcycle Company
The Scott Motorcycle Company was owned by Scott Motors Limited, Shipley, West Yorkshire, England and was a well known producer of motorcycles and light engines for industry...
in 1908. The motorcycles produced there were very successful in competitions, winning the fastest laps at the Isle of Man TT
Isle of Man TT
The International Isle of Man TT Race is a motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man and was for many years the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world...
(Tourist Trophy race) from 1911 to 1914, with outright wins in 1912 and 1913. Scott's motorcycles were deemed to be 'too efficient' for racing against motorcycles of the same capacity, so their cubic capacity was multiplied by 1.32 for competitive purposes.
Scott Sociable
The Scott Sociable was an English automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1925 by the Scott Autocar Company of Bradford, Yorkshire an offshoot of the Scott Motorcycle Company.During World War I Alfred Angas Scott had made sidecar machine gun carriers...
. This was half sidecar and half a car 3-wheeler, originally designed for military use as a machine gun carrier, with a single front wheel on the offside in line with the rear wheel, creating a layout similar to a motorcycle and sidecar combination. The wooden bodywork was mounted on a tubular, triangular frame and the engine was Scott's own design, a 578 cc water-cooled, two-cylinder, two-stroke engine. The idea was not a success and production ended in 1925.