1934 New Imperial 250cc 30 Deluxe Motorcycle

New Imperial was a British motorcycle manufacturer founded in Birmingham between 1887 and 1901, and became New Imperial Motors Ltd in 1912, when serious production commenced. New Imperial made innovative motorcycles that employed unit construction and sprung heel frames long before they became commonplace and were moderately successful in competition. The 1920s were a financially successful decade, enabling the innovations of the 1930s that fought decline. In 1932, New Imperial started to use unit construction, where the engine crankcase and gearbox are incorporated in the same casting. It made a Unit Minor 150 and Unit Super 250. Imperial continued to use unit-construction, and some models used Bentley and Draper sprung frames, in an era still dominated by rigid frames. By 1938 all New Imperial engines employed unit construction. New Imperial suffered financially from the sales-destroying Great Depression of the 1930s, and then founder Norman Downes died in 1938. New Imperial was sold, and sold again, and then ended production in late 1939, its former facilities subsequently serving the needs of a nation at war.