Hesketh is one of the lesser known British manufacturers but nonetheless it’s a fascinating make that unfortunately has a bit of a storied past. Founded by in 1980 by England’s Lord Thomas Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron of Hesketh. Though as his name suggests, Lord Hesketh had some major clout and influence and a business model that followed in the footsteps of super car manufacturers like Lamborghini and Ferrari by producing small numbers of highly elite vehicles instead of the traditional large scale production approach. His vision was to offer top-shelf British roadsters and hoped that his new moco would revive the struggling U.K. motorcycle industry but alas after just two short years which saw the release of the semi-iconic “1000cc” (technically 992cc) Weslake V-twin-powered V1000, the company went bankrupt. Only 139 units saw production.
They were bought out by Broom Engineering but didn’t see much luck under their leadership and direction either. In 2006, a plan for a new HQ was arranged but somehow a bunch of crates with the company’s tools, bikes, and most importantly build records were all stolen so it came as no surprise when Broom was no longer possessing the brand in 2010. In 2013 somebody once again attempted to bring Hesketh back to life only this time things were better and 24 ultra-exclusive Hesketh 24’s were produced and sold. Just recently Hesketh debuted their new high-end cafe racer: the Sonnet, so it appears the company is for once on running smoothly.
The example being sold here is obviously one of the 139 units produced in the early-1980’s and like most of the other Heskeths out there, this one is in immaculate shape with only 1,800 miles on its odo since leaving the factory in ’82. John Mockett designed the classic V1000 before moving on in his career where he would design the Triumph Rocket III. The rear cylinder reportedly had some major overheating issues however which was one of the many reasons the company closed in ’83.
Overheating issue aside, the exclusive power plants found on these machines were developed in house by Weslake and are genuinely something special. The 90° air-cooled V-twin engines had a one piece cast crankshaft and aluminium jackets on iron cylinder barrels and alloy cylinder heads, and four valves per cylinder with an overhead camshaft. A Lucas alternator and starter motor were paired with an electric ignition. The gearbox was a five-speed constant mesh to a sealed roller chain final drive.
Obviously no top-shelf machine is complete without an array of top-shelf components and Heskeths are no exception. The front suspension features custom, actual billet (machined from solid alloy) yokes and twin Marzocchi shocks in the rear. The drive chain’s tension was kept constant via a sprocket being concentric to the swing arm pivot regardless of said swing arms movement. The V1000 sported alloy wheels that were anodised either gold or black and were constructed from two sheet alloy pressings being riveted together, (opposed to being forged or cast). This elite British two-wheeler’s chassis came with the choice of being black or nickel-plated, with this example blatantly being the latter.
You can find this rare British motorcycle for sale here at Mole Valley Specialist Cars LTD in Dorking, Surrey, (East) England with a price of £15,500 or $20,000. Mole Valley Specialist is actually a pretty cool and unique dealership that specializes in makes like TVR and Morgan and clearly they’ll have the occasional two-wheeler.