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Your Suspension Expert
Walter Preisig
Your Suspension Shop is located in Adelaide, South Australia, and was established by Walter Preisig to service the Australian bike market with a new generation of gas shock absorbers that are continuously under development by Walter in partnership with Hyperpro and YSS. Walter has been developing racing suspension for over 25 years and has a wealth of experience in suspension technics, motorcycle maintenance and customer service.
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AJS | Ariel | Armstrong | Beta | BSA | Bultaco | Can Am | CCM | Cheney | Cotton | CZ | DOT | EML
Fantic | Greeves | Honda | Husqvarna | Kawasaki | Kramer | KTM | Maico | Metisse | Montesa | OSSA
Suzuki | Sprite | SWM | Triumph | Wassell | WASP | Yamaha
Shocklenghts as per original speclist or made to customer special request.
*Offset shocks ( 8 mm offset ends to chain drives on certain pre 75 models ).
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| Brand | Year | Model | PD Valve | Fork Springs | Restorer Bravo |
Clubman E302T |
VMX Racer E362T |
Racer Pro Z362TR |
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| Cotton | 250 | $175.00 | $169.00 | $299.00 | $499.00 | call | |||
| Cotton | 500 | $175.00 | $169.00 | $299.00 | $499.00 | call | |||
Vintage Cotton Motorcycles
The Cotton Motorcycle Company, was a British motorcycle manufacturer in Gloucester, and was founded by Frank Willoughby Cotton in 1918. F.W. presided over the company until his retirement in 1953. The company was reconstituted as E. Cotton (Motorcycles) Ltd, and traded till 1980.
By 1913, F.W. Cotton had engaged in hill climbs and trials, and recognised the limitations of the "diamond frame" design, little different from a bicycle. He designed his own, and had examples made by Levis. Being a lawyer, in 1914 he patented the "triangulated frame" to protect his design that was a Cotton feature right up till World War II. It was not until 1918 that the Cotton Motorcycle Company was founded with the first Cotton motorcycle appearing in 1920.
In 1922 Stanley Woods rode a Blackburne-engined Cotton to fifth in the 350 cc Junior, and the following year, won the 1923 Isle of Man, averaging 55.73 mph, bettering Douglas rider, Manxman Tom Sheard's winning 500 cc Senior time, an average of 53.15 mph. Cotton motorcycles took a second and third in the Ultra Lightweight, and a second in the Lightweight. They only managed a second place in the 1925 Junior, but in the 1926 races, swept the field taking the first three places in the Lightweight. These victories helped establish Cotton as a race-winning machine, with exceptional handling for its time. The 1923 win, and consequent full order book, enabled a move to new premises, the Vulcan Works in Quay Street. In 1927 the frame dimensions were altered.
During the Great Depression, Cotton responded by offering a wider range of engines in its patented frame, usually with Burman gearboxes. When the triangulated rigid frame was introduced in 1920, it was ahead of its time. By 1939, when the sprung heel and rear swingarm frames had begun to appear so rigid frames had seen their day. Vincent had patented a cantilever frame in 1928.
Cotton made their own frames, and bought in the rest of the components for assembly. The first machine, produced till 1957, was the Cotton Vulcan, with a Villiers motor. In 1955 the Cotton Cotanza was released using a 242 cc Anzani engine, and a new frame with "pivoted-fork" rear suspension. The frame was also used in a new 1955 Vulcan model, fitted with a Villiers 9E engine and three speed gearbox.
In 1956 that changed to a four speed gearbox, and the Cotanza became available with a 322 cc Anzani twin. A Cotton Trials, a stripped down version of the Vulcan with competition tyres and no lights was released. The original Vulcan was dropped. The only change for 1957 was a Villiers 2T twin added to the Cotanza range. In 1959 all models were fitted with Armstrong leading link forks, and the Villiers 2T twin was dropped.
Other Cotton models included the Herald, Messenger, Double Gloucester, Continental, Corsair and Conquest. Cotton became involved in competitive motorcycling, and a range of road, trials and scrambler models were available by the end of 1960.
In 1961 the Cougar scrambler was released and a works racing team formed, including such riders as Bryan "Badger" Goss and John Draper. The Villiers Starmaker racing engine was introduced in 1962, so Cotton went road racing. The 247 cc Telstar road racer and Conquest were introduced in 1962 and 1964 respectively. Over the next two years, Cottons were winning races again.
Then Villiers withdrew from engine supply, and Cotton was forced to source engines from elsewhere. The Cotton Cavalier trials bike used a Minarelli engine, but production was slow. Cotton had been profitably selling bikes in kit form, but changes to legislation proved damaging and the difficulty of finding a supply of engines after the loss of Villiers was compounded by the appearance of mass produced Japanese motorcycles in the 1970s. The factory closed in 1980.
Vintage Cotton Cougar 250 1962 - Fluff Brown (N. Brown)
Suspension for any Classic or Vintage Motorcycle.
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YOUR SUSPENSION SHOP is your Your TRIUMPH One-Stop Suspension Shop with a vast range of TRIUMPH Products at hand - ready made and also customised for your TRIUMPH Motorcycle. Feel free to call YOUR SUSPENSION SHOP to discuss a solution for your TRIUMPH Suspension - or for that matter: any of your motorcycle suspension needs - we have many Custom Solutions for you.
