Metisse with Spanish engine first offered complete in 1964 by Rickman Motorcycles Initially the frame designs were for
scrambles, and then for
road racing. Later, in 1966, road bikes were produced as well. The first street legal bike used a
Triumph Bonneville engine. Rickman initially supplied frame kits to the public, as no major British motorcycle manufacturers would sell
engines separately. The frame kits were built for many engines, including
Triumph twins,
BSA singles and
Matchless. The road bikes were the first to use disc brakes both front and rear (a joint project with Lockheed). Other innovations included the use of large diameter telescopic forks (1-5/8" or 41.2mm) and oil carried in the frame tubes to help dissipate heat and save weight. An eight valve cylinder head conversion (700cc) for Triumph 650cc twins was developed in the late 1960s which considerably increased power output (up to 60 bhp or more depending on state of tune) and showed up some weaknesses in the Triumph crankcases and connecting rods. Chain adjustment was via eccentric discs rather than drawbolts to avoid misalignment. engine In 1970 the
Royal Enfield factory closed, leaving a batch of about 200
Interceptor Series II 736cc engines stranded.
Floyd Clymer had ordered them for export to the United States, where he planned to install them in motorcycles that he would sell under the
Indian brand. However, in January 1970 Clymer died, and the project died with him. His export agents, Mitchell's of Birmingham, offered the engines to the Rickman brothers, who used them to build a limited series of 137 Rickman Interceptors. In about 1971, Rickman began producing complete motorcycles with engines of three sizes: 100 cc, 125 cc, and 250 cc. The 100s had Japanese
Hodaka engines, the 125s had German
Zundapp engines, while the 250s had Spanish
Montesa engines. but it was the same year
Norton Villiers Triumph collapsed. The Rickman brothers turned their attention to larger Japanese motorcycle engines, and produced Rickman
Honda 750s, Rickman
Kawasaki Z1/Z900s, Rickman Honda
Bol d'Or 10th century, Rickman
Kawasaki Z1000s, and Rickman
Suzuki GS1000s. The bikes or frame kits were known for their beautiful
fibreglass work and
nickel-plated frames and are often referred to as "Metisse" frames, a term used for their own first effort. a Rickman Metisse enthusiast. Business was good throughout the late '80s but the early '90s saw a levelling off of the business. for pre-65 machines and enthusiasts, which is still going, to this day. The company name was also licensed to Adrian, and later passed to him, enabling the production of genuine Rickman Motorcycles to continue as they always had done. Derek and Don Rickman were inducted into the
A.M.A. Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2007. ==Kit cars==