Indian manufacturing giant, Bajaj Auto, owns the rights to the Vincent name in the UK. This move beckons to a future where a production motorcycle bearing the Vincent badge may not be too far away.
Bajaj owns trademark to the Vincent name, but not everywhere
It has recently come to light that Bajaj became the owner of the name ‘Vincent’ in the UK in 2017. The company has made no announcement of this since, or revealed what it plans to do with this. Vincent was once a revered motorcycle brand that made legendary motorcycles like the Black Shadow, which was the fastest motorcycle in the world during its time.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise as many large manufacturers are buying iconic old motorcycle brands, and bringing them back to life. A great example of this is TVS purchasing British brand Norton, in 2020.
While Bajaj does own a trademark to the Vincent name in the UK, on our shores, it is owned by David M. Holden. Not a whole lot is known about this person and it remains to be seen whether Bajaj is able to acquire the rights in India, and subsequently, launch Vincent-badged bikes here in the future.
Vincent: a brief history
Vincent, like many other British and Italian bike makers of the 20th century, has a troubled but storied past and has been resurrected by a larger conglomerate in recent years. From 1928 to 1955, Vincent was owned and managed by Phil Vincent who bought a company by the name of HRD, and produced 500-1,000cc motorcycles. Roland “Rollie” Free famously set a land speed record aboard a Vincent Black Lightning in 1948 lying face-down and wearing just a bathing suit.
After Vincent went bankrupt and shut shop, multiple attempts were made by several companies, but none of them managed to make it stick. Some noteworthy attempts include Vincent engines being fitted to Norton frames and called “Norvin”. A few engineers tried to revive the name with a limited run of models, but ultimately, all these fizzled into nothingness.
With the rising popularity of neo-retro machines from storied brands of yesteryear, while sporting thoroughly modern componentry, the Vincent name might have its best chance yet at being resurrected one more time.