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 motorcycle clubs were formed and the major activity was Sunday runs, in which the members could help each other with flat tires, burned exhaust valves and the other hazards of motorcycling at the time. The automobile, of course, appeared during the same period, but it was strictly for the rich and subjected to severe taxation. The average man's disposable income was very limited and so the motorcycle became the ideal outlet for a mechanical mind and a sporting instinct. However, marriage tended to put a stop to a man's motorcycling activities, although there was always the possibility of attaching a sidecar to the motorcycle, or, alternatively, buying one of the 3-wheel cars that were coming on the market, of which the early Morgans were typical. Three-wheelers somehow managed to escape the taxation levied on automobiles and were, therefore, not much more expensive to run than motorcycles. In concept, they were much more closely related to the motorcycle than to the automobile, because they were conceived by motorcyclists for motorcyclists and employed mainly motorcycle components. |
 This close association with motorcycles went right through almost to the end of the 3-wheeler's life and even the Super Sports Morgans of the Thirties were driven by using motorcycle controls on the steering wheel, including throttle, choke and ignition advance levers. The engines were motorcycle V-Twins of up to 1100 cc and a number of different makes were used by Morgan including Matchless, JAP, Anzani and Blackburne. The idea behind the 3-wheelers was to offer sporting driving at minimal cost in a vehicle that could be maintained by the owner, and so it had to be as simple as possible. Morgan was immensely successful at meeting these requirements, surviving the intense competition of the cyclecar era of the Twenties and then the Depression of the Thirties. Not only did the company survive, but it remained in the family so the founder, H.F.S. (Harry) Morgan (1881-1959), was able to pass it on to his son, Peter, who runs it today. |
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