Four new Brit bikes to launch: Levis bounces back after Covid with three new machines, plus a V10 in the wings

Although delayed by Covid-19 and other issues, this radical, all-new V6, which will also revive the historic British Levis brand, will be launched next year.

First seen in MCN as this prototype four years ago, it’s called the Levis Café Racer and is being developed by automotive company Bevan Davidson International in Swaffham, Norfolk, and is just one of four proposed new bikes they now hope to launch in 2023 under the resurrected brands of Levis and ABC, with another, Connaught, also on the horizon.

As well as the V6 Café Racer, which originally had a projected price of £102,000, there are plans for a £78k Levis Urban Roadster, a V10 Cruiser and an ABC 900cc two-stroke triple.

And, although some technical issues, supplier problems and the pandemic meant they’re now well-behind the initial target production date of Spring 2019, the ambitious company are still aiming at a 2023 launch.

Managing Director Phil Bevan told MCN that the company’s approach is to buy up defunct British trademarks, develop suitable (and often extreme) prototypes, then test the market reaction to assess whether to put them into production.

“We buy these names so no-one else can,” Bevan said. “They’re all great British names, they’ve got fantastic history, ninety-five per cent of the people here ride motorbikes, so we buy motorbike companies. We just want to fly the flag.”

Levis motorcycles were built in Birmingham from 1911-1940 and were one of Britain’s premier two-stroke brands. ABC of London was another pioneering maker between 1914 and 1923 and Connaught was another Birmingham brand between 1912 and 1926.

Bevan added: “Because we’re a reasonably small company we employ sub-contractors. We make something, take it to a market and if no-one wants to buy it then thank goodness we only made one. But if everybody loves it and, say, 75 people want to buy one, we set up a facility to make them. We don’t care whether one person wants one or 100, we adjust our production capacity to suit.

“With Covid-19 we’ve had a few years off basically, plus we had some supply problems and decided to re-design the two-stroke. I imagine by four or five months we’ll have a prototype running…

“By September we’ll have the ABC running, hopefully have the Levis running – both versions – then we’d like to see if we can get the V10 cruiser going. I think four products will be launched this year with the ability to put them into production next.”

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Levis V6 Cafe Racer unveiled

First published on 19 July 2022 by Jordan Gibbons

Levis are poised to make a return to motorcycle manufacturing with a five-bike range that will be spearheaded by this bold and revolutionary V6 Café Racer.

The brainchild of two pioneering automotive engineers, their dream to revive the defunct British brand has now moved to the next level, with this prototype build following hot on the heels of their first engine castings. And it looks sensational.

Phoenix from the ashes

Levis motorcycles date back to 1911 when their two-strokes ruled the road and track. They even took a win at the Isle of Man TT in 1920, but the business never recovered after the war, closing for good in 1946. The brand lay dormant for 70 years until automotive designer Phil Bevan purchased the name and, together with his Head of Design Steve Kirk, penned a bike around an evolution of one of their existing car engines.

“I realised we had a two-litre V10 engine that’s only 13in across the cylinder head,” said Bevan back in January. “So I said ‘f*** it, let’s make a motorbike’.”

Seven months on and they’ve made real progress, including producing this prototype of the first model: the Café Racer. The heart of the bike is the narrowangle 1200cc V6, which is mounted longitudinally in the frame like a Moto Guzzi. However, the V-angle is only 22 degrees, which combined with a highly unusual 1-2-3-4-5-6 firing order makes for an incredibly smooth engine that doesn’t need a balancer shaft.

“With such a tight V-angle and our firing order, it will sound a bit like three Harleys all firing together,” said Bevan. “The engine development is going well and we’re on target for a peak power figure of around 120bhp.”

Ready, set, go

As well as engine development, Levis have also been working on their stainless steel frame.

“After manufacturing trials, our first frames are currently going into production,” added Bevan. “They’re very close to the first artist’s impressions but they’ve been modified so they can be easily tailored to the owner’s personal preferences and requirements.”

Making the most of this frame flexibility, Levis are planning five models using the V6 engine, with an Urban Roadster and Flat Tracker to follow the Café Racer and two further sports models planned after that. The first pre-production model of the V6 Café Racer will be at Salon Prive at Blenheim Palace on August 30–September 1, followed by the Goodwood Revival on September 7-9.

Levis are aiming to have the bike in full production by March 2019. Prices of the V6 Café Racer are dependent on exact specification but start at £102k with the Urban Roadster following on at £78k.