Coventry Eagle Flying 8

The little-known range topper of everyman bikes manufacturer, Coventry Eagle, has been a larger influence on biking than you may have thought. Rachel Clegg investigates...

- Rachel Clegg

IF there was a motorcycle conservation list, then the subject of this month’s Machines That Matter ought to be on it: the 1928 980cc Coventry Eagle Flying 8. Hell, it might even warrant ‘critically endangered’ status.

The Flying 8 was produced from 1923 to 1931 and even then, relatively few were manufactured. Despite its short lifespan, however, there is something of a cult surrounding the V-twin, JAP-engined machine: there are trendy ‘Flying 8’ T-shirts available on Amazon, bearded hipsters are queuing up to write about it and values of the mighty motorcycle are going through the roof.

And it’s not hard to see why. The machine did not enjoy the high volume production numbers of other Coventry Eagle models and the number of machines in existence today is believed to be in single figures. Added to this, there’s the machine’s provenance: the Flying 8 and its designer, Percy Mayo, played a crucial role in the evolution of British motorcycles.

Without the Flying 8 – or more specifically – without its creator, Mayo, the Brough Superior SS80 and SS100 might have looked very different. Take a look at the Flying 8, squint your eyes and imagine a chrome tank instead of a painted one. Do you see it? The Flying 8 – with its distinctive V-twin JAP engine and teardrop, bulbous-formed tank are features likewise shared by Brough Superior.