It only takes a glimpse of Jay Leno’s massive garage to see that he loves just about everything with wheels and an engine, but he certainly has his favorites among the multitude. The 1925 Brough Superior SS100 featured in this week’s Jay Leno’s Garage definitely falls into that favored category. Their bond is so close that Jay even has a drop of his own blood in its tank.
As Leno presents it, the SS100 was the ultimate motorcycle of its day and was favored by Lawrence of Arabia himself, T.E. Lawrence. Based around a roughly 1.0-liter V-twin, the bikes were certified to hit 100 miles per hour, which was absolutely astonishing nearly 90 years ago. One of the highlights of the video is watching the mill at work idling with its exposed valve springs and pushrods on display.
Actually riding this Brough Superior appears to be a bit of a challenge, though. The transmission uses a hand shift located fairly low on the frame and switching gears requires leaning down to access it – not exactly ergonomic. Regardless, Jay exudes a love for this bike that doesn’t even notice any such minor complaints. Check out this fascinating piece of motoring history from Jay Leno’s Garage.