14 Facts About Eric Cheney

Eric Cheney was an English motorcycle racer, designer and independent constructor.

Eric Cheney was known as one of the best motorcycle frame designers of his era, concentrating mainly in the off-road competition aftermarket.

Eric Cheney worked on the development of remote controlled submarines for the Royal Navy.

Eric Cheney began racing motocross and became one Britain's best riders, along with his travelling companion Les Archer, who went on to become European champion.

Eric Cheney had ten successful years on the Continental circuit but a prolonged illness due to an infection contracted while racing in Algeria ended his riding career.

Eric Cheney moved into bike preparation and designs for motorcycle chassis and suspension systems.

Eric Cheney had no formal training as a motorcycle designer yet was able to create original and high-performance motorcycle chassis designs working in a simple workshop that was essentially a domestic garage.

Eric Cheney's approach has been described as "like a medieval engineer" as in an age of computer-aided design and significant resources for research and development teams, he worked entirely by intuition.

Eric Cheney relied on his long personal experience of international off-road competition riding and would prepare his initial designs for a new motorcycle frame in chalk on the wall of his workshop.

In 1970 and 1971 three 504cc Eric Cheney Triumphs were used by the British team in the ISDT, in which Eric Cheney won a manufacturer's prize.

Eric Cheney's most noted successes were in the Grand Prix road racing championships, with Phil Read using his chassis in tandem with a Yamaha engine to win the 1971 250cc world championship.

Eric Cheney's designs were the last British ones to win a Grand Prix.

Eric Cheney never worked for any of the major manufacturers but maintained a productive relationship with BSA in its heyday.

Eric Cheney built some racing frames for Suzuki Grand Prix motorcycles in 1968 and, it has been suggested that Suzuki engineers incorporated features of Cheney's designs, such as magnesium hubs and lower fork legs into production road going motorcycles.