Méray pages No. 2 - the motorcycles 1920-1927

The Méray bikes 1920-1927

Latest change: 17, November, 1996

A picture from around 1930. At left two Méray motorcycles, right a three-wheeler van, center the van-based passenger car. Courtesy of István Zsuppán.

For technical details a few tables have been created. They are enjoyable with HTML 3.0 compliant browser only.

Lóránd's Swiss Dufaux motorbike from 1923.
Lóránd on the bike

In 1920 Lóránd won his category at the prestigious Svábhegy hill-climb. Varoous sources claim that his bike was a Méray-Zedel. I bet this was the bike. This isn't a Méray it's just a bike owned by him.

1923

This year the company was established. In October a Hungarian sports newspaper reported that the first Méray bike is about to be completed. The frame was similar of the British Cotton, and it was powered by a 350 cc engine.

Another picture, which was lent to me by the Méray family dates from 1923. At the wheel is Lóránd with his son, the younger Lóránd and at the back of the photo the writing says "the first Méray motorcycle". Maybe is this the one which was reported by that Hungarian paper...?

1924

Sunbeam 500
This bike won the Budapest-Hatvan race that year, with dr. Feledy Pál at the "wheel". The picture was taken after the race.
Mr. Feledy was one of the best racers of that time in Hungary on bikes and cars as well. He raced internationally with success. And his brother was a technical genius: prepared motorbikes for many to race, built a car etc.
The above Sunbeam was prepared by Lóránd for the race. The rear sections was replaced with a Cotton-Chater Lea combination, the suspension altered etc.
During the Summer a 500 cc Wanderer engined Méray bike hit the road. It was one of the early experiments. A report on the bike mentioned an early Villiers-engined construction. It's believed that the first small series of Méray bikes were powered by Villiers engine.
Still in 1924 the first Hungarian motorbike TT was held. It was organised by the Royal Automobile Club of Hungary. It should've been a breakthrough event for the young company, if all of their racers didn't fail during the tests.
So their first big success was delayed a year further.

1925

Méray-Horváth Lóránd won the ultralightweight category of the 1925 Hungarian TT. This provided the necessary reputation and admiration.

Lóránd with the laurel after the race

Endre during the race

Lóránd (no. 42) at the Wien TT, 1925.
He also started this race, along with Wein Levente. Levente got the third place in the ultralightweight category, while Lóránd was thrown out.
Last picture from 1925 (around 1925...):

1925 race pic

In late 1925 the Hungarian Steel Factory took over the company. It's not been checked, but I believe that the Bank which backed the Méray venture and had an interest in the Steel Factory as well, transferred the stocks. This way the small Méray shop had a very strong background, a big industrial empire had an entry into a new, and probably buoyant market. Anyhow, the first Hungarian motorbike factory was born!

Now let's see the bikes, which were made in (even small) series from 1924 until 1926.

1926

The A,B and C series were the first Mérays offered in bigger quantities. The first ones should've been made in 1923 and the production started in 1924. This naming system lasted until 1926.
Technical data is available in a separate table

A1 from 1926

B2 from 1926

C1 "light tourer:"

In my 1926 brochure (the cover says 1926, but the address suggests it was actually published in the autumn of 1925): there's the the following: "In addition to the types show in our pricelist, we're supplying for special racing purposes Blackburne and JAP engined motorbikes with "Racing" engines, and Blackburn 5.6 HP, OHV and SV and 10 HP SV engines as well. We're also making JAP engined bikes to order, fully equipped sidecars, chaisses, good-supplying boxes and other accessories.
Late 1925 entry lists from races mentioned Méray-JAPs. Picture didn't surfaced - yet.
One last picture from 1926 (around 1926...): The Zugligeti corner in Budapest
This picture was taken around 1926, and it shows a Méray bike in action.

In late 1925 Méray moved to the Dorottya street, inner city. Here, the first version of the 3-wheeler transporter van was exhibited. Soon another salon was opened nearby and in 1927 most of the operations were moved there. The Dorottya street remained as a stock-base.
This showroom soon featured the sole Hungarian car: MÁG.
Motorcycles after 1926

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