"HRD". After World War 2 Britain had an export drive to repay its war debts, and the USA was the largest market for motorcycles, so from 1950 the HRD was dropped from the name to avoid any confusion with the "HD" of Harley Davidson, and the motorcycle became the Vincent. In 1928 the first Vincent-HRD motorcycle used a JAP single-cylinder engine in a Vincent-designed cantilever frame. The earliest known example extant exists in Canberra, Australia. Some early bikes used Rudge-Python engines. But after a disastrous 1934 Isle of Man TT, with engine problems and all three entries failing to finish, Phil Vincent and Phil Irving decided to build their own engines. Phil Vincent also experimented with three-wheeled vehicles, amphibious vehicles, and automobiles. In 1932 the first 3-wheeler, "The Vincent Bantam" appeared, powered by a 293cc Villiers engine. It was a 2.5 cwt delivery van with a car seat and a steering wheel. The Bantam cost £57-10-0 and the windscreen and hood option cost £5-10-0. Production ceased in 1936. Phil Irving In late 1931 Phil Irving first joined Vincent as an engineer alongside fellow-engineer E.J. Massey from the original HRD company after initially working on metallurgy for Velocette, leaving to return to his native Australia in 1949. His first engine design was an OHV 500 cc single-cylinder engine in 1934 called the "Meteor". World War II In 1937 Phil Irving went to work for Velocette but returned to Vincent Motorcycles in 1943. Vincent primarily made munitions, but Vincent engines were trialled in boats and portable pumps during the war, and the end of hostilities saw Vincent ready to return to motorcycle production. Vincent developed a highly efficient opposed-piston two-stroke engine for use in air-dropped lifeboats, although development outlasted the war and it never went into service. Vincent already looked to the United States for sales, and in 1944 Eugene Aucott opened the first USA dealership in the city of Philadelphia. Others followed. Models Meteor and Comet The standard motor was known as the Meteor and the sports motor was the Comet; it was distinguished from earlier Vincent models of that name by the "Series-A" prefix. There was a TT replica & the Comet Special (basically a TTR with lights, horn etc.), which used a bronze head. The Meteor motor produced @ 5300 rpm. An unusual feature of the valve design for these motors was the double valve guides, and the attachment