Well-built and innovative, the West Midlands-manufactured DMW motorcycles were among the most sought-after lightweights of their day, as these Mortons Archive photos show.
Despite DMW’s relatively brief period in serious motorcycle production, the firm that was founded in Wolverhampton by Leslie Dawson in 1940 was innovative and dabbled in everything from trials, scrambles and road racing machines to lightweight motorcycles and scooters.
During the prewar years, Leslie was a regular competitor in speedway events at Belle Vue, New Brighton and other venues, and also took up road racing, competing in several Manx Grands Prix as well as events such as the North West 200.
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After building one-off competition machines from a garage in Heswall, Merseyside, he moved to Wolverhampton and opened a small garage between a corner pub and coal yard and called it Dawson’s Motor Works. There he developed his patented spring and pneumatic ‘Telematic’ tele forks that were launched in 1942 and sold to customers as kits to replace girders. He also patented a dual front
brake design.
Read more in September’s issue of OBM
