 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motorcycle |
| Founded | 1964[1] |
| Founder | Robin Rhind-Tutt |
| Headquarters | Dunkeswell, Devon EX14 4RS, United Kingdom |
| Products | Motorcyclesidecars andframes |
| Website | Wasp Motorcycles |
Wasp Motorcycles is a Britishmotorcycle andsidecar manufacturer that specialises in building competition solo and sidecar machines formotocross,trials and sidecargrasstrack,[2] as well as the Wasp 3 Wheel Freedom for disabled riders.[3]
Wasp first sawracing success in 1971, when it won the European Championship.[1] Wasp sidecars have been the winning chassis eight times in theFIM Sidecarcross European andWorld Championship.[4][5] In 1972, all of the top eight places in the European Championship were riding Wasp outfits.[6]
Wasp was founded in 1964 by engineer and off-road motorcyclist Robin 'Robbie' Rhind-Tutt,[6] who was originally employed by theMinistry of Defence as an engineering apprentice atBoscombe Down.[6][7] He designed and built a number of off-road motorcycle frames which he used inmotocross competitions.[8] Other competitors were interested in Rhind-Tutt's frames and commissioned him to build specialist frames, so he decided to form Wasp Motorcycles Ltd. The company changed its name to Wasp Engineering Ltd in 1997,[9] but continues to trade under the name of Wasp Motorcycles.[10]
The company was based atBerwick St James, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, where Rhind-Tutt had been born and brought up.[1] Rhind-Tutt died in September 2019, aged 78.[11] Around that time the company was atDinton, still in the Salisbury area;[12] in 2024 it opened on a business park atDunkeswell, near Honiton, Devon.[citation needed]
A Wasp/BSA motocross sidecar outfit ridden by former world motocross championDave Bickers was used in the 1979 World War II filmEscape to Athena, disguised to look like a German militaryBMW R75.[13]
Wasp manufacture and modify sidecar motocross,[14] sidecar grasstrack ('side-car-cross'),[15] and solo motocross motorcycles.[16] They also produce motorcycleleading link suspension for sidecars[17] and fork conversion kits for road bikes to improve braking and handling, and they manufactureMétisse frames pioneered byRickman Motorcycles.[6][10]
The 3 Wheel Freedom is designed for use by disabled riders,[18] includingparaplegic motorcyclists, and has an electrically operated ramp to help access. With a tubularspace frame bonded tofibreglass body it has independent suspension and a twin-piston brake connected to the motorcycle brakes. The design of the sidecar enables it to carry a wheelchair and it can be attached to any motorcycle of over 500 cc.[3]