Chase Brothers

Chase Brothers was founded by celebrated British cycle racers Arthur A. Chase and Frederick Walter Chase at Anerley, London, in 1903. Arthur was a professional bicycle racer; Frederick had ridden for BAT and was known for tuning. Their two-wheel motorcycles followed Edwardian practice with vertically mounted proprietary engines: 2¾ and 3½ hp MMC units, 2½ and 3 hp Ariel units and at least one photographed Soncin-powered 1903 machine. Magneto ignition and outputs around 4 hp appeared in 1904; a 6 hp racing motorcycle was listed in 1905. These motorcycles remain outside the automobile catalog. Chase also built forecars—motorcycle-derived three-wheel vehicles carrying a passenger seat or load platform ahead of the rider—which bring the manufacturer into commercial/passenger motor-vehicle scope. The 1904 forecar used prominent air scoops for engine cooling. In 1905 a more substantial 7 hp twin-cylinder forecar added fan cooling. Accessible sources do not preserve its engine maker or displacement, seating/platform variants, gearbox, final drive, dimensions, weight, speed, price or production count, so a single Forecar family spans the two documented power/cooling developments. Production ended in 1906 and no Chase example is known to survive. The Chase Cycle Co. appearance at the 1902 Stanley Show may represent an immediate precursor or naming/address ambiguity; the database follows the independently corroborated 1903–06 Chase Brothers period. Chase Brothers is distinct from American Chase trucks, Chase motorcycle accessories and unrelated Chase companies. One row accounts for the complete defensible three-wheel range.

Text adapted from “Chase Brothers” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗