Description
1921 FN 750 cc four cylinder T-head side valve frame 74132 T engine 2712
To many enthusiasts the FN four has always been one of the most appealing machines of veteran and vintage times.
Its production ran from 1905 till 1926.
The earliest type had a 362 cc engine with automatic overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves.
The machine was single geared, had shaft drive and the top speed was about 60 km/hour.
The FN four was an immediate success and found customers all over the world; FN sold its machines in more than 40 countries.
It found many customers in the U.S.A. and made Americans interested in the four cylinder concept:
Percy Pierce purchased a 1908 model on one of his trips to Europe and the FN became a point of reference for the first Pierce Four in 1909. The design was developed to 493 cc and the machine got a proper clutch and gearbox in the years before World War One.
In 1914 the engine was completely redesigned: it grew to 750 cc with side valves on opposite sides of the cylinder, the so-called T-head configuration.
The machine had a sturdy clutch and a three speed gearbox. It was made as the type “700” till 1923.
Then FN developed a 750 cc OHV four with chain drive, but it was less popular than the T-head design and production was stopped in 1926.