From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 98 – first published in 2022.
Story Peter Laverty • Photos Russ Murray
Ambassador is a name not generally associated with anything other than utilitarian ride-to-work two-stroke pluggers, which is somewhat ironic considering the co-founder of the company was one of the most dynamic and flamboyant figures inpre-WW2 British motor racing.
Kaye Ernest Donsky, far better known by his sobriquet Kaye Don, was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1891, to Polish parents. Educated in England, Kaye was more interested in motorcycles than academia and gained employment with the Avon Rubber Company in Melksham, Wiltshire, using his first pay packets to acquire a motorcycle. Avon of course was closely connected with the motorcycling scene, both as a supplier of a large range of road and off-road tyres, and later for its highly successful road racing tyres which scored extensive success at Grand Prix level. His ambitions on both fronts were interrupted by the First World War, and he joined the Royal Flying Corps where he trained as a pilot. At war’s end he resumed his interest in motorcycling, but after acquiring a Wolseley Viper, began competing at Brooklands where he was very successful. A series of works-prepared Sunbeam sports cars followed and in one of these he set up an absolute record for Brooklands at 131.76mph (212.05 km/h). This record he progressively raised to 137 mph. He was British Motor Racing Champion in 1928 and 1929.
Turning to the water, Don began attacking speed records far and wide, piloting his boat Miss England III, powered by a pair of V12 Rolls Royce aero engines, to a new world record of 119 mph on Loch Lomond in Scotland. Returning to car racing in a variety of vehicles, he competed successfully for 18 months before entering for the 1934 Mannin Moar races in Douglas, Isle of Man in an MG Magnette. Finding the brakes unsatisfactory, his mechanic Frank Tayler worked feverishly to effect repairs, which were not complete until well after dark. To test the car, Don and the mechanic took off around the public roads at a great lick, only to collide with another vehicle at high speed. Don was seriously injured while the mechanic, an MG employee, was killed. Subsequently, Don was tried for manslaughter and spent four months in prison, and although he had one more race in 1936, he retired from competition.
In 1946 he established the Ambassador Motorcycle Company, the products of which were a far cry from the powerhouses he had raced on land, sea and in the air. In such austere post-war times, Don reasoned that his company’s products should satisfy basic transport needs, so a factory was set up at Ascot, Berkshire, near the famous horse racing course. This factory also handled another of Don’s interests, the importing of Pontiac cars from USA – vast, petrol-guzzling creations that created little interest from customers.
Like other so-called manufacturers such as Sun, DOT, Greeves, and Norman, Ambassador relied upon Villiers engines with proprietary components for electrics, instrumentation, switchgear, suspension, saddles, handlebars and so on. The first complete Ambassador motorcycles went on sale in early 1947, using the 197cc Villiers 5E engine and bolted-on three-speed gearbox, in a rigid frame with girder forks. Don himself was responsible for the styling of the Ambassadors, as he had been for his racing boats.
In addition to the complete motorcycles, Ambassador was also appointed as British distributors for Zündapp machines and primarily the excellent Bella scooter. Ambassador also imported the Zundapp 200S, a 199cc two-stroke and the later 201S which was equipped with Eales-type front forks.
By 1950, the Ambassador range consisted of three models, all using the 197cc 6E Villiers engine. The base model was the Popular, sold without lighting, with girder front forks, as on the middle range Courier. Both used the same rigid frame, but the top model, the Embassy, had a plunger rear end with telescopic front forks. The ‘Supreme’ was added the following year, using the 197cc Villiers 8E engine, with un-damped plunger rear suspension. A second Supreme model, the SS (Self-Starter) used a Lucas unit driving a belt to the crankshaft. The extra cost associated with the button-start apparently deterred most potential buyers.
By 1953 the range had expanded to five, with the Supreme now using the new 225cc Villiers engine in a frame with swinging arm rear suspension. There was even a complete sidecar model, named appropriately, the Sidecar which came complete with single adult ‘chair’ in a rigid/girder frame.
The introduction of the new twin-cylinder Villiers Mk. 2T engine in 1956 gave Ambassador the opportunity to add two new models to the range, although the Sidecar was dropped. Essentially a pair of 122cc Villiers singles with a slightly longer stroke, the under-square 2T was designed to produce plenty of torque rather than high revs. The Supreme twin punched out 15hp at 5,500 rpm (enough to propel it to 70mph), and like the rest of the range, used a swinging arm frame with telescopic front forks. Seating was plush and comfortable, a big (for a Lightweight) 7-inch headlamp looked the part, and mudguards were deeply valanced and somewhat reminiscent of the Zundapp models.
The 250 twin Villiers engine spawned an extended model range, including a foray into the US market with the model featured here, the America Supreme. The US model was basically identical in specification to the UK Supreme, except for the styling. Instead of the voluminous front mudguard that covered nearly half the front wheel, and the ‘Bathtub’ styling for the mid section and rear end, the America was much more sveltely styled, with conventional (although deeply valanced) mudguards front and rear. Without the large side panels, the America had a much leaner-looking mid section, with a tool box (and housing for the horn) on the right and a battery case on the left. The front fork was made by Ambassador, with four inches of un-damped movement.
In August 1960, Ambassador had at least one feature to crow about; the new Electra 75 was the only British production motorcycle with electric starting. Unlike the previous, rather crude belt-driven Self-Starter model, the new engine featured an integral Siba Dynastart starter-generator, activated by an ignition key in the right side engine cover, rather than a button. The system added a hefty 28lb (12.7kg) to the all-up weight. By way of compensation, primary compression ratio was lifted to 10.0:1 with a larger 25mm carburettor to boost performance. By all accounts the new twin provided an excellent ride despite the weight. The fat 17-inch tyres did an admirable job of gripping the road, but ground clearance was not a strong point. Ambassador’s new front forks with variable-rate springs, which had first appeared on the Three Star Special in 1959, were up front.
By the early ‘sixties, Kaye Don was getting on a bit and in 1962 commenced negotiations with the DMW company (Dawson’s Motor Works) which also manufactured components such as hubs, brakes and hydraulic units under the Metal Profiles brand. After the takeover, Don continued with the new DMW/Ambassador company for a year or so before finally retiring in 1965, the same year the Ambassador company ceased to exist after DMW decided to bury the brand. Don died, aged 90, on 29th August 1981.
Specification: Ambassador America Supreme 250 1958.
Engine: Villiers 2T parallel twin 2-stroke.
Bore x stroke: 50mm x 63.5mm
Capacity: 249cc
Compression ratio: 10.0:1
Carburation: Single 25mm Villiers
Electrical: 90W Siba starter-generator, two 6-volt batteries in series, coil ignition. Miller 42 watt headlight.
Transmission: Primary: Single-row chain, multi-plate wet clutch, 4-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Frame: Tubular steel, single down tube
Suspension: Front: Ambassador telescopic forks.
Rear: Swinging arm with twin Girling units.
Tyres: 3.25 x 17 front and rear
Brakes: 7-inch Albion drums.
Wheelbase: 1295mm
Kerb weight: 147kg
Thanks to Classic Style Motorcycles for the opportunity to photograph the featured Ambassador.
