Hesketh reveals new roadster

Revived Brit bike brand Hesketh has been hard at work, the company recently unveiling what is its third new model since the marque rose from the ashes in 2014 at the hands of new owner, Paul Sleeman.

The Valiant SC is a no-expenses-spared roadster powered by an S&S X-Wedge V-twin. Compete with a Rotrex supercharger and tuned by TTS Performance, Hesketh says the 2097cc (128ci) unit is good for a mighty 210hp (157kW) at 5500rpm and 295Nm at 3000rpm.

With a chomoly cradle frame and K-Tech suspension front and rear, the bike is slowed by a sizeable set of six-piston Hesketh billet calipers up front and a four-piston Brembo at the rear. Weighing in at 239kg dry, there's a reasonable amount of bulk to arrest…

Named after Britain's high-altitude bomber of the 1950s and '60s, Hesketh says the Valiant will become available in mid-2018, although it stops short of specifying production numbers. The bike will sell for £50,000 (approximately A$81,000). A lower-spec, more affordable Valiant is also in the pipeline.

The Valiant SC follows on from the Sonnet café racer, due to go on sale mid-2017, and the ultra-exotic Hesketh 24. The Hesketh 24 was named in tribute to James Hunt, driver of Lord Hesketh's F1 race team, whose Hesketh 308 race car bore the race number 24. Fittingly, just 24 examples of the Hesketh 24 were built.

Hesketh Racing's F1 endeavours came to a close in 1978, the privateer team claiming one race win to its credit. Then, in the early 1980s, it turned its attention to motorcycle manufacturing, with the V1000 arriving in 1982, and the touring-oriented Vampire in 1983. The Vortan and Vulcan followed, but the bikes were plagued with reliability issues and the company eventually succumbed to financial pressures.

The marque essentially languished until Sleeman acquired the rights to the name, and set about building Hesketh motorcycles once more – this time from a dedicated production facility in Redhill, Surrey.