Did an Under-the-Radar Moto Brand Just Drop the Best-Looking Retro-Styled Roadster Yet?

The embossed Union Jack badge nods more to the origins than current manufacturing, but it looks damn good just the same.

Glossy dark red motorcycle fuel tank with a silver cap and part of a black quilted seat.

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By Steve Mazzucchi

Published November 25, 2025

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Updated November 26, 2025

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It’s almost impossible to delve into a brand such as Phelon & Moore and not pretty quickly start sailing on the Ship of Theseus.

Because just like with the recently revived BSA, we have a long-dormant British moto manufacturer brought back to life in name, logo and look, if not actual production facilities.

Maroon and black Brighton electric motorcycle with round LED headlight and black exhaust on a red background. — From tank to tail, pinstriping to diamond stitching, the Brighton 6 has retro styling on lock.

But it’s 2025, and we live in a global economy, which means perhaps a more pertinent question is: When the retro-style bikes rolling out look as good as the new Brighton 6 Roadster, does that even matter?

I know this much: there’s certainly no harm in admiring it. So let’s do just that, and pick up some history along the way.

The Cleckheat is on

Forgive me, but that was my first thought upon learning from Ultimate Motorcycling that the brand was founded in 1904 in a place called Cleckheaton, Yorkshire.

Even then, Joah Carver Phelon and Richard Moore’s company was no stranger to innovation, as its rep was established on the strength of a game-changing 1902 patent: an engine serving as the motorcycle’s downtube, making it one of the first true moto chassis, rather than simply a motorized bicycle.

Maroon and black modern motorcycle with round LED headlight and dual rearview mirrors on a white background. — Bringing old-school into modern times, the headlight, indicators and taillight offer full LED illumination.

The brand’s first big hit was a bulletproof beast called the Panther, thousands of which saw World War action as sidecar haulers and messenger bikes. (The new P&M now makes a couple of cruisers with that nameplate, the Panther C and Panther S.)

The brand carried on for six decades before the Japanese moto boom of the 1960s essentially ran it off the road, with production ceasing in ’66.

Green and brown Brighton Scrambler motorcycle with black forks and silver exhaust on a white background. — The Scrambler edition trades Malbec Red for a shade the brand calls, fittingly, Yorkshire Green.

Yet, nearly six decades later, in 2022, a European/US investor group acquired the name and adopted the strategy of Moto Morini, Morbidelli, FB Mondial and other Italian legacy brands — Italian design and Chinese manufacturing.

So yes, what we have here is a British name, Italian design, Chinese factory. Oh and one seriously stunning retro-styled bike.

Future’s so Brighton

Joining the existing lineup of Panther cruisers, Cape Town adventure/touring bikes and Panthette scooters is the Brighton 6 nameplate, applied to both a Roadster and a slightly more off-road capable Scrambler.

The big differences lie in the latter’s more robust wheels, tires and suspension, plus the addition of handguards, a skid plate and tactile tank pads.

Green and black scrambler motorcycle with brown quilted seat and dual disc front brakes on a dark green background. — Handguards, a skid plate and grippy tank pads are three key distinguishing features of the Scrambler variant.

Both bikes have 17-inch wheels, but the Roadster’s are cast-aluminum wrapped in Panther Sport-Touring rubber, while the Scrambler’s are tubeless wire-spoke with Panther Adventure tires.

But let’s focus on the Roadster, which positively stuns with its retro styling, highlighted by that gorgeous 5.3-gallon teardrop tank in a decadent deep red (they call it Malbec), plus some classy diagonal pinstriping framing.

Side view of a maroon and silver Brighton Roaster motorcycle with black seat and visible engine components. — The 550cc engine should prove plenty punchy for urban streets and two-lane rural roads, if not highways.

Other touches include the diamond stitching on the contoured two-up saddle, chopped fenders, tail tidy, round LED headlight and indicators, unfussy branding and the embossed Union Jack badge on the side, a subtle reminder where the brand was born.

I’m honestly quite shocked the mirrors are not round, but that’s not the only little nod to modernity here. This bike sneakily offers quite a lot you could not get in 1925.

Glossy dark red motorcycle fuel tank with silver cap and black quilted seat, showing handlebars and mirrors. — The TFT dash boasts an analog shape but modern connectivity.

The beating heart is a liquid-cooled 550cc parallel-twin engine making 60 horsepower at 8500 rpm and 41 lb-ft of torque at 6500 rpm, with P&M claiming a 0-60 mph time of 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 113 mph — which, frankly, I will believe when I see.

The Brighton 6 also offers solid suspension in the form of an inverted fork and spring-preload adjustable rear shock, plus dual-disc front brakes, Bosch ABS and a TFT dash that pairs with your smartphone.

While I am unsure of its full capabilities, I can tell you that, like the analog gauges of yesteryear, it too is refreshingly round.

Availability and pricing

While the Phelon & Moore Brighton 6 will presumably see a 2026 rollout, distribution is currently limited to Europe. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Maroon and silver modern motorcycle with black seat and exposed engine on a white background.

Phelon & Moore Brighton 6 Roadster

What do you get when you combine European/US investors, Italian design, Chinese manufacturing and a British brand founded more than 120 years ago? The Phelon & Moore Brighton 6, of course. This beautifully retro-styled roadster boasts a liquid-cooled 550cc parallel-twin engine making 60 horsepower at 8500 rpm and 41 lb-ft of torque at 6500 rpm, with P&M claiming a 0-60 mph time of 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 113 mph. Even if those numbers are a stretch, you’re looking at plenty more smiles per mile than you could have dreamed of a century ago.

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About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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