Salvador (Barcelona 1921-1931)

In the early 1920s, Industrias Salvador was a well-established Catalan engineering enterprise, based in Barcelona, manufacturing rims and wheels for the automotive sector.  The company was created by Salvador Grau and was initially based at Carrer Rogent 72, in Barcelona, an address that was incorporated in the underlining of the logo used on his motorcycles.

In 1922, Salvador decided to build an autociclo (the Spanish term for a cyclecar or voiturette), these small, very basic cars were produced in the first third of the twentieth century.  It was equipped with a MAG, twin cylinder engine (Vee Format) and was, by all accounts, a well-made vehicle but production of it was abandoned after only a handful had been produced.  Instead, Salvador initially turned his attention back to the core business of wheels and rims but, as he always seemed to have an eye out for opportunities, he also started production of motorcycles.

This motorcycle was photographed at the Museo de la Motocicleta Española, 28802 Alcalá de Henares (Madrid)

Reference sources estimate the production output of the Salvador motorcycles to be around 200 units, comprising a mixture of engines that included French built units from the company of Emile Train, Swiss built Moser units and MAG units from the Swiss manufacturer Motosacoche.  Engine types included both two and four strokes with capacities ranging from 125cc to 350cc.   The photographed motorcycle dates from 1924 and features in-house components including the 125cc, two stroke, monobloc engine and carburettor, all mounted in an in-house built cradle frame with Salvador forks. 

Footnote:  Nowadays, very few examples of the Salvador car survive but there is one in CASC – the Col·lecció d’Automòbils Salvador Claret in Sils (Girona).