Howard Raymond Davies, a young British flying officer, was shot down and captured by the Germans in 1917. To occupy himself during his seemingly endless hours in captivity, he dreamed of building the perfect motorcycle. Less than ten years later, in 1924, Davies and his partner E. J. Massey began building the HRD. These stylish, aerodynamic, JAP (J.A. Prestwitch Co.) powered machines were advanced for their era, incorporating features other manufactures were years from embracing, and set the standard for motorcycles throughout the 1930's. The motorcycle won the famous Isle Of Man TT in 1925, setting a speed record of 66.13 mph.

While Davies pursued his ambition, a schoolboy named Philip Vincent, was also dreaming about making his own motorcycle. Vincent took the first step in fulfilling his dream in 1928 when he left Cambridge University and, with backing from his family and their cattle ranching business, acquired the trademark, goodwill and few remaining HRD component parts for £500. The company was promptly named Vincent HRD Co., Ltd., and the logo appeared with Vincent in very small letters over the top of the bold HRD. The logo remained like this until late in 1949 when HRD was dropped in order to prevent confusion with Harley-Davidson in the increasingly important American Market.

By 1934, Vincent was making seven different models. Four of these used the first Vincent made 499cc single cylinder engine, the basic configuration of which never changed. The more than 20 models that were introduced between 1928 and 1934 gave Phil Vincent an ongoing opportunity to experiment with a myriad of new design features.

The legendary Phil Irving joined Vincent as chief engineer in 1931. The first Vincent HRD twin, given the name Rapide, was introduced in October 1936. It incorporated motorcycling's first fully suspended rear frame. Utilizing a triangular rear frame with springing under the seat, this feature was used on all Vincents produced from 1936 through 1955. In addition, Vincents bristled with innovations such as foot shift, 4-speed gearboxes and side stands. The 998cc, air-cooled V-Twin produced 45hp and achieved a top speed of 110 miles per hour. The Series A Rapide sold for around $600 and was the inspiration for the post-war big-twins. In its time, it had no peers. Phil Irving departed Vincent to work at Velocette in 1937, only to return to Vincent in 1943 to start plans for the Series A successor.

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