Swallow Gadabout Scooter

 

Welcome to the Swallow Gadabout website which aims to provide a source of information about this rare British scooter. Designed by Frank Rainbow, the Gadabout was made and sold by the Swallow Coachbuilding Company of Walsall, Staffordshire, from November 1946 until September 1951.
	Already well known for its sidecars, the firm introduced the Mark l Gadabout scooter in 1946. Powered by a Villiers 9D 125cc two-stroke engine the machine was capable of 30mph.
	A Mark II Gadabout model introduced in 1949 had rubber in torsion front suspension, a Villiers 10D 125cc engine with fan-cooling and a three-speed foot-change gearbox.
	Both Gadabout models were available with a Swallow box carrier, named the Gadabout Commercial. Some later Mark II models were given the Villiers 6E 197cc engine becoming the Gadabout Commercial Major Mark III.