Metisse, one of the best known badges in scrambling of the 1960s and ‘70s, is up for sale. Gerry Lisi, who has owned the brand for 26 years, is planning to retire – the package includes the right to produce 150 McQueen Desert Racers.

Metisse was the brainchild of brothers Derek and Don Rickman, who in the early ‘60s combined a Triumph twin engine with their own chassis to create a bike which would achieve worldwide success in scrambles. The name – derived from the French for ‘Mongrel’ – reflected the bike’s varied parts origins. Steve McQueen was a Metisse fan, and in 2007 Gerry Lisi was asked to build a replica of his desert racer. With the McQueen estate’s approval, this went into limited production using a Triumph TR6 engine – the company still owns the rights to build another 150 McQueen Desert Racers, currently priced at £15,500+VAT, so Metisse has the potential for ongoing business. All bids for the name and rights have to be submitted by 15th July.

At the BMF, Jim Freeman thought the chance to buy one of the classic names in scrambles, could be an opportunity for someone. “The classic ‘Desert Sled’ Rickman twins were a founding icon in the ‘60s of the ‘street scrambler’ aesthetic, which went on to sell a million or two from Hodaka, Honda and even Ducati, as well as all the Brit manufacturers. A brand new Rickman Metisse in 2025 , for under 20 grand, could be someone’s idea of a bargain, but I have to ask what they do about sourcing the engines? ”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Metisse