Sinclair C5 - the Personal Electric Vehicle

The concept of 'personal electric mobility' has been around for almost 150 years.  In fact, the very first patent for a motorcycle (1871) specified an electric motor, from an era when both motors and the batteries to power them had to be built by hand, and were hardly reliable. Give a read to our History of Electric Motorcycles article for some background.  While the legacy of electric vehicles in mass transport and industrial use is a century of success (think electric buses, trollies, trains, forklifts, etc), the mass-production of personal electric vehicles has a far spottier and more problematic story.  Only in the past ten years has the electric vehicle become truly popular for personal use, but that doesn't mean clever folks haven't tried.

The original electric trike...which was the first known electric vehicle. Gustave Trouvé’s 1881 electric tricycle, the first electric vehicle demonstrated to the world, on April 19th, using a Starley tricycle with Trouvé’s own batteries and electric motor attached. The future had arrived. [from Physique et Chimie Popularies, Vol. 2: 1881-83 (Alexix Clerc, 1883)]
One such forward-thinking fellow was Sir Clive Sinclair, who gained fame as a personal computing pioneer in the 1960s and '70s.  Since his teenage years Sinclair had pondered small, inexpensive electric personal vehicles, while he built up a reputation as an electronics genius, and developed the first 'slimline' pocket calculators.  The automobile seemed to him extremely wasteful and expensive for 90% of its daily uses - local transport, errands, short pleasure trips.  Sinclair had a clever knack for using very cheap electronic components for new purposes, by altering how their power was supplied or creatively masking printed circuit boards to greatly improve their performance.  His company, Sinclair Radionics, was thus never a manufacturer per se, but used bought-in components to create new designs.  Reliance on outside contractors led to supply problems after Sinclair's products grew wildly popular (as with his wristwatch calculator of 1977).  Quality control was difficult with mass-produced, inexpensive componentry, and Sinclair soon developed a 'no questions asked' replacement policy...as none needed to be asked. Sill, Sinclair-designed electronic devices gained a reputation for tremendous innovation, and he was knighted in 1985 for his contributions to British industry.

Sir Clive Sinclair: visionary computer pioneer, EV pioneer, inventor of the flat screen TV, and more. [BBC]
The success of his electronics company kept development of Sinclair's personal transport dream on the back burner, but his company was continually testing batteries and electric motors, with Chris Curry (later founder of Acorn computers) doing the advance work.  Their first experiment in the early 1970s used a very slim electric motor installed on a stand-up scooter, that was operated by a button -  a precursor to today's wildly popular electric stand-ups.  Sinclair believed that new electric vehicles needed to be designed from the ground up, and not be adapted from ideas developed around internal-combustion engines.  His first prototype electric vehicle, the C1 of 1979, was a small electric car using existing lead-acid battery technology, with a 30-mile range and intended for a single user in urban areas, weighing 300lbs and with a modest price. Sinclair contracted Ogle Design to style the car, but was concerned that their efforts were too focused on aerodynamics, and not enough on economy.  Development proved expensive, and in Spring of 1983 Sinclair decided to drop the C1 project.

The Sinclair C5: the most successful EV of the 1980s, and most-produced EV until the 2000s. It was considered a commercial failure as 'only' 14,000 were built, as opposed to anticipated demand in the hundreds of thousands. Today the C5 is highly collectible. [National Motor Museum]
Still, Sinclair's intention was to mass-produce electric vehicles, so he sold a chunk of his own stock to form a new company, Sinclair Vehicles, and hired Barrie Willis, a former Delorean executive, as Managing Director.  While the idea of an electric car was clearly ahead of its time, British legislation supported electric vehicles, with taxes abolished for EVs in 1980, and a new law in 1983 stipulating that vehicles with a top speed under 15mph could be ridden by 14-year olds, without a helmet or driver's license.  Sinclair felt he'd found a niche they could fill.

Removing half the bodywork of a C5 reveals its secret skeleton as a recumbent tricycle. The battery is clearly visible, as is the motor, which drives only one rear wheel. [Wikipedia]
Sinclair's new concept was a small, inexpensive, one-person electric 3-wheel vehicle that included 'light pedal assistance' (a nod to the origins of the motorcycle industry circa 1900).  Sinclair once again hired Ogle Design for the initial concept: their Bond Minicar trike had been a great success, so a smaller 3-wheeler seemed within their wheelhouse.  The Ogle prototype was handed over to exotic car manufacturer Lotus Cars Ltd to design the chassis and handling details.

The original press photos for the Sinclair C5 show its futuristic styling and appeal to youth. [The Vintagent Archive]
The design was still not right, so Sinclair set up a Metalab for deep-future projects, and handed its first employee, 23-year old industrial designer Gus Desbarats, to finish the project.  What the micro-vehicle had become was a futuristic mini-missile with an injection-molded plastic body that looked like a prop from Logan's Run.  The lines were sleek, with a sloping opaque screen covering the rider's knees, an integral, non-adjustable seat back, and disc-covered wheels.  The riding position was recumbent, and the rider had pedals to assist starting or when the battery went flat, and steering was controlled with handlebars beneath the rider's legs, which sounds strange but in reality was very simple, and 'the controls fell naturally to one's hands', as the old British motorcycle magazines used to say. While the body was plastic, underneath was a steel tube spine chassis, although there was no suspension.  The whole concept was for a vehicle that was cheap to produce and easy to use. Desbarats added a tall visibility flag as standard equipment, as the Sinclair C5 was so small and low to the ground, drivers simply could not see it, and there was no safety equipment or mirrors.  As Desbarats described it, his job was to "convert an ugly pointless device into a prettier, safer, and more usable pointless device".  There had been only one round of focus group testing for the design, and no safety tests or other development considerations taking into account feedback from the C5 testers/users outside Sinclair Vehicles: everything was pushed forward and paid for by Sir Clive Sinclair.

The Sinclair C5 was assembled from major components by different contractors: the plastic body by Linpac, the chassis and gearbox by Lotus, a Phillips motor, Oldham lead-acid battery, etc.  A deal was negotiated with a Hoover washing machine facility in Wales to assemble and test the C5, with production slated for 200,000 units/year.  Before the January 1985 launch of the C5, 2500 had already been built to deal with anticipated demand.

The Sinclair C5 was launched at a lavish press reception at Alexandra Palace, featuring Stirling Moss. As it was cold, most of the C5s refused to run properly, and ran out of battery very quickly.  Press testers taking the C5 out on the road were terrified when they encountered trucks, which could not see them and belched exhaust directly in their faces.  There was no weather protection, so testers froze and got wet.  In short, the launch was a disaster.  And the bad news kept coming, with magazines and newspapers expressing concern about the lack of any safety equipment, the invisibility of the C5 to many drivers, and the lack of training/licensing/helmet requirement for young riders.  The 250W electric motor was insufficient for any hill, and the battery ran flat between 6-12 miles, far below the 30-mile claimed range.

The C5 was marketed with weather protection as an extra. Stylish! [The Vintagent Archive]
All of which might have been acceptable had the C5 been marketed as a toy.  But Sir Clive was a visionary, who foresaw a total revolution in personal transportation towards EVs, and intended to be its vanguard.  Of course, the C5 was a flop, compared to its investment and anticipated sales.  It was still the most successful EV ever built, with an initial run of 5000 C5s selling in two months, including to Princes William and Harry, who fit the target demographic perfectly.  By August 1985, 14,000 C5s had been built, but Sinclair Vehicles went belly up, and remaining stocks of C5 were sold to the likes of Ellar Surplus Ltd, who paid £75 each for 9000 units.  Ellar were the smart ones, recognizing that the C5 did have a ready market as a fun vehicle: they sold every last example in stock for £700/each.  Private buyer Adam Harper bought 600 C5s still in their boxes in 1987, and sold them all in two years for £2500 each.  Their status as a cult vehicle was immediately cemented, and C5s today are highly collectable by those who appreciate their still-futuristic styling and contemporary concept.

Alan Harper with his 150mph Sinclair C5 - at one time the fastest electric vehicle in the UK. [Robot Wars Wiki]
Some have taken C5 love even further, installing more powerful batteries and motors - easy to do - for faster performance and longer range, making them perfectly suitable as daily runabouts.  Stunt driver Alan Harper modified his C5 to set a British record for any electric vehicle in 2004, hitting 150mph. The Lotus-derived handling of the C5 showed through, "Up to 100mph it's like you're running on rails, it's really stable, then at about 110 to 120mph it starts getting tricky. At that point if a tyre blew up or something happened you would be surely dead." A few brave souls have taken the concept even further, installing jet engines into their C5s for high-speed runs ... and yes there is more than one jet-powered C5 in the world. I Road Tested one in 2011 at the Avignon Motor Festival,  built by Adrian Bennet of Jet Power UK. The Air Research JFS100-13A turbojet spins at 72,000rpm, and sits just behind and below the rider, which in this case was me.  When fired up, the jet becomes a fearsome leaf blower, and makes quite a racket, which helped keep pedestrians out of my way on the crowded festival grounds.  Nobody said it was a good idea, just a necessary thing to do, when presented with the opportunity.  What was it like?  Unique!

 

 

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Samuel Aboagye - A Promising Update

We'll expand on this story soon, but much has happened since we installed Samuel Aboagye's Solar Scooter and Solar Taxi in our Electric Revolutionaries exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum.  The Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation sent team members Dan Green and Greg Hatton to Accra, Ghana, to make a short documentary of Sam's world, which you can see here.  Our team was invited to present the story our relationship with Sam at a design conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, by Safir Belali, who teaches at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.  Two of our team were able to participate in person - Greg Hatton and Nadia Amer - and Paul d'Orléans participated by Zoom.  We shared our film of Samuel, and discussed our developing relationship with him, and were then joined by Samuel himself by Zoom, who answered questions from the professional designers and students in attendance.  It turned out to be quite a moving presentation, as Samuel has basically has nothing and lives in a very poor community, but created something amazing solely from his ingenuity and resourcefulness.

Samuel Aboagye in Accra, Ghana, with his Solar Taxi and Solar Scooter [Efo Selasi]
There were several results of that conference: Samuel was awarded a one-year design scholarship at the Art Center, and was given the promise of professional mentorship to assist him through his educational process.  Both Safir Belali and Greg Hatton have provided weekly work sessions with Samuel, who is progressing well in his studies.  As an extra treat, the M.A.F. sent Samuel with his friend, YouTube producer Efo Selasi, to Marrakech for a follow-on design conference.  It was the first time Samuel had traveled outside of his home in Accra, and it truly blew his mind and expanded his boundaries. Samuel is now progressing in his studies, and we will continue to work with him, exploring how the M.A.F. can expand our educational project with the experience we've gained in this incredibly rewarding process.

Dan Green and Greg Hatton at the Petersen Museum in early 2023 for the Electric Revolutionaries exhibit, before picking up Samuel's vehicles in Accra. [Paul d'Orléans]
To bring Samuel's two vehicles back to the USA, Dan Green had to dismantle both, taking careful notes on their construction - they were not intended to be dismantlable! The two vehicles were carried back as hand luggage - it was the same price to send two filmmakers to Accra as to ship the two vehicles via DHL!
[Dan Green]
The Solar Taxi fully dismantled in Accra. [Greg Hatton]
The Solar Scooter 'kit' as returned to the USA, in the Vault of the Petersen Museum. [Dan Green]
A collection of images from the Creative Offsite Marrakesh event in February 2023, organized by Safir Belali. [Safir Belali, Greg Hatton]
 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

Albert Menasco: Pirate of the Sky

If you were asked to define a swashbuckling life, what would that include?  How about motorcycle racing, wing-walking, car racing, working an international carnival circuit, piloting experimental planes, and manufacturing the winningest aero racing engines of the 1930s?  There’s only one man with such a resumé: Albert Menasco.  And yet, I’d never heard of him until Dr. Robin Tuluie (see our article 'Actually it IS Rocket Science') introduced me to the name via the 1928-ish aero-engine race car he’d built using a Menasco engine, but more on that anon. Curiosity about Menasco revealed he was a quintessentially adventurous American in the ‘Teens, a motor-showman when a cocktail of unbridled enthusiasm, innocence and technical know-how would typically end with you famous, dead, or famously dead.   Menasco somehow walked the middle way, and ended as neither, while his legacy and impact continue to this day, nearly unheralded.

Albert Menasco at age 15, on his 1912 ride from LA to San Francisco with his 1911 American: a single-cylinder F-head with 550cc and direct belt drive - a very rare machine, as the brand was only in business 1911-14. [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
Menasco started life as a truant and a rascal. Born in Los Angeles on 17 March 1897, his early life was troubled: he suffered a gunshot wound to his stomach while very young, and his mother was dead by age 5. His father generously responded to this trauma by sending Albert to an orphanage, where he was soon noted for his resistance to authority and dedicated truancy, doing his best to avoid elementary school altogether.  His father reeled him in after six years, to which Albert responded by running away, landing him a stint in Juvenile Hall in 1908. The following year his older brother Milton took him in, and in 1910 Albert entered Manual Arts High School, as he was already showing signs of mechanical aptitude.

A photographic composite of the various aircraft attending the first air meet in the USA, the 1910 Los Angeles International Air Meet held at Dominguez Field in LA. [The Vintagent Archive]
Albert grew obsessed with aviation just in time for first great air show in the USA , held right in LA: the 1910 Los Angeles International Air Meet. The L.A. meet was among the earliest air shows in the world, and included luminaries like Glenn H. Curtiss, Louis Paulhan, and Lincoln Beachy, who flew a dirigible but would shortly become the most famous aviator in the USA. The Wright brothers did not attend, but their lawyers did, attempting to enforce their wing-warping patent (a primitive form of aileron), and Paulhan in particular paid dearly for his attendance, in court. Albert Menasco insinuated himself as a tool boy for the flyers. In 1912 took a job as machinist at L.A. truck manufacturer F.L.Moore, while finishing his education with night classes.

Lincoln Beachy and his one-man dirigible at the 1910 air meet. The airship is powered by a Curtiss V-twin motor, and the attitude of the airship is altered by the 'pilot' moving forward and back on the railings slung beneath, while the rudder changes the direction. Brave man! The fate of Albert Menasco would be tied to Beachy's in 5 years... [The Vintagent Archive]
Menasco’s inclinations turned to motorcycles that year. His first machine was the rare ‘American’ brand, a typically Edwardian single-cylinder, single-speed machine with an inlet-over-exhaust motor and a belt drive. Menasco rode this simple machine from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 1912. Not having the benefit of Roman conquest, there were no highways in the wilds of California at the time: what paths existed were for horses. For a 15-year old to ride a single-speed, clutchless 4hp motorcycle for 900 miles (assuming he made a round trip), over a trackless wilderness, and succeed, speaks volumes about both his grit and mechanical ability.

Menasco with his American motorcycle, converted for racing with an OHV top end (probably from a Pope), retaining the frame and forks but adding dropped racing handlebars. [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
Menasco opened a mechanic’s shop by age 16, and leaped into motorcycle racing.  He appears in 1913/14 on a home-made dirt track racer with a Pope overhead-valve cylinder head and sprung front forks cannibalized from his American.  The thrill of racing enticed him, but no mention of Menasco appeared in the winner’s lists. By 1914 he seems to have joined in the short-lived California craze of Baby Car racing. These were miniature racing cars powered by single- and twin-cylinder motorcycle engines, presented as shrunken replicas of famous Grand Prix cars of the era. Their light construction and powerful engines made them capable of terrific speeds for the era, at relatively low cost. The first Baby Car races were held in Los Angeles at the Ascot Park and Culver City tracks, there was even a Junior Car Championship that year.  And it was Baby Car racing that connected Albert Menasco with a spectacular young pilot by the name of ‘Bird Boy’ Art Smith.

'An embryo aviator'.  The young Albert Menasco circa 1915, when Art Smith taught him how to fly. Here he sits the replica Curtiss pusher aircraft that Art Smith built using a Curtiss V8 OHV motor, of the type Curtiss famously rode at Ormond/Daytona beach to a (reputed) 136mph in 1906. [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
Art Smith was born in 1890 in Ft Wayne Indiana, and was a born daredevil and showman. He built a tall wooden ramp in his backyard that led to a large jump over which Smith flew…on roller skates.  ‘Jumping the gap’ was an Evel Knievel stunt on very small wheels, and carnivals sought him out with offers of good pay, but his parents did not approve the ‘carny’ life.  Smith was also fascinated with aviation, amassing a library of extant literature and building three functional scale model airplanes. Amazingly, 19-year old Art convinced his parents to mortgage their home (for $1800) so he could build an airplane.  His pattern was Glenn Curtiss’ ‘Gold Bug’ pusher biplane, and Smith bought a Curtiss A4 air-cooled inline four to power it.  Smith’s cabinetmaker father, despite failing eyesight, made the plane’s wooden struts, while his mother sewed up the fabric skin. When it was finished, Smith hopped in and flew the thing, but crashed due to an imbalance in the layout.   He rebuilt his plane along the lines of Lincoln Beachy’s ‘headless’ Curtiss, the first plane modified for aerobatics.  Lincoln Beachy was the most famous pilot in the USA, earning a significant income from flying demonstrations and daredevilry, which was Smith’s goal.

The finale of Art Smith's run of demonstration stunt flights at the Panama Pacific International Exhibition (PPIE) in 1915, with flares attached to his wingtips, making one heck of a sight in the night sky above the temporary city in San Francisco. [The Vintagent Archive]
In 1915, all roads led to the Panama Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) in San Francisco. It was to be the grandest World’s Fair yet, with a glamorous Beaux Arts ‘jewel city’ constructed atop 635 acres of former beachfront. The PPIE included evening light shows, car races, airplane tricks by Lincoln Beachy, a sprawling fun fair called the Zone, and enormous halls displaying the latest in industry and culture.  Beachy demonstrated the scale of the Hall of Machinery by taking off, flying and landing within it, the first indoor flight.  The automobile racing included both a Vanderbilt Cup and a Grand Prize, with supporting races by Baby Cars for the Junior Vanderbilt and GP.  Art Smith commissioned the San Francisco Harley-Davidson dealer Dudley Perkins to build him a fleet of five cars, each with different bodywork that mimicked the Mercedes, Peugeot, Fiat, Stutz, and Marmon racers then dominating the GP circuit.  Each car cost $400, and was powered by a Harley-Davidson J-series V-twin motor. The cars were capable of over 60mph, which given their diminutive scale, probably felt like rocketry to drivers and audiences alike. Albert Menasco both raced and maintained Smith’s cars.

The Baby Car craze at the PPIE: Art Smith drives, while Al Menasco wrenches. Five cars were built to special order by San Francisco Harley-Davidson dealer Dudley Perkins, powered by J-series V-twins: each car body mimicked the most famous GP racers of the day, in miniature. [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
Our heroes’ fortunes changed three weeks after the opening of the PPIE, when Lincoln Beachy surpassed the wing-load of his monoplane during a dive and plunged directly into San Francisco Bay. He survived the crash but drowned anyway in the time it took to extract him from the water.  So, sans Beachey, the PPIE was left without its star attraction, until someone remembered that Art Smith, already famous as a stunt pilot, was on hand with his Baby Cars.  Whether Smith already had his plane in San Francisco isn’t noted, but he was soon wowing crowds day and night with his biplane, which had been upgraded with a 90hp Curtiss OX water-cooled V-8. Smith’s star rose dramatically at the PPIE, thrilling 18 million attendees with stunning loops, spins, and low flyovers, plus night flights with magnesium flares on his wingtips, accompanied by the colored searchlights of the Rainbow Scintillator (see our article here).

Art Smith's Baby Car équipe, with car bodies mimicking famous GP racers of the day. [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
News of Smith’s prowess circled the globe leading to an invitation from Emperor Yoshihito of Japan for an Imperial audience in 1916.  This opportunity metastasized into a months-long tour of Japan, Korea, and China. Their show had an enormous impact, and their daily audience was at times 200,000 or more. Tokyo author Tayama Katai wrote in 1917: “When Smith came, and looped the loop despite the awfully windy conditions, the whole metropolis gasped in wonder. I was watching from the gate at the back of the garden. I never believed he’d be able to do anything, because of the wind. But just then the stormy sky was filled with a frightful droning. The aeroplane appeared way up high, looking so very small and leaving a trail of wispy blue smoke. ‘He’s good all right!’ I thought to myself, and just at that moment he suddenly put the aeroplane through two or three large loops and then flew right up high again. I found myself applauding.” One such gaping youth was Soichiro Honda, who stole his father’s bicycle and rode 20 miles to catch Smith’s Tokyo exhibition. He could not afford entry to the show, so watched from a tree, and in his autobiography credited Smith with igniting his passion for engineering and mechanics.

Details of the Baby Car construction: a pair of wooden frame rails supporting a Harley-Davidson J motor with full-race Schebler carburetor, minimal steering gear, and no suspension, with a two-speed chain drive via twin chains, a sliding dog engagement, and a clutch. Simple and no doubt very quick. [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
Albert Menasco had become, despite his parents’ wishes, a full-fledge ‘carny’ in the most spectacular traveling motor show on earth. Menasco’s notes give little impression of the joys and difficulties they encountered, but others on the same circuit put pen to hand: I highly recommend Carl Leon Terrell’s 1946 epic ‘Seven Naked Women in a Tokyo Jail’, recounting his 1920s Asian tour on a near-identical route. Terrell’s game was a Wall of Death motordrome, but his famously beautiful ‘fat lady’ wife proved the most popular attraction of all.

The end of the tour: Art Smith crashed his plane in Japan and broke a leg, without further injury except for his destroyed plane.  Note the Curtiss V8 watercooled motor. [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
Despite Smith ending their 1916 tour with a flourish, crashing the plane and breaking a leg, the team did it all over again in 1917. Menasco had spent enough time under Smith’s wing to become a pilot himself, and even tested a lovely Morane-Saulnier Model H in Japan.  The disaster ending their tour this time was in Europe, and in April 1917 Menasco and Smith went home to be military pilots, but were roundly rejected by the US Navy, Army Signal Corps, and even Canadian Royal Flying Corps. Menasco had a perforated eardrum, and Smith, possibly the finest living aviator, was sub-height at only 5’ 3”!  Smith ended up training pilots, while Menasco became a civilian aeronautical engineer, testing engines and training young mechanics.

The Morane-Saulnier Model H monoplane that replaced the Curtiss replica: the latest thing with wings! [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
After WW1, Smith became one of the original US Post Office airmail pilots. He met his end not performing a loop or a falling-leaf spin, but on a mail run in 1926. Menasco had returned to California after the war, taking a variety of jobs, but was pushed back into aviation after Smith’s death when he was tasked with selling the estate.  That included 250 Salmson Z-9 watercooled 230hp radials, rendered instantly obsolete by the end of the war.  Menasco felt he could upgrade the motors and sell them, so took on a financial partner, and marketed the improved Menasco-Salmson B2. He sold fifty, but in 1928 the new Approved Type Certificate (ATC) for aircraft engines required 50 hours of continuous running, and after wrecking five B2 engines, Menasco pulled them from the market.

The Menasco Motors display stand at an aero show in the early 1930s, with the all-conquering Menasco Pirate engine on display. [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
The end of the B2 was the start of Menasco Motors, as Albert designed a new series of engines with an unusual inverted four-cylinder layout. The first Menasco Pirate motor (the 90hp A4) was running by 1929, and after his B2 testing fiasco, Albert would not submit his engines for ATC approval until they showed 125% of rated power for 100 hours.  Adhering to this standard, Menasco Motors sailed through seven successful ATC applications for their inverted motors, which was unprecedented.  The factory also built supercharged engines for racing, which proved to be giant-killers, and among the most successful aero racing engines of the 1930s. Still, Menasco Motors struggled through the Depression, losing money every year until 1941, when military contracts began.  They didn’t want Menasco’s motors, only their sophisticated machine shop to build hydraulic landing gear for P-38 Lightnings and other fighters. The factory eventually built 80,000 landing gear sets during the war, and carried on building them for commercial airliners afterwards. Albert Menasco retreated from management of his business in 1938, finding the constant struggle for cash too stressful, but was still alive to watch the Space Shuttle touch earth on Menasco landing gear.

Dr. Robin Tuluie, 3-time Daytona winner on home-made motorcycles, 4-time World Grand Prix Championship chassis designer, here competing in his 'hobby' car, the Menasco Pirate, named for its aero engine. [VSCC]
The most popular Menasco aero engine was the C4 Pirate with 5.9L and 125hp. That’s what Dr. Robin Tuluie found in San Diego when searching out a suitable aero engine for his vintage race car, built around a 1928 Riley chassis: as Menasco built prototypes of the C4 motor in 1928, it seemed a perfect match. The C4 has proven to be as effective a racing motor on wheels as on wings, with Tuluie garnering race wins with his home-built car, called, naturally, the Menasco Pirate.  A fitting tribute to a remarkable fellow.

What Soichiro Honda saw: the first experience of many Japanese seeing an aircraft in flight on home soil. The show that launched a motoring career! [The Vintagent Archive]
Taking a break after packing up their traveling show: 'Val, Vic, Al, & Art.' [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
1915 might as well have been 1815, or 1715. Native dress in Korea, during the extensive Asia tour of Art Smith's carnival. [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
Loading up a Baby Car aboard one of the many ships used to circulate Asia before WW1 broke out. Note twin chains for 2-speed drive, and no differential for maximum sliding fun. [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
Cruising the dirt lanes of Tokyo in a trio of racing cars, which is how they traveled from town to town! [San Diego Air & Space Museum]
 

[This article originally appeared in The Automobile magazine, the July 2021 edition.  Special thanks to the San Diego Air & Space Museum for permission to dig into the Albert Menasco archives, and reproduce many of the remarkable photos used here.]

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

Top 10 at the John Parham Estate Auction

September 6-9 at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa

From original-paint to original thinking, there's an amazing diversity of machinery available at the John Parham Estate Auction, hosted by Mecum. It was a tough decision to close the National Motorcycle Museum, but with the death of its primary benefactor a few years ago, it was always going to be a money loser, so the decision was purely practical.  It's sad to lose such an amazing collection in one spot, but on the upside, it makes for an exciting opportunity for folks to find some unique motorcycles.  You can bid online, but it's definitely preferable to show up and see the museum one last time, and catch the energy of the auction, which is always fun.  There are hundreds of bikes and even more hundreds of lots of automobilia - posters, engines, photos, and a bunch of cool antique toys.  Have a look at the Mecum John Parham Estate Auction page here.  And now, my faves from the Museum:

  1. 1965 Gelbke Roadog.

It's long and might be wrong, but there's only one RoaDog, and you can buy it if you're brave! 'Wild Bill' Gelbke sits his machine in the famous poster. [Mecum]
'Wild Bill' Gelbke's outrageous masterpiece has graced a thousand garages, but only in poster form, sans explanation.  The Roadog is inspired madness built by an actual aeronautical engineer as an 'ideal touring bike'.  Remember the competition in the early 1960s when he dreamed up this monster: a Harley-Davidson Panhead, or a BMW R60/3.  Four-cylinder touring machines had most recently been produced in 1941 with the last of the Indian Fours, so if you wanted something car-like, you had to build it yourself.  So Gelbke did just that, using a GM 151 Iron Duke four-cylinder engine and its PowerGlide autobox, with a shaft final drive.  Gelbke built his own chassis from lightweight chromoly tubing, and seemed unconcerned with the scale of his invention, which is 17' long and weighs an estimated 3300lbs.  The front forks are a unit trailing-link design, similar to a 1950s FN, but huge, and using four automotive shocks for suspension: the rear wheel is held in a swingarm, also with four shocks.  The rider (and passenger) sit very low over the rear of the transmission on a pair of Harley-Davidson solo saddles, with the automotive fuel tank perched behind the passenger. There's even a spare wheel in case you get a flat...which is easily attended to with the four hydraulic stands that assist with parking.

RoaDog in the metal, looking fresh and ready to roll another 20,000 miles. [Mecum]
Apparently Wild Bill clocked 20,000 miles in his first RoaDog year, and refined his thoughts with his 1972 Auto Four (also for sale at Mecum), which he intended to mass produce, as well as the Grasshopper, with a Corvair motor.  Wild Bill never got the chance though...he'd been making a living as a trucker after falling out with his bosses at McDonnell-Douglas, and police suspected he was hauling marijuana instead of vegetables. In winter 1978, 12 officers surrounded his home, demanding he come out: Gelbke tossed his gun out to surrender, but when one officer slipped on ice, they assumed he'd been shot, and opened fire.  When the smoke cleared, they took the uninjured officer to the hospital, and left Wild Bill to bleed out in the dirt. He was 40 years old.  You can't buy stories like that, but you can buy the RoaDog. (Estimate $50-60k)

2. 1911 Steco Engineering Co. Aerohydroplane

The oldest airplane in the USA still in original condition: the 1911 Steco seaplane. [Smithsonian Air & Space Museum]
From the ridiculous to the sublime, this 1911 Steco seaplane dominates the Innovation wing of the National Motorcycle Museum, and is a remarkably elegant pioneer aircraft.  It's also claimed to be the oldest aircraft in the USA in original condition, and is an important piece of history that deserves a good home.  To put this plane in context: Glenn H. Curtiss built the first truly functional aircraft in 1908 - the June Bug - which won the Scientific American trophy that June for an aircraft that could take off, fly in a circle, and land where it began.  The Wright brothers plane, by contrast, was a powered glider, launched using a giant rubber band, and could not turn a circle.  Curtiss was also the first to build a successful seaplane that could take off and land in water in January 1911...thus this Steco is about as early a non-Curtiss seaplane as exists anywhere, and no Curtiss of this era is original.

That one-of-two in the world Gnome et Rhone 7-cylinder radial is a work of art. The rest of the plane is as delicate as a butterfly's wing. [Mecum]
The Steco Engineering Co. was founded by James S. Stephens, a mechanical superintendent of the Milwaukee Railroad and an engineering consultant for Hamm's Brewing Company. Stephens and his son Ralph founded Steco Engineering Co., building prototype planes and cars.  The Steco Aerohydroplane was built around a 1909 Gnome Omega 487ci (7980cc) 7-cylinder rotary engine, purported to be 1 of 38 of this style made, and 1 of 2 thought to exist: the engine was rebuilt by Fred Murrin of Greenville PA. The seaplane has a 42' upper and 36' lower wingspan, is 31' long, and weighs a feathery 1,320lbs.  If I had the room, I'd love to stare at this exquisite piece of flying machinery while I drink my coffee, but someone with a bigger warehouse than mine will have to do that.  (No estimate, but no reserve).  Also, check out the Steco car also on auction.

3. 1906 Curtiss V-twin

The man himself, Glenn H. Curtiss, American badass, who just clocked a mile record at Ormond/Daytona Beach FL in 1907 at 77.58mph. This is a postcard he sent his wife. [Smithsonian Archives]
Speaking of planes...the last time a Curtiss motorcycle came to auction was in 2009, and I was there (read the story here).  Curtiss motorcycles are unicorn rare, and the man who invented the American V-twin is rightly revered for his exceptional motorcycles.  In their day, Curtiss single- and twin-cylinder motorcycles were the fastest motorcycles around, taking speed records and winning races, mostly because Curtiss himself was known as 'Hell Rider' in his native Hammondsport NY, as he liked to ride fast, and built bikes that worked.  He cut his teeth racing bicycles in the 1890s, and opening a bicycle shop in 1900.  He bought his first motorcycle engine in 1901, a Thomas Auto-Bi, and thought it pure junk: the castings were unfinished, there was no carburetor, and no instructions.  He got it to work, then designed his own engine that same year.  The Curtiss motorcycle company was born.  His first single-cylinder models used all ball bearings inside, making them far more robust with the limited oiling systems of the day, and by 1903 he doubled up his design to create the first V-twin in the USA.   These early models used a single speed belt drive, using Curtiss' own non-slip belt design.

Rare as all getout, a genuine 1906 Curtiss V-twin. The coolest and fastest motorcycle in the world at that date. [Mecum]
That first Curtiss V-twin immediately made its mark, beating both Charles Gustafson and Oscar Hedstrom on their Indians at the NYMC's Riverdale Hillclimb, and lopping 4.4 seconds off their best time.  He then rode his bike to Yonkers for a National Cycle Association race, where he set a world speed record, completing a mile in 56.4seconds (63.8mph).  Beating the industry's best then setting a world record in another town on the same with a new design of engine made Curtiss instantly famous. He set his first world record at Daytona/Ormond Beach Florida in 1904 on his V-twin, recording 10miles at 67.4mph, a record that stood seven years.  The 136mph speed of his famous one-way run on a V-8 powered contraption in 1908 is disputed, but was an example of his ingenuity and bravery.  He was already selling engines to the nascent aircraft industry, and when he became the first pilot to take off, circle, and land in the same place in 1908, his future in aviation was sealed, and he devoted less time to motorcycles, leaving his two-wheeled business in the hands of others by 1910.  But, Curtiss' early legacy with motorcycles stands as one of the most important pioneering brands in the USA, with certainly the most romantic of characters at its helm.  This 1906 Curtiss is extremely rare, and the original American V-twin.

4. Indian Quarter Midget Racer

As cool as they come, this Indian-powered Quarter Midget racer is totally hand-fabricated, and likely from the 1930s revival of Baby Car racing in LA. [Mecum]
The only reason I'm telling you about this amazing little car is I don't want to get the inevitable divorce if I displayed it my living room. This is the coolest four wheeler in the National Motorcycle Museum collection, and that's saying something; there are two other motorcycle-powered quarter midget racers, a Harley-powered prop-driven ice sled, and five motorcycle-engined mini-cars, all of which are...museum-worthy, right?  The body of this little racer is all hand-beaten alloy, with a unique drilled-out grille, and a svelte monoposto body with a tapered tail.  The dash panel is engine-turned with two gauges, and the steering wheel is a minimal steel arc.  The engine is a pre-1915 IoE Indian Big Twin, with 1000cc, that could be tuned to reach near 100mph in a motorcycle.  The chassis is welded up from square-tube steel, with presumably a very simple rear suspension (note the oval axle slots in the bodywork) and a solid axle with no differential (and chain drive?), while the front end has steering by rod and simple wrapped leaf-spring suspension on the solid axle.   The wheels are simple steel solids.  Nothing is known of the racing history of this machine, the bodywork and engine of this remarkable vehicle, and the history of Quarter Midget / Baby Car racing suggest this machine was built during the 1930s revival of the sport.

The glory days of Midget racing in the 1930s, when the cars looked like mini-Indycars. This 1936 shot is from opening day at Aurora Speed Bowl in SoCal. [Betty Lou Gaeng]
This history of Quarter Midgets goes back to the 'Teens, with Baby Car racing. These were replicas of famous Grand Prix racers of the era, powered by motorcycle engines of single- and V-twin configuration, and were used in demonstration racing to support races for larger cars, or as part of a traveling carnival.  The first Baby Car races were held in the Los Angeles area at the Ascot Park and Culver City tracks ca.1914. The new sport took a very public turn at the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915 (the PPIE - read our 'Racing Around the Rainbow Scintillator' article here), where an automobile race track 3.85miles was constructed in what would become the Marina District, and into the Presidio military base.  PPIE racing included both a Vanderbilt Cup and a Grand Prize race, with supporting races by teams of Baby Cars for the Junior Vanderbilt and GP.  Aviator Art Smith commissioned the San Francisco Harley-Davidson dealer Dudley Perkins to build him a fleet of five cars, each with different bodywork that mimicked the Mercedes, Peugeot, Fiat, Stutz, and Marmon racers then vying for dominance on the GP circuit. Each car cost him $400, and was powered by a Harley-Davidson J-series V-twin motor, using a chain drive to each rear wheel and giving two speed: the cars were capable of over 60mph.  Midget car and Quarter Midget racing reared its head in SoCal again in the 1930s, withe first organized Midget race taking place in 1933 at Hughes Stadium in Los Angeles. It was such a success that Gilmore Stadium was built in 1934 as the first venue constructed solely for Midget Racing, which was open through 1950.  Quarter Midget racing grew alongside Midget racing, and continues to this day.

5. 1966 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide 'Willie's Latin Thing'

Everything you could ever want on your motorcycle, plus pink. I mean, this thing is amazing. [Mecum]
It's a first-year Harley-Davidson Shovelhead, and Willie's amazing vision.  When you ride with ‘Willie’s Latin Thing,’  you ride with Jesus, a whole lot of chrome, and an awesome pink shotgun metalflake paintjob. Naming all the customized parts added to this FLH Electra Glide would take pages, so feast your eyes on the chromed single-, double-, and triple-pitch chains used as décor, as well as multiple extra lights, horns (in matching pink), bags, and baubles. Many of the chromed pieces are modified Harley-Davidson accessories, like the front fender guards and Hollywood trim, the crash bars, saddlebags, top box, windscreen, spotlamps, and seat rail, but all of them have been personalized with extra chromed trim parts, typically welded-on chain.  Willie’s Latin thing is a glorious eyeful, and a rare machine, being a first-year FLH Shovelhead.

The chopper guys called them 'garbage wagons', but full-dress, customized Harley-Davidsons were an impressive way to express individuality in a repressive era. [The Vintagent Archive]
In 1965 Harley-Davidson introduced the Electra Glide, a Panhead FL with an electric starter, and thus began one of the most evocative names in motorcycle history.  With it, the Motor Co entered the fray with Japanese brands that had come standard with reliable electric starters since the late 1950s.  While no Japanese manufacturer built a motorcycle as large or as useful for touring in 1965, it did settle an important matter for consumers, who had come to expect increasing ease of use with their motorcycles.  A new generation that grew up learning to ride Hondas was disinclined to kickstart a 1200cc high-compression V-twin: eventually the kickstarter on the FL became vestigial, then disappeared entirely. The Electra Glide was a modern machine with no peers, bigger and stronger than any touring motorcycle on the market, a niche Harley-Davidson owned for a generation.   Willie’s Latin Thing shows how much riders loved to personalize their motorcycles, then as now, and is a truly remarkable motorcycle.

6. 1927 Brough Superior SS100 Pendine replica

A real stunner, and a part replica of one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever made, a 1927 Brough Superior SS100 Pendine. [Mecum]
One of the star motorcycles in the National Motorcycle Museum, this stunning 1927 Brough Superior Pendine replica is among the finest examples of the model in the world.  Built from a mix of old (forks, gearbox, wheels, and possibly the frame) and new (engine, fuel tank, fenders, etc) components, the complete machine was masterfully assembled with period-correct components to a standard that is rarely achieved by restorers of machines with full factory provenance.  The Brough Superior collector community has a well-established relationship with replica and semi-replica machines, as demand for early SS100s has long exceeded the supply of complete machines, and after nearly 100 years many engines without frames and vice-versa can be found scattered around the world.  The BS Owner’s Club recognizes and identifies such machines, with an understanding that a superb replica has significant value, especially when identified as such: in other words, they have their place in the Brough Superior community. The Pendine is the most desirable of all Brough Superior models, being the full-race version of the fastest production motorcycle in the world of the 1920s, the SS100, with each machine guaranteed to have been tested at the Brooklands autodrome at over 100mph, an enormous speed in 1924.  Factory-modified SS100s held the absolute World Speed Record many times in the 1920s and 30s, and road-going models were the most expensive motorcycles in the world as well, with the price of any Brough Superior model equal to or exceeding the price of a house in England at the time.  Despite their specification with a full-race J.A.P. KTOR or JTOR motor, the SS100 was a luxury motorcycle, built to the highest standards, with internal parts bought in to George Brough’s specifications.  These were not ‘parts bin specials’: all Brough Superior Sturmey-Archer gearboxes used special steels and bearings that were more expensive than other makes used, and their J.A.P. motors used knife-and-fork connecting rods and special steel shafts not available to other manufacturers.  The net result was a motorcycle that was not merely faster than anything else, but more durable and reliable as well, as their internal parts were simply stronger.  George Brough had a very close relationship with his suppliers, such as Bert LeVack, development director at J.A.P. in the 1920s, who often raced Brough Superiors himself.

Brough Superior racers were often all-nickel plated for show, and to show any cracks in the metal. [The Vintagent Archive]
The Pendine model is named after Pendine Sands in Wales, a beach with a dramatic tidal exposure, making it possible for several hours each day to make high-speed runs for miles on wet sand.  Circuit races were also held on Pendine, and George Brough claimed the name for his racing model after many race wins there, much like LeMans, Daytona or Bonneville became motorcycle names in later decades.  The 1927 Brough Superior catalog explained, “Every SS100 Pending model is guaranteed to have been timed to exceed 110mph before delivery to the customer.”  No other motorcycle in the world could even approach such a speed in 1927, let alone one that was fully street legal, as lights were not yet required on motorcycles… and several Pendines were ordered with lights anyway, as who doesn’t want to be seen on the world’s fastest motorcycle?  The following year George Brough himself proved his point by recording 130.6mph on a factory Pendine at the Arpajon straight near Monthléry, making him the fastest motorcyclist in the world, on the fastest bike anywhere. The specification on this 1927 Pendine is comprehensive: a highly tuned J.A.P. KTOR 998cc motor, fed by a Lucas racing magneto and breathing through a twin-float Binks carburetor, and exiting through twin ‘carbjectors’, the free-flowing mufflers Brough invented. The 8” brakes are Enfield, the forks are leaking link Castle, and the sheet metal is entirely nickel-plated and has acquired the perfect patina.  This is an achingly beautiful motorcycle, and the Pendine has long sat atop any list of world’s best motorcycle designs, with George Brough hailed as a master stylist on par with the likes of Edward Turner (Triumph) and Pierre Terreblanche (Ducati, Bimota) as the greatest motorcycle designers in history.  Brough rode and raced what he built, winning dozens of sprints and trials, and personally taking the World’s Fastest title.  How does a Pendine hold up today?  I rode a 1925 SS100 replica across the USA in the 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Rally, regularly passed other competitors at 90mph: the SS100 made all 3600+ miles on the rally, and was by far the fastest machine.  Superior indeed.

7. 1956 Rumi Formichino Scooter

The 1956 Rumi Formichino has amazing specs - all aluminum everything, case and extruded and forged. The coolest scooter ever made. [Mecum]
The mighty Ant!  Rumi was a small Italian motorcycle manufacturer known for their laid-down twin-cylinder two-stroke, built to the highest standards, with a reputation for excellence and a proven track record of racing wins. Officine Fonderie Rumi was founded by Donnino Rumi in 1914 to build textile manufacturing machinery, servicing Italy's burgeoning fashion industry.  Rumi switched gears during WW2, as demand from the Italian military for precision machinery found them building midget two-man submarines and torpedos for the war effort: this gave rise to the company’s distinctive ‘anchor’ logo. Immediately after WW2, Rumi survived by taking general engineering work, and quickly chose to build motorcycles using the manufacturing skills they’d developed. In 1949 Rumi unveiled a parallel-twin two-stroke motor of 125cc, with a 180degree crankshaft, unit-construction crankcases, and a 4-speed gearbox. The original Rumis used cast-iron cylinder barrels, while their frames had plunger rear suspension with undamped telescopic forks up front, and wheels with full-width aluminum hubs. The engine was slung beneath the frame tubes, and held at two points, and the chassis handled very well, while the engine produced enough power for the factory to make its mark in competition. Rumi won the Liége-Milano-Liége long distance race in 1954, and took the first eight places in the 1954 Swiss GP. They also won the ISDT Team Prize in 1954 with 3 Gold medals, and many more long-distance races, enduros, and Grands Prix.

The mighty ant kicking ass in the Bol d'Or in the 1950s: sorry Vespa and Lambretta, you were outclassed. [The Vintagent Archive]
In 1952 Rumi introduced the ultimate scooter, the Formichino (little ant) with a cast-aluminum frame, bodywork, handlebars, and wheel rims - an outrageous and unique spec for a scooter, or any two-wheeled vehicle. The Formichino is perhaps the most distinctive and collectable of all scooters, for its unique design, good looks, and excellent performance: being a Rumi, a Formichino won its class in the 24-hour Bol d’Or race for three years in succession in the 1950s!   The National Motorcycle Museum has a lot more scooters to choose from - American, European, and Japanese - but the Formichino is my favorite as it's so rare and so cool.

8. 'Dragon Bike' from The Wild Angels

The Dragon Bike from the 1966 film 'The Wild Angels'. [Mecum]
To fans of custom motorcycle history, the ‘Dragon Bike’ from the 1966 film The Wild Angels is iconic, and one of the best examples of real-world chopper design used in a film.  Two years before Easy Rider, Peter Fonda starred as 'Heavenly Blues' in this Roger Corman B-movie, with Nancy Sinatra as his girlfriend Mike, plus an array of future stars: Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, and Michael J. Pollard.  The film was the first time Peter Fonda was associated with motorcycle culture, and featured actual members of the Hells Angels MC as supporting cast members and fellow riders.  Memorable scenes from the film include a sermon delivered by Fonda from a commandeered pulpit, where he utters the immortal lines, “We wanna be free, and not be hassled by the man!”  Wild Angels made Peter Fonda a counterculture movie star, and paved the way for Easy Rider.

Peter Fonda being directed by Roger Corman, with
Assistant Director Peter Bogdonavich watching. The Dragon Bike is iconic. [API press photo]
This is the original Dragon Bike, which sat for years in obscurity, but was pulled back into the limelight by Mil Blair, co-founder of Easyriders magazine, who sold the machine to John Parham.  The Dragon Bike was built specially for The Wild Angels, and was carefully authenticated and painstakingly refurbished. Care was given not to over-restore the machine, and what you see are mostly original finishes, chrome and paint.  It's a rare instance of a famous movie chopper actually surviving into the present day, unlike the Easy Rider choppers, which were stolen and broken up, or other bikes that simply disappeared.  This is the real deal, and one for a deep-pockets memorabilia collector.  (Est. $100-120k: reserve auction)

9. 1940 Indian Model 640 Sport Scout racer

'Little Poison', the 1940 Indian Sport Scout Class C racer. [Mecum]
In the 1940s, spectators at a fairgrounds half-mile tracks flocked to see bikes like this Indian Sport Scout battling it out with Harley-Davidson WR 45s.  The national championships in AMA Class C racing became the most important racing series in the USA in 1933, when the Depression caused a re-think on how to attract viewers to racing, and how to revive sales. Class C racing demanded the race bikes were based on serial production 750cc sidevalve bikes or 500cc OHV machines: luckily Indian already had the Scout, and Harley-Davidson the W series, so a good fight was guaranteed. This 1940 Indian Model 640 Sport Scout is a good example of an AMA Class C racer.  The new class quickly became very popular, with dealers and private owner/mechanics taking the Indian vs Harley-Davidson wars to the dirt track ovals, TTs and hill climbing events.

The legendary Bobby Hill riding with the AMA #1 plate in 1951/2 on a ten-year old Indian Sport Scout. [Jerry Hatfield Archive]

Both Harley-Davidson and Indian were ready for the introduction of the Class C racing season. The Sport Scout, introduced in 1934, was a strong contender in the series for 20 years, particularly in the early 1950s with the Indian wrecking crew of Bobby Hill, Bill Tuman and Ernie Beckman, who shared several National Championship titles, and swapped the AMA No.1 plate over a four-year period.
The Indian Sport Scout used a 42-degree V-Twin sidevalve, 45ci (745 cc) motor, and was in production for nine years (1934 to 1942). Indian’s chief engineer and designer, Charles B. Franklin, responsible for the creation of the Scout (1919), Chief (1922) and Scout Pony (1932), roughed-out in sketch form the Sport Scout before his death aged 52, on October 19, 1932. Diverging from Scout’s long running cradled-framed and leaf-spring fork motorcycle (1920 through 1933) the first Sport Scout, similar to the Scout Pony, used a keystone rigid frame through 1940, then used a plunger rear suspension for 1941-42, with a girder fork used on all years. The two-piece frame consisted of a front downtube and rear fork bolted to the engine/transmission unit by front and rear mounting plates. Lack of a frame under the motor/transmission maximized ground clearance during banking and the girder fork offer more front-end travel, making the Sport Scout a good motorcycle for dirt track racing. Tuner alterations to this bike include a BTE twist grip throttle, a modified foot clutch, shortened hand shifter, a special foot-peg set up, a solo/pillion seat setup and a Splitdorf magneto in place of the original battery ignition.  It's interesting to mention that Indian stopped producing this model in 1942, and all the wins in the 1950s were taken on Sport Scouts that were at least 10 years old!  It's a legendary machine, and not easy to find today.

10. 1928 Husqvarna Model 180 V-twin

A superbly restored 1928 Husqarna 550cc V-twin: built like a Swedish sword. [Mecum]
Husqvarnas from the 1920s?  Yep, the ancient company has the deepest roots of any motorcycle brand, founded in Huskvarna, Sweden as the royal munitions factory back in 1689.  The company was first privatized in 1757 as Husqvarna, and began producing motorcycles in 1903 – the same year as a certain American megabrand.  They built solid, well-engineered machines and soon became the largest motorcycle builder in Scandinavia, with a large range of singles and V-twin, sidevalve and OHV, and a string of very successful racing bikes too. Husqvarna’s most popular model of the 1920s was their unique 550cc V-twin designed and built in-house as the first all-Husqvarna motorcycle - previously they'd used some bought-in components. Husqvarna’s 550cc V-twin line was introduced in 1915 with the Model 150, using sidevalve motors that were remarkably reliable and built for Swedish conditions in all weathers, which earned them great affection in their native land.  They were also raced, for example when the Model 180 was released in 1926, a trio competed in the 24-hour endurance ’Midvinterävlingen’, where only two Husqvarna 180s were left running at the end of the race!  The Model 180 had a caged roller big-end and a knife-and-fork connecting rod, which made the engine slimmer as the cylinders no longer needed to be offset.  The crankshaft bearings were force-fed by an oil pump, which increased reliablity, as did the doubled-up roller bearings on the drive side of the crankcase.  The Model 180 had a two inch lower saddle height than its predecessor, and weight was trimmed by removing the heavy valance on the fenders, as well as, on some models, a special fabric/rubber footboard replacing cast items.  Electric light was an option, with full Bosch generator, magneto, and handsome 8” headlamp.  A special hand pump on the side of the fuel tank lubricated the drive chain!

Yngve Ericsson in the 1927 ISDT with a factory-prepped Husqvarna Model 180. [Dane Glanz]
The Model 180 was a very light v-twin at 293lbs, and with an American Schebler HX159 carburetor, performance was lively.  With a lower saddle height on the 1927 models, the handling was good, as the motor was set slightly forward of the center of the motorcycle, an ideal location for a rigid-frame machine with sporting pretensions.  The paint scheme was a handsome Swedish blue surrounded by black panels and chassis paint.  Looking for a different V-twin than the usual?  This is a pretty darn cool bike.

 

 

 

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

2 Million Miles with Velocettes

The Velocette Owners Club of North America is notorious among one-make motorcycle clubs for its cheek in actually riding their old motorcycles for long distances every year, just for the hell of it.  Their annual Summer Rally has been a calendar fixture for 40 years now, with the first ride in BC Canada dubbed the 'submarine rally' because it rained so hard every single day.  The 40th anniversary of that first ride was named the 2 Million Mile Rally, as an approximation of the total miles ridden for the participating Velocettes over that span.  As a risky possible repeat of the first rally, this year's ride was organized on Vancouver Island, but was an example of how much the global climate has shifted, with the weather sunny and warm, the province in deep drought, and Canada's central forestlands on fire since May.  Luckily the wind blows eastward from the Pacific coast, so while the Midwest and East Coast are reading Canada's smoke signals, and the air on Vancouver Island was clear.

Indigenous carved totem poles were rare on our route, but are always worth examining. Debbie Macdonald, Paul d'Orléans, JP Defaut, Kim Young, and Melissa Guerrero at Hyde Creek. [Leanna Abulencia-Shapli]
The demographics of the rally ridership skewed under-60 for the first time in years, and a fresh wave of relative youngsters responded to the clarion call of a fun week on old bikes in a beautiful place, with the route and venues sorted, and helpful elders around to pitch in.  A spirit of mutual aid prevailed, with clutch cables, spark plugs, tools, carburetor jets, and advice shared freely.  Among the 40-odd bikes present, only one was truly hors de combat by the end of the week, with a suspected broken crank, but the Thruxton in question was newish to the owner, who has a hard right hand, but suspected a hasty build by the previous owner.  Riding a Thruxton to the limit is generally no cause for concern (hey, a Venom was the first motorcycle to do 100mph for 24hours, in 1961), as this is exactly how I've treated my own bike - VMT260 'Courgette' -  but it's still disappointing, and crankshaft demons rearing their ugly heads on a Velo rally are very rare...hence the willingness of so many to risk high mileages.

Velocette Rally veteran Larry Luce with his 1933 MOV 250cc, a rare first-year example of a rare model, that he intends to ride on the Cannonball this September. [Paul d'Orléans]
I rode my 1960 Venom Clubman this year, which has sat in my warehouse since the last Wheels & Waves California rally I organized in 2018.  Inconceivable! It took many hours to bring that neglected beauty to full, smooth functionality, making sure nothing was going to fall off, and nothing did. In fact, mechanically my week was perfectly boring, with only a change of main jet on my TT carburetor required, as she was running too rich at 70mph, and getting hot.  My magneto's condenser is slowly failing, just as it was failing five years ago, with hot kickstarts a burden...but blessedly Vancouver Island is hilly, and a quick rolling bump fired her up every time.  OK, the mag is coming off next week for a refurbish, finally.

Terrible place, Vancouver Island. Paul d'Orléans' 1960 Venom Clubman beside Campbell Lake in Strathcona Provincial Park. [Paul d'Orléans]
The 2 Million Mile Rally was notable for two firsts: there were more rigid-frame Velocette ridden than swingarm-frame bikes, and there were more women riders (seven total) than at any previous rally.  These are both Very Good Things...and interestingly related, as four women rode rigid MSS, MAC, and KSS models.  The oldest bike on the rally was, once again, Kim Young's 1930 350cc KSS, a rally veteran and a surprisingly fast tourer for a 93-year old machine.  Next oldest was Larry Luce's 1933 250cc MOV, which he plans to ride on the Motorcycle Cannonball in September, this 1000-mile, 5-day rally being a shake-down cruise for that 3600-mile, 17-day rally.  The MOV did just fine, and I have no doubt Larry will conquer the USA with the little gem.

Stopping for a swim in the ocean, because it's summer, dammit. JP Defaut's Viper blocks the path, for a moment, but we braved a dip in the Pacific. Refreshing! Mark Stephensin, Simon Peters, and Derek Dorresteyn crowd the dock. [Paul d'Orléans]
Most of the rigid bikes present would fall into the bob-job category, with 1940s MSS (500cc) and MAC (350cc) models sporting no front fender, an abbreviated rear fender, cowhorn handlebars, and no muffler at all, which is exactly as they were ridden in the 1940s and 50s.  In fact, at least one of the bikes was an original barn-find bob-job, the rest being of more recent construction and mild customization.  They all did just fine on the rally, although one MSS proved a bit oily on its first proper 1k mile test run...sumping issues, traceable back to one or the other known causes.  There are few tricks a Velo can play that haven't been solved in the past 2 million miles, helpful tips having been collected in xerox binders and on email tech forums for decades.  Still, a couple of the first-time rallyists remarked on the daily maintenance required for their borrowed steeds...which was usually due to the bikes being recently built, and the bugs still making their way out into the open.  An old hack like my 25-year owned Venom gave no particular trouble, the mandatory look-over after the day's ride taking 15 minutes or so, which is typical for Velocettes in regular use.

Witch queen Kim Young with her 1930 KSS, and an ally. [Paul d'Orléans]
Vancouver Island is enormous - about 500 miles long, with a limited number of roads exploring the various mountains, bays, and fjords.  It's a dramatic landscape, as lovely meadows or farms had mountains as a backdrop, a few of which still held snow.  Finding 'technical' roads was a matter of getting off the A roads and onto dead-end runs past lakes and into mountains, which meant a two-way ride through the twisties.  Our rigid riders had a time of it, with the number of frost heaves, cracks, and road slumps corresponding exactly to the level of interest a road offered to a sporting rider. But, at the end of those roads, one never knew what was in store: a few of our gang spotted a couple of sea planes docked at the turnaround point of our day, and inquired about a ride, which was offered and quickly accepted, for a modest fee.   They shortly discovered how little of the island is accessible by road, with abandoned indigenous villages and farms surrounded by old-growth forests, reachable only by boat, and currently unsustainable.  But, stunning.

If you see a seaplane, take it. Blaise Descollonges, Kim Young, Mark Stephenson, Derek Dorresteyn, Scottie Sharpe. [Blaise Descollonges]
The motorbikes are fun and we love them, but of course what matters is the people, and one does make friends over a week of riding, or many years of such weeks.  This was my 34th year of rallying, and I've organized 8 of them, a responsibility afforded the title of President of the club.  This year the organizer of that first rally 40 years ago, Cory Padula, reprised his role, and we had a superb time of it.  Our next President is The Vintagent's own Kim Young, who is already scouting roads in Idaho for July 2024.  I remain as Chairman, with a mandate to increase our membership and bring younger riders in, which seems to be happening. It's a funny thing to do, tour with an old machine on an extended rally, but the idea has definitely spread, with the Australian Velocette club taking up the gauntlet for 20 years now, and for 13 years now, the Cannonball and Chase cross-country vintage rallies.  Apparently we're not the only ones who think this is exactly the sort of madness required today.  Long may it wave.

The Vintagent's 'Mistress of Minutiae', Debbie Macdonald, rode the 350cc MAC that her husband had purchased in high school, but had lain in pieces for decades. After 33 years of joining the ride on 'other' bikes, she rode the whole week on the MAC for the first time. Brava! [Paul d'Orléans]
Lots of rivers means lots of bridges... [Paul d'Orléans]
Scottie Sharpe is a BMW restorer in the California Gold Country, so naturally brought along an R69S for the rally. You don't have to ride a Velocette to ride the rally...[Paul d'Orléans]
Lunch stop in Gold River. The scenery though...simply amazing. [Paul d'Orléans]
We spotted many dragsters headed towards Port McNeil, and found them at the local airport. Wade Lahaise is known for wheelying his 59 Chevy pickup. [Paul d'Orléans]
Though I've invited him for 35 years to join the Velo rally, it took this long for Derek Dorresteyn to join the fray on his BSA DBD34 Gold Star. Derek is motorcycle royalty; his father and uncle both raced in the 50s/60s, his uncle was on the cover of issued #1 of Cycle World and is in the AMA Hall of Fame. After racing speedway professionally, Derek had a fabrication shop (Moss Machine) and taught at university, then founded Alta Motors, and now is CTO at Damon Motorcycles. [Blaise Descollanges]
At the end of the day, what do you want but a martini offered by a beautiful comrade? Leanna Abulencia-Shapli brought the kit, and had time for mixology as she rode a vintage Honda SL350 on the rally. Shaken, not stirred. [Blaise Descollanges]
This 1970 Thruxton was a one-owner machine until this gent persuaded him to part with it. Original everything, and a solid runner, as you would expect. [Paul d'Orléans]
Like dad, like daughter. Tony and Maddie Macneill joined us on vintage Japanese machines: a Honda CBX and Yamaha XS650 Special. [Paul d'Orléans]
Other riders, other styles. Adam Cecchini on his Bimota DB1 aviated half the rally, and was only pulled over twice! "$85 - it was worth it." Indeed. [Blaise Descollanges]
Engine room of the littlest Velocette: Larry Luces' 1933 MOV 250cc, the first year model for pushrod Velocettes. "It was cosmetically as you see it, but internally it was totally worn out," Larry explained.  Who better than to bring it back to life?  Note the oiling mods on the pushrod tube: "I brought the oiling system up to the last iteration of the MOV, so it drains the valve cups." [Paul d'Orléans]
Melissa Guerrero aboard Carl Greenlund's 1948 MSS bob-job with stock Dowty Oleomatic air forks (upside down!). Carl built Melissa's MSS too, and it was oiling up, so they swapped bikes to sort the issue on the road. [Paul d'Orléans]
Paul d'Orléans painted this jacket in 1985, after purchasing it from Derek Dorresteyn when he worked at Cycle Gear... Still fits! Scuffing on the 'e' is from his sole getoff on a swingarm Velocette, in Montana 2008, when a trapped front brake led to a high-side crash. Same Venom Clubman, same rider, different brake cable (and headlamp...). [Paul d'Orléans]
Blaise Descollanges' Thruxton on a lonely road, definitely off-route, but taking time to enjoy the scenery. [Blaise Descollanges]
Many rivers to cross. The variety of bridges was intriguing: this one connected two gravel roads over a gorgeous green river. [Paul d'Orléans]
The Rigid Ladies: Debbie MacDonald, Kim Young, Melissa Guerrero. [Paul d'Orléans]
Such a pretty motor: the MkII KSS overhead-camshaft, built from 1935-1948. [Paul d'Orléans]
Farkin' windy on the sea that day, but strangely calm one block inland. Blaise demonstrates. [Blaise Descollonges]
Telegraph Bay, and old logging town turned into a hotel: every cabin is now a room! A lovely spot for whale watching and kayaking. [Blaise Descollanges]
The OGs...John Ray and Cory Padula were the only veterans of the Submarine Rally 40 years ago who were present at this year's ride, although several OGs are still active in the club. Note a couple of the perennial prizes: play vintage games, get vintage prizes! The Eddie Arnold Trophy is for the most meritorious performance in the rally, and was given to Russell Blow. The 'Phishtail Phil' award for services to the Club was given to Carl Greenlund for providing several riders with bikes this year, all rigid-frame specials. [Paul d'Orleans]
...aand then there's the Crock of Shit award, given by the Chairman (yours truly) to a worthy recipient, whose bike had the most spectacular failure. This year, the only bike with such was Blaise Descollonges' Thruxton, which quickly developed 1/4" of play in its big end, and sounded like a mechanical hammer. Ouch. He's already pulled the crank! [Kim Young]
First-time rallyist Melissa Guerrero was game to ride a rigid '48 MSS all week, but liked the idea of something faster too...like a Thruxton. [Blaise Descollanges]
Carl Greenlund's 1939 MSS 500cc, which he discovered in this bob-job condition, with no front fender, an abbreviated rear fender with Crocker taillight, Bates solo seat, and no muffler. How they rode them in the day. [Paul d'Orléans]
How to haul trees: rusting examples of forestry from earlier in the 20th Century: a 1950s Ford pickup flanked by a solid-tire tractor and steam engine sledge used to pull down trees, six at a time, using steel cables. The sledge was towed to a convenient location, and the trees were trimmed after felling and dragged to the nearest river for transport, which was never far away. Regardless these 'modern' forestry methods, quite a bit of Vancouver Island retains its old-growth forests, in remoter regions. [Paul d'Orléans]
 

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

The 'Lost' Indian Four

Lost in the shuffle: that's the only explanation for the lack of attention given the penultimate Indian four - dubbed the Model 44X -  in the history books on Indian 'motocycles'.  Much better known is the post-war 'Torque Four', introduced in 1946 (but never manufactured), which is identified as part of the effort to streamline the manufacture of Indians under new owner Ralph B. Rogers. As the Torque Four was kin to the Indian singles and parallel twins produced under Rogers' tenure (1945-53), it represented the ultimate expression of the modular manufacturing concept he championed.  The Torque Four is known to have been primarily the work of Indian designer George 'Briggs' Weaver, designed when he worked with the Torque Corporation during WW2, after leaving Indian during the war.  What's less known is that Weaver designed, alongside Indian owner E. Paul duPont, an earlier four, dubbed the 44X, starting in the late 1930s, that was intended to be produced along the same principals as the Torque Four and post-war Indian lightweight lineup: as a modular series of singles, twins, and fours that used common components for more inexpensive production.   Thus, the original concept and prototypes for the modular Indian lineup was dreamed up by E. Paul duPont and his team in the 1930s, developed by Briggs Weaver, and ultimately produced under Rogers in the late 1940s.

E. Paul duPont with his personal Indian 841 with its transverse V-twin engine that Moto Guzzi would later popularize. This was apparently his favorite motorcycle and daily rider in the 1940s. [Jerry Hatfield Archive]
As noted in the following statement from Stephen duPont, the design inspiration for these new modular Indians came from the Future, in the form of Triumph's lightweight parallel twins and BMW's innovative flat twins, which were purchased and examined by Indian in 1938.  E. Paul duPont understood that the Indian lineup of heavy sidevalve V-twins was outdated, and that lighter machines with better performance would prove very popular.  E. Paul duPont had purchased Indian in 1930 to save it (and his own significant investment in the company) from bankruptcy.  Briggs Weaver had been the body stylist for duPont automobiles, but was hired as chief designer at Indian when duPont closed up his four-wheel production simultaneous with his purchase of Indian.  Weaver radically transformed Indian designs, and created the most beautiful models of all; the Art Deco-inspired line of the mid-1930s, and the deep-skirted Indians of 1940, an iconic design that has forever after been associated with Indian.

Briggs Weaver's son George B. Weaver with his superb 1936 Maserati V8RI, likely at Thompson Speedway in CT, in the early 1950s. The Maserati is one of four built, with a 4.8L V-8 motor and independent suspension on all four wheels - a very advanced car for the 1930s. All four V8RIs competed in the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup races, and all remained in the USA for many years. Briggs Weaver certainly knew how to enjoy life! After retiring from Indian, he took a job with Briggs Cunningham, and supervised construction of Cunningham's racers from 1950-55, and took them to LeMans. A remarkable career! [Audrain Automobile Museum]
The evolution of the Indian 44X is explained fully in the following statement from Stephen duPont (son of E. Paul duPont), who worked in the Experimental Department at Indian Motocycles when he came of age...which probably saved him from military service. Stephen duPont was born in 1915, and joined Indian with several of his brothers when his father took over the company; all were dedicated gearheads on two and four wheels, and with airplanes as well.  Stephen had an insider's knowledge at the Indian Experimental Department, and knew all the principals involved, so is a reliable source for the story he tells about the creation of the 'lost' Indian 44X.

Stephen duPont at an aircraft club meeting (the National Soaring Club) in the 1950s. [National Soaring Club]
Notes on the Indian 44X, by Stephen duPont (1990):

"In the late 1930s E. Paul duPont, then President and Chairman of the Board of Indian Motocycle Co in Springfield MA (notice the spelling Motocycle) initiated a plan for a new line of motorcycles.  The aim was to come out with a line of motorcycle which would simplify the manufacture of engines and frames.  An illustration of the problem is that the 45 cubic inch Scout and the 74 cubit inch Chief models each used a pair of cylinders that were not alike, and were different for each engine and the valve gear was different for each cylinder, in that each engine used four different rocker arm forgings.  The connecting rods were a fork and blade rod and different for each engine.  The Indian four of course had totally different valve gear and cylinders and pistons and roads compared to the already mentioned twins.  The frames, brakes etc. were also different from model to model.

Briggs Weaver's 1941 patent drawing for the first iteration of a modular Indian four-cylinder motorcycle, with Indian leaf-spring forks, shaft drive, and plunger rear suspension (taken from the BMW R51). [Jerry Hatfield Archive]
The plan was to use a four, a twin, and a single cylinder line using similar engine and transmission and chassis parts where possible.  It is important to know that the company had procured two of the world's best motorcycles of the time, and studied them carefully.  They were the Triumph Tiger 100, the English motorcycle, and the BMW R-51, the shaft drive German motorcycle, both available in the late 1930s.  The Triumph engine and transmission were generally the idea source of the engine and transmission and brakes, and the BMW chassis was the idea source of the motorcycle frame and shaft drive configuration, with a large dash of E. Paul duPont and Briggs Weaver's ideas.  Weaver was a student of brakes and racing engines, and duPont, a very enthusiastic student of all things roadable, as well as engines.  He had designed the four cylinder engines of the first DuPont cars right after WW1, as well as a six-cylinder marine engine, a pair of which he had in his yacht 'Pythagoras'.  There were done in the early 1920s.  The DuPont Motors was 'merged' with the Indian Motocycle Co in about 1930, and three DuPont cars assembled in Springfield.

The 1943 Indian Four model 44X as actually constructed, and the only example of its kind. One other engine was built for testing purposes: both survive. Note the full-skirt Briggs Weaver front fender, slimmer rear fender, telescopic forks, chrome gas tank, and plunger rear suspension. The forks and chassis of this prototype were later used for the 841 military transverse V-twin. [Jerry Hatfield Archive]
The first and only of these new concept motorcycle models produced as prototypes was the four.  There were two complete engines built plus spares and onee complete motorcycle with one of the engines installed.  The other engine went onto the test dynamometer.  The writer of this note is Stephen duPont, who during the time that the prototypes of the new plan were constructed, was manager of the Experimental Department of the Indian Company.  The engines and motorcycle were assembled in the Experimental Department, and the parts had been mostly subcontracted out of the factory from the engineering department and the Experimental Department.  This was because some years earlier as a result of labor problems in the toolroom, the toolroom at Indian had been shut down and all tooling and prototype parts done outside.  Most of this was done at Mitchel's Tool Shop, Mitchel I believe having been the foreman of the Indian toolroom.

Carol duPont, wife of Stephen duPont, aboard the Indian 44X prototype circa 1944. Note the exhaust manifold with protective shield, the shaft drive, slim front fender, and what looks like a clear inspection cover on the gearbox. The front headlamp will be familiar to any early BMW owner...as will the rest of the chassis! [Stephen duPont archive]
As the parts of the Four Cylinder machine came into the factory, Allen Carter, who had been Service Manager of Mr DuPont's Dupont Motors in Wilmington came to work in Springfield and took over the management of the assembly of the motorcycle and much of the dynamometer testing and road testing, actually mostly under the eye of Mr. Paul duPont, but within the Experimental department. The writer of this historic note, Stephen duPont, E. Paul duPont's third son, actually ordered and followed up the outside manufacture of the castings of the engine, the patterns, the casting and machining of the crankcase, cylinders, transmission cases and so forth, most of which were done in the factory.  When the 841 military shaft drive machine came into being, much of the Four cylinder ideas were used.  The  frame, forks, brakes, shaft drive, transmission and so forth became parts of the 841 shaft drive army motorcycle, 1000 of which were built, also designed by Briggs Weaver under the constant association of E. Paul duPont. All of this detail design work was done single handed under the pencil of Briggs Weaver, who had been Mr. duPont's designer in the DuPont Motors in Wilmington and in Moore PA under the strong influence of Mr. Paul duPont.  The detail drawings were done under Weaver by Bob Powell, a young and very talented draftsman.

Stephen duPont in 1944 with the Indian 44X and his two daughters, Polly and Nancy. [Stephen duPont Archive]
At the end of World War II, the Indian Company was sold or merged into the Consolidated Diesel Company, Indian ceased to exist (a number of 74cu.in. 'Chiefs' were manufactured by some former Indian employees up untili about 1950 but it was not the old Indian corporation), and much of the material in the factory was sold.  The experimental material and the 'museum' located in the attic of the factory was all sold at auction in 1945. At the time this writer was in Germany as a Scientific Consultant of the US government studying the German Motorcycle Industry and small air cooled engines of that country. Otherwise I assure you these machines would not have been dispersed.  The four cylinder motorcycle ended up owned by a doctor in Brooklyn and was later modified to used a plunger fork, the '841' style girder fork having been replaced.

As a comparison, the Indian 'Torque Four' prototype of 1946, showing the successful modular engine design with four single-cylinder top ends and the same forks and fuel tank as the parallel twin models. The whole chassis is lighter and slimmer than the 44X. [Jerry Hatfield Archive]
Some years later Mr. Walter O'Conner of Agawam MA called Stephen duPont to say he had been offered the four cylinder Indian test engine for sale for $100, and did Stephen want it.  Yes he did and obtained the engine.  Walt O'cConner was a pilot and aircraft mechanic, with whom Stephen duPont had shared certain aviation activities (a Bellanca distributorship and a Cessna dealership).  O'Conner ran a small airport and seaplane base on the Connecticut River in Agawam and as a mechanic had maintained Stephen duPont's airplanes.  He had also worked at Indian during part of WWII in the Experimental Department and some years after that donated it to the Colonial Flying Corps Museum in Newgarden Flying Field in Toughkenamon PA."

A saddle design integrated with the fuel tank, patented by Stephen and Benjamin duPont while working at Indian. [USPTO]
Both the Model 44X and its test engine survive, and are coveted in private East Coast collections.  For more on the duPont family and its connections with motorcycling, read our article 'The Motorcycling duPonts'.

Note: The Stephen duPont transcript and several of his photos were sourced via the Jerry Hatfield Archive, which is being integrated into The Vintagent Archive.  Keep an eye out for more Indian history!

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

Sweet Savage DNA - A Father’s Day Story

By Catherine O'Connor

Angela Savage wishes she could turn back time. The posthumously born daughter of flat tracker turned Indy driver, David Earl “Swede” Savage, Jr. wore all black to this year’s Indianapolis 500. In the midst of stoked Memorial Day revelers cheering and screaming for their favorite Indy rivals, Angela did her best to cope, sitting in the stands with her 17- and 11-year-old sons. She often wears the Swiss-made Omega Speedmaster watch and her father’s wedding ring as an amulet to feel close to him.

“I kept staring at turn 4, knowing his spirit was there. I cried a lot, and just couldn’t stay for the whole race, just wishing I could have my dad back,” Savage said. Growing up she always felt lost and abandoned and so lonely. And Father’s Day won’t be easy.

Though daughter Angela never met her father Swede Savage, their grinning resemblance is startling. [Angela Savage]
Angela Savage’s late father, promising race driver Swede Savage, was a favorite to win the 1973 Indy 500, which was twice rescheduled due to rain-soaked track conditions, before he lost control on lap 59, resulting in one of the most violent, single-car crashes in Indy racing history. Angela’s mother, then six months pregnant, kept vigil at his bedside. But  33 days later, Swede, 26, died from his injuries. Condolences poured in from racing moguls like Gordon Johncock, Johnny Rutherford, and Roger Penske as well as film stars like Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Born in San Bernardino CA in 1946, Savage was a multi-sport high school standout, but was barred from playing high school football as a Senior as he'd accepted prize money from motorcycle racing.  He started out on go-karts, then quarter-midget racing, then motorcycles, where his talents shone as a two-time California scrambles champion as a teenager.  Here he's won a TT race on a stripped Harley-Davidson XLCH racer. [Savage family archive]

Born three months after her mother witnessed her father’s fatal crash, Angela Savage spent decades suffering crippling addiction and mental health challenges. What the younger Savage learned was that she was dealing with inter-utero, psycho-injury, a type of inherited trauma that can be passed down from a pregnant mother to her child. Mourning a bewildering sense of longing for the father she never met, Angela spent years struggling to reconcile the history and meaning of his death and life, painfully detangling herself from the unexplained, trans-generational life stress surrounding her Savage legacy.

But with the help of a group of endearing fans and IMS, (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) she had a chance encounter with Ted Woerner. He is an author and impassioned Indy fan who had heard about his hero, Savage’s crash, on the transistor radio he smuggled into his sixth-grade classroom. Their support enabled Angela to find the courage to finally visit the track which took her father’s life. ”It was like soul surgery,” Angela has said of her visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the fatal tragedy occurred 50 years ago.

With surfer boy good looks, San Bernardino native, Swede Savage took the motorcycle racing world then the car racing world by storm in the 1960’s. Here he poses on a Harley-Davidson KRTT road racer. [Savage family archive]

Together they collaborated to write Savage Angel: Death and Rebirth at the Indianapolis 500, a book that skillfully and candidly interweaves details of her life trauma and eventual healing, with revelations of a unique motorsports legacy. Among Savage’s memorabilia are news clips showing that Swede raced as an AMA Amateur in 1965 at the Springfield Mile. Revisiting the motorcycle track where he competed alongside contemporaries, Bart Markel, Dick Mann, Gary Nixon  and Eddie Wirth, to watch her first motorcycle race a couple years ago, in Springfield, lifted Angela. “I was blown away at my first flat track race. I just love it!” Angela said.

Her imagination must run to the 18-year-old Swede, the blonde hunk, the son of a prosperous veterinarian, a carefree rebel, traveling the flat track circuit, in the mid 1960’s. From Ascot to Daytona and state fair tracks across the Midwest, in bar-banging combat, Savage competed in AMA’s Expert class finishing among the top 20 riders in the nation, with a total of 24 career AMA wins.

Swede #74, one of the first to wear the full face Bell helmet, tries an outside pass on a competitor at Ascot Park, circa 1966. [Savage family archive]

Angela, who now works for Woerner’s Miles Ahead company in Indianapolis, can step into the past in the Savage suite exhibit room that has been created there. Shelves hold her father’s early race artifacts, his tattered leathers, steel shoe and images of the photogenic, beloved native son of San Bernardino. Recognized early for his innate riding performance talent, the original letter Savage signed for a short term deal with Evel Knievel to perform in his Stunt Show of Stars at Ascot Park in 1967, is framed in glass. Pages of emergent race accomplishment, in a “race resume” typed in 1969 by a young David Savage Jr. is but one curated clue in the historic archive Woerner has meticulously pieced together.

A wall of Swede’s 70’s vintage auto racing suits, are a neatly hung team of empty fabric onesies that brave, Indy drivers wore before the evolution to today’s  high-tech safety gear. On the wall, charred remains of his race car nose section with Swede’s race number 40, marred and scorched, steels a horribly devastating moment in time.

Swede became a father to his first daughter, Shelly, at age nineteen, and had two more children - one posthumously. [Savage family archive]

Woerner and Savage often meet motorsports fans who are intrigued by Savage’s story of evolution from two wheels to four, and the impact of his life ended too soon.  The California native, her husband and family relocated in 2018 to live in Indianapolis, the city where Angela’s father died. Angela’s message of healing and survival simply flows out. “I’m proud that the Savage family is still here, 50 years later. I want to tell my story, and his story.”

Swede Savage in the 1973 Indy 500, driving his red #40 STP-sponsored Eagle-Offenhauser prepared by master mechanic George Bignotti. [Savage family archive]

Buoyant and open to talk, Angela Savage along with documentarian Ted Woerner, who continues researching the life and times of Swede Savage, will be on hand at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Springfield Mile on Sept 2-3. There, auto racing fans’ eyes will pop, when they see Woerner’s freshly painted dayglow red #40 STP Oil Treatment Special Eagle-Offenhauser replica of Swede Savage’s STP race car, a special premiere feature at this year’s Springfield Mile.

Angela Savage produced more than 40 “Good News with Angela Savage” podcast episodes between 2016-2017. Here she interviews racing legend Mario Andretti, who started in the second row with her father in the 1973 Indianapolis 500. [Angela savage]
Angela is in her element at a recent SAVAGE ANGEL book signing. [Angela Savage]

Please check out  SAVAGE42.com for more info.

 

Historian and Journalist, Catherine OConnor looks at the past, present and future of motorsports with an eye for the human experience that brings us all closer. She has reported on women in supporting roles, the roots of the Springfield Mile, the DuQuoin Magic Mile, and a story in images of the Hogroast: When Honda Smoked Harley in the 1980s.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

'Brooklands George' - Conrad Leach

The Vintagent presents Brooklands George, a 2008 painting by Conrad Leach, 50x60", acrylic on canvas.  Commissioned by the late Dr. George Cohen ('Norton George'), and originally displayed at the Dunhill Drivers Club during the 2008 Goodwood Revival meeting.  Being sold on behalf of Sarah Cohen.  Price on request: contact us here.

Brooklands George, 2008. Acrylic on canvas, 50in w x 60in h

The paintings of Conrad Leach are iconic, because for years he has explored the imagery that creates icons.  'Brooklands George' (2008), while depicting a particular man, motorcycle, and location, is also timeless, featuring the shape of a machine built for speed, an evocative locale, and a hunched-over racer pushing the limits of speed and danger.  Leach's influences range from 20th Century movie posters and advertising, to art/historical references like Beggarstaff posters and Roy Lichtenstein's graphic blasts. His cool surface technique is contradicted by saturated colors and a strongly contrasting ground, plus the kinetic, magnetic appeal of his human and mechanical subjects.

Brooklands George on display at the Dunhill Drivers Club, 2008, beside Dr. George Cohen's 1927 Norton Model 18 racer and racing attire that inspired the commmission.

Conrad Leach is best known for his exploration of heroic imagery, from British racing vehicles (motorcycles, cars, planes) to contemporary Japanese pop stars and Ukiyo-e woodcuts. He's not a nostalgist, but responds on canvas to people, machines, and events from the past and present that resonate with our culture.  He explains , ‘So much is sexy from the interwar era! The Supermarine Schneider Trophy racer, Malcolm Campbell’s Bluebird, the Brough Superior ‘Works Scrapper’, are nearly forgotten today, but the aesthetics of the era are so pure and functional. This was pretty radical stuff back then, but my work has to be relevant now, as I’m not interested in recreating the past.  My painting technique is contemporary, even Pop, and attempts to create resonance between a viewer today and images from that era. To take an enormous bespoke object like the Bluebird onto Daytona beach in Florida and attempt to go faster than any human, that required an incredible train of thought, and I’m trying to get into the heads of those people.”

Conrad Leach in his then London studio in 2008.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

'Joe Craig: Making Norton Famous'

If any single person deserves credit for Norton's extraordinary decades of racing dominance from 1930 through the mid-1950s, it must be Joe Craig.  The de facto racing team manager for Norton under several owners, Craig at first successfully raced the factory product himself in the 1920s, then switched to the role of development engineer in 1930.  He held that position (despite a break from the company during WW2) through 1955, when postwar company owners Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) decided exotic factory specials could no longer be supported financially, and focussed on selling factory catalogued racers like the Norton Manx, AJS 7R, and Matchless G50 models, all of which were produced simultaneously under their corporate ownership.

Norton factory racer Jimmie Guthrie in 1936, after taking several world speed-distance records at the Montlhéry speed bowl: 117.161mph for 50 miles with the 500cc machine, and 107.669mph for 100km with a 350cc Norton. [Craig family archive]
Mick Duckworth has just published a paean to Norton's heyday: 'Joe Craig - Making Norton Famous', built from the collected photographic archive of the man himself, provided by surviving  members of the Craig family.   The archive has passed through many hands since Joe's 1957 death in a car accident, first with his son Des, then relatives and Norton enthusiasts who understood the value of the collection. Finally, Mick was tapped by Barry Stickland to do something with the photos, and has self-published a unique document: 218 pages of images from Joe Craig's career, with only six of them sourced outside the family archive - something of a dream for an author.

Joe Craig in 1929, aged 31, with an early OHC Norton 'Moore' racer with the 'cricket bat' engine. [W&G Baird]
Duckworth has told the story of Joe Craig's career in pictures, with a few separate essays, but most of the information is attached as context for the multitude of photos, which should delight any fan of Norton racing motorcycles from their earliest OHC CS1 racers of 1928, designed by Walter Moore, through their last experimental Type F outside-flywheel Manx of 1955, developed 25 years after Arthur Carroll and Joe Craig sat down to rectify the limitations of Moore's engine.

Joe Craig filling Jimmy Simpson's 350cc factory Norton at the 1934 Swiss Grand Prix. [Carl Jost / Berne State Archive]
We're a long time past Norton's 'golden age of racing', as Mick puts it, between 1930-38, when the International and Manx Grand Prix models won more than 70 Grands Prix and 10 European Championships.  Norton was a very small motorcycle company compared to Triumph, BSA, BMW, and DKW, yet its impact on racing was outsize, from taking the first Isle of Man TT win in 1907, to its total dominance of GP racing in the 1930s. Joe Craig gets much of the credit for this, and not just because of his motorcycles: he was a keen talent spotter, and a stern tactician, earning a reputation for being as 'Unapproachable' as the factory slogan.  Craig ran a tight ship, and wasn't known for the exuberance, for example, of his longtime racing star Stanley Woods.  But Mick Duckworth suggests there was a softer side to the man, especially towards his family and close friends, some of whom he includes in this book.

Mick Duckworth's latest, made almost entirely of Joe Craig's personal photos between the 1920s through 1950s. [Mick Duckworth]
There are definitely gems in the collection, including Craig's barbs at the nascent Vintage Motor Cycle Club in a March 1944 article in The Motorcycle: "I should like to make some attempt at breaking away from the present fashionable practice, which is becoming almost a vice, of rhapsodizing over ancient, so-called masterpieces.  This latter tendency may perhaps be partly attributable to Capt. JJ Hall's activities [Hall was co-founder of the VMCC with 'Titch' Allen] - or should I say 'mania' - for collecting vintage machines.  If we are to consider the future seriously as regards improved motor cycles, then we must break new ground."  Consider, of course, that Craig was a development engineer in an extremely competitive industry, and in 1944 international 'competition' was quite literally lethal.

Every picture tells a story, don't it? At race meetings, Joe Craig invariably wore suit and tie, but at the 1935 German GP, he wore a casual workingman's outfit, and refused to raise his arm in the Nazi salute for 250cc race winner (DKW) Walfried Winkler, who looks sternly at Joe and 350cc race winner Walter Rusk (Norton of course), who likewise ignores hails to the Führer. This is a full four years before the UK went to war with Germany, and demonstrates exactly how Joe Craig felt about Fascism. [Schneider]
As a team boss and single-minded development engineer, Joe Craig had few peers.  While every other factory team explored multi-cylinder, supercharged racers in the 1930s, Norton remained steadfast in their evolution of the Manx, focusing on reliability and superb handling characteristics, which served them well in long-distance and road racing events.  At other venues, such as Monza, top speed was everything, and the Nortons were 20mph down on top speed compared to a Gilera four or BMW blown twin.  His decades-long development work on the Carroll engine design was rivaled in the industry only by, believe it or not, the race shop at Harley-Davidson, who kept their 750cc sidevalve racers competitive (domestically) from 1930 through 1969, with last iterations of the KRTT clocking in at 150mph on Daytona's banking, which was faster than the 750cc BSA/Triumph triples they were racing.

Harold Daniell at Donington Park in 1936, with Norton's first telescopic fork, about to take the lap record on an empty track as an exhibition between races: he lopped 7 seconds off the absolute record. Note the heavy bracing for the 7" diameter megaphone exhaust. Joe Craig looks nervous, with boxes of spark plugs at the ready. Top speed of this last SOHC factory racer was around 120mph, which was hoisted to 125+mph when the factory racers went to DOHC in 1938. [Dunlop archive]
Do you rhapsodize over ancient, so-called masterpieces?  Then surely you need this book!  You can order the book here.

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

East River Racing in the 1970s

By Sandy Hackney

The story of East River Racing began in September 1969, all because I had been seen risking life and limb on a ’69 Yamaha YDS3 (250cc) on a series of curvy roads in Durham, NC that Summer.  A mechanic at the local Yamaha shop said to me, “You should race.”  Huh?  But the seed was planted, and there was a AAMRR Labor Day race weekend coming up at VIR; it was several days long and featured one 5-hour race.  After exploring this some, I approached a local roofing company, who fashioned a set of expansion chambers to TD1 specs and I was set! Top speed was increased to about 110mph; damned thrilling.

The story of a crew thrown together by circumstances, who find they have much in common. Their racing team toolbox is still in use over 50 years later. [Sandy Hackney]
The race went as expected, with me unloading a time or two - once when my front brake cable snapped at the end of the front straight and I ran into a guy I was “outbraking.” I survived and we finished 4th in a gentle rain.  What next?! Obviously I needed a “real” racer, so I bought a used TD1C from the fabled Bob Sharp, who sadly perished a couple of years later on his bike. With the TD1C, I went off to race the 1970 Daytona 200.  Which was not a total success ... I damaged the crank by exceeding the red line (a few times) and it blew after one lap on that legendary tri-oval.
How it starts: take your road bike, add expansion chambers, and suddenly you're off to the races. Here with a Suzuki Titan, which was a superb production racer. Sandy Hackney and tuner Ginny Carlson camping at Daytona. [Sandy Hackney]
I moved to NYC and began to meet like-minded friends. Soon Bill Nelson, pictured by the door of our racing truck, joined me with his own TD1C. We began to campaign up and down the East Coast: Summit Point, Bridgehampton, VIR, Road Atlanta, Pocono Speedway, Daytona, Nelson Ledges, etc. In the 1971 edition of Daytona I placed in the middle of the field, won $40 and treated Bill and our 'tuners' to a prime rib dinner. Somewhere Bill got the idea of buying a 250 Ducati racer so he could, as he said, “Nip at my heels.” On his first ride he took off and, as the gearing was very tall, he picked up speed slowly. He accelerated to around 80mph and was going to shift, but found he was already in 4th! Top speed! A good idea for racing in the 1940s maybe. Back to Yamahas.
With the 'tuners' in the paddock, some of whom became wives! Bill Nelson and tuner Judy Bloom camping at Daytona. [Sandy Hackney]

Soon we had a core group made of several colleagues from the Respiratory Therapy Department at NYU Medical Center; we were all in our early 20s and in love with motorcycles. We rented a storefront on E. 12th between 1st and 2nd Ave, and East River Racing was truly born. Our truck was purchased by me from a NC monk for $80. A great deal. We added a couple of fine women as tuners - and more. One tuner is married to this day to Bill.

Sandy Hackney at speed on a Yamaha TD2, with its coveted large drum brakes, at Summit Point.[Sandy Hackney]
East River Racing survived for several years as we slowly came to our senses. One aficionado, Herr Snow, pictured at the far left by the truck had bought my TD1C. He fired it up at VIR, took off, and went possibly 1 mile through a couple of turns. I came upon him after he set it on the side of the truck and began walking back. “No more” and that was the end of his racing career. Recently, he told me he has 9 motorcycles in parts - and one runs!
Looks like an album cover of the period: the East River Racing crew circa 1970, with their 1950s Ford panel van modified as transporter. Note the NYC skyline in the background. Art Snow, Gerry Ebersole, Bill Nelson, Sandy Hackney, Tac Hostetter. [Sandy Hackney]
All of us survived. Bill had a fine career as a physician. Another was a mayor of a small Georgia town. One owns and runs a department store. The erstwhile racer Snow had a spell as a bartender on a Mississippi river boat. Today he plays bass for a funky band in San Antonio. Yours truly - 2nd from right by our truck - had a few poorly paid careers and a number of bouts in graduate study. Today, after giving up my Royal Enfield with a sidecar, I am settled down in the Paradise of upstate New York with my fantastic wife and a creaky 1984 BMW R80. Bravo to ERR! It was a lot of fun.
In the pits for a little pre-race prep at a verdant East Coast circuit. Bill Nelson tuning his TD2 at Virginia International Raceway. [Sandy Hackney]
A time never repeated, although the ERR crew remained friends over the decades. Bill Nelson at Daytona.[Sandy Hackney]

 

Sandy Hackney, "Pushing 80", is North Carolina born. Educated at Duke, he also studied theology at Saint John's University and musicology at NYU. Retired in upstate New York with his fantastic wife Ann, he concentrates his efforts on bicycle riding and for the last time trying to understand Wittgenstein.

by Paul d'Orléans

RIDE 70s Spring Raid Invitational

[Editor's note: Vintagent Contributor Fabio Affuso recently founded a moto-touring company with seasoned petrolhead Pietro Casadio Pirazzoli, RIDE 70s, using classic (mostly) Italian bikes to explore classic Italian landscapes.  For the inaugural tour of RIDE 70s, he chose Tuscany, and invited a dozen friends and journalists to test the bikes and his organizational skills. HIs Spring Raid Invitational last month coincided with my own tour of Italy on classic Italian bikes, otherwise this would be a first-hand ride report!]

Classic Italian bikes in a classic Tuscan landscape. [Fabio Affuso]
[Text and Photos by Fabio Affuso]

To celebrate the beginning of our RIDE 70s touring season in Italy, we were thrilled to guide an eclectic group of friends on an unforgettable expedition, a motorcycle journey across the picturesque landscapes of Tuscany.

Ah, Tuscany in Spring. Pointy Cypress trees, 500yo churches, roads winding through ancient villages, and green as can be this year, with fields in full bloom. Sweet Moto Guzzi V7 Sport too! [Fabio Affuso]
Our adventure began in the charming town of San Marino at our RIDE 70s clubhouse, where our group of riders first met their chosen bikes. Andrew from London, Ralf from Germany, Simon, Lesley and Cassie from the UK, Zubin from the UAE, Guillame from Spain, Nikos from Greece, Mike from Switzerland, and Svein from Norway added a delightful mix of personalities and nationalities to the journey. Some of them didn’t know each other yet, and this became a great opportunity to cement new real friendships. The anticipation was palpable as we geared up, excitedly preparing for the road ahead.
1970s Italian style is unbeatable! The apex era of Italian design, and the moment they led the world in motorcycle performance and styling. Not even ownership by Harley-Davidson could stop Aermacchi from building cool, light roadsters. [Fabio Affuso]
On the first day, we set out to gradually climb the twists up the Apennine Mountains, crossing into the enchanting region of Tuscany. The majestic landscapes unfolded before our eyes, with rolling hills adorned with vineyards and olive groves. Each twist and turn of the road revealed the beauty and diversity of the Chianti region.
Where the wine at? Well, all around actually: every town has a famous vintage attached - the drinkable kind. Chianti, Montepulciano, etc. Plus, olive trees everywhere, with every town having its own production and local flavor. [Fabio Affuso]
As the day drew to a close, we found ourselves in the captivating town of Montalcino, perched atop a hill. Its narrow cobblestone streets beckoned us to immerse ourselves in its timeless charm. We savoured the rich gastronomic delights of Tuscany, relishing hearty ribollita soup, succulent bistecca alla Fiorentina, and authentic pici pasta dressed with a flavorful wild boar ragù. Paired with the world-famous Brunello di Montalcino wine, the dining experience became a celebration of Tuscan flavours, traditions and new friendships.
The coast of Tuscany is off the chain beautiful, with picturesque villages clinging to steep hillsides, and fresh everything laid at your table. [Fabio Affuso]
The second day took us on a thrilling morning ride through the mezmerising Maremma Toscana. Crossing the waters to Giglio Island on a short ferry ride, we found ourselves in a coastal paradise, to lunch on a vineyard nestled on the edge of the island's cliff, offering panoramic views of the sparkling sea. It was the perfect spot to enjoy a delicious feast of grilled fish, freshly caught and expertly prepared for us by the land owner. The flavours of the sea, combined with the crispness of local Vermentino white wine, created an unforgettable culinary experience.
Oh, the sufferings of an old bike ride...and the rewards of the destination. When passing through so many famous wine towns, it's necessary to sample the local product. [Fabio Affuso]
As the sun began to set, we retreated to the apartments we had rented on the island by the sea. The evening came alive with laughter, music, and the clinking of glasses as we celebrated our journey. A feast of calamari fry up and seafood pasta, brimming with the bounty of the sea, took center stage together with copious amounts of beer, satisfying our taste buds and boosting our joyous conversations. The third day marked our return to the mainland, with a quick visit to the famous Saturnia hot springs along the way, with some soaking in the warm, rejuvenating and mineral-rich waters and others sipped beer at the bar.
What's all the fuss? Just an old town in a landscape...looks like Montepulciano - just another medieval walled city. [Fabio Affuso]

Continuing our journey reinvigorated, we arrived in the enchanting town of Montepulciano, renowned for its Renaissance architecture and exquisite wines. Here, we reveled in the rich flavors of Tuscan cuisine, savouring pecorino cheese, handmade pici pasta, and tender braised wild boar. The indulgence was accompanied by the velvety notes of Nobile di Montepulciano wine, adding a touch of elegance to our dining experience.

Stunning river gorges through those hills, and winding small roads. [Fabio Affuso]
On our final day, a couple of minor mechanical issues briefly interrupted our adventure and we had to recover one bike, but the tour went on to cross the breathtaking Furlo Gorge, a testament to nature's grandeur. As we rode back to San Marino, a mix of emotions filled the air—pride in our incredible journey, nostalgia for the beautiful moments shared, and excitement for the future adventures of our upcoming touring season.
Morini 3 1/2, the cactus, and a long view of the bay. Paradisical. [Fabio Affuso]
This motorcycle journey across Tuscany organized by RIDE 70s has brought us together in a unique and unforgettable way. It was a testament to the beauty of exploration, the thrill of riding, and the power of camaraderie. We were grateful for the opportunity to create lifelong memories and share our love for vintage motorcycles, captivating landscapes, and mouthwatering flavors. We can’t wait to take more groups on these exciting journeys across the best regions of Italy.
The inevitable campanile in every village of note, usually beside a 500yo church, in a 1000yo village. Tuscany in a nutshell. [Fabio Affuso]
Want to follow along on your phone?  Follow @ride70s_official on IG, and @fabioaffusophoto for more adventures in Italy.

Fabio Affuso is an Italian photographer based in London and his native Naples. He photographs motorsport and fashion around the globe. Find him at his website and Instagram.

by Paul d'Orléans

The Anamosa Broughs: a Superior Collection

It might have seemed the height of pretense to label a new motorcycle company ‘Superior’ in 1919, but George Brough had a vision of building the fastest, most elegant motorcycles in the world, and delivered.  His father William built well-respected motorcycles in Nottingham from the 1890s, and commenced his own brand – Brough – that earned a reputation for high quality.  Young George was the factory’s official competitor in road and off-road events, which he often won with panache.

 

Young George Brough in 1912 aboard a 500c Brough 3 1/2hp single, after winning the London-Edinburgh Challenge Cup for three years in succession on his father's machines. [The Vintagent Archive]

During WW1, George Brough envisioned manufacturing an ultimate high-performance motorcycle, but his father refused the concept, so George set up his own factory nearby. He assembled the best racing components from engine, gearbox, forks, and wheel manufacturers for his first model, the Mk 1 of 1919.  It used a J.A.P. racing OHV v-twin motor of 1000cc and a heavyweight Sturmey-Archer 3-speed gearbox, in a very robust frame with a long wheelbase, crowned with the world’s first round-nosed saddle fuel tank, resplendent in nickel plating, black paint, and gold pinstriping.  A friend suggested he call it ‘Brough Superior’, as it so clearly was, but father William was not amused, presuming the family product was then relegated to ‘Brough Inferior’.

George aboard Brough Superior #1 in 1919, a Mk1 model with J.A.P. '90 Bore' V-twin with vertical valves. [The Vintagent Archive]
Brough Superior wowed the world with the extraordinary beauty of his products, their superb build quality, and their world-leading speed and handling, creating a new category for the industry: the luxury sports motorcycle. George proved the point personally, regularly entering road trials and sprints on his sparkling machines (he'd take them by train to the nearest station to an event), and invariably winning.  He was the original designer-manufacturer-racer, and always cut quite a figure at events, dressed immaculately with his signature cocked cap (which he designed).  His machines were full of industry 'firsts', including the first round-nose 'saddle' tank, the first sidestand, the first dipping headlamp, twin headlamps, crash bars, and interconnected silencers.

George aboard 'Spit and Polish', the first sidevalve motorcycle to clock 100mph, and the prototype for his SS80 model. [The Vintagent Archive]
In 1924, with the introduction of his SS100 model, cemented his position as one of the most gifted vehicle designers in history.  The SS100 was the fastest road-legal production motorcycle in the world, with each example guaranteed to have been timed at 100mph on the Brooklands autodrome.  Every Brough Superior was bespoke; tailored to the customer’s desires and physique, with special accessories, state of engine tune, gearing, forks, wheel sizes, fuel tank size, colors, and plating all optional.  One SS100 ordered by an Indian maharajah was entirely silver plated, another came with an electric starter for an officer who’d lost a leg in WW1; anything was possible.

The superb 1927 Brough Superior Pendine replica coming up for sale at Mecum Auction's John Parham Estate Collection at the National Motorcycle Museum, Sep 6-9. [Mecum]
If one wanted a racing SS100, Brough Superior offered the Pendine model, identifiable by three straps securing the fuel tank.  The Pendine was named for Pendine Sands in Wales, the site of racing and record-breaking, where Broughs often took FTDs.   George himself became the fastest motorcyclist on earth in 1930 at Arpajon France, when his SS100 clocked just over 130mph on a one-way run.  A mechanical glitch meant no return run for an official record, but the point was made.  Brough Superiors took the absolute World Speed Record three times between 1924 and 1937, besting BMW, Zenith, and OEC supercharged racers in a golden era of international top-speed battles.  The 1927 SS100 Pendine racer replica in the John Parham collection is a prime example of the exquisite mix of beauty and speed for this model, and is correct in every way, from its AMAC twin-float track carburetor to its three-strap tank, the whole machine resplendent in nickel plating, which was the ne plus ultra style of late 1920s track racing.  It is the most beautiful motorcycle in the National Motorcycle Museum collection, and this machine is known around the world as a peerless construction built to an absolutely period-correct standard.

The 1937 Brough Superior SS80 with Matchless MX motor: a sophisticated sports tourer. [Mecum]
Brough Superior offered other models for those not requiring the world’s fastest, introducing the SS80 model in 1923, with a sidevalve J.A.P. 1000cc racing v-twin. George raced a factory tuned version called ‘Spit and Polish’, the first sidevalve motorcycle to exceed 100mph, on which he won 51 of 52 sprint races entered. The bike finished first in that last race, although George was not aboard, having fallen off shortly before the line on the gravel course, a crash that put an end to his racing career.

The driver's seat of the SS80 - a grand expanse of fuel tank with double fillers, and sophisticated controls. [Mecum]
The SS80 became over time the most popular Brough Superior, a perfect luxury sports-touring machine with superb handling, guaranteed 80+mph performance, and total reliability.  The 1937 SS80 from the John Parham collection is a second-series model using a Matchless 990cc V-twin, with internal parts (a stronger crankshaft and special mainshafts) and tuning (hotter cams and better breathing) specified by George, as well as stronger shafts, gears, and racing ratios in the 4-speed Sturmey-Archer gearbox.  It was amazing for a factory of such limited production (only 3048 built between 1919-40) to command special parts for their engines, gearboxes, and wheels, but that was pure Brough Superior, and suppliers were happy for the association.

The 1933 Brough Superior 11.50 at the National Motorcycle Museum: a potent motorcycle with 1100cc, and performance very near the SS100, and the sleeper of the Brough line. [Mecum]
As George Brough entered his 40s, after a life of racing (and crashing), he developed a new favorite in the Brough Superior model range: the 11.50, introduced in 1933, with a J.A.P. 1100cc 60deg sidevalve V-twin motor used by no other motorcycle manufacturer. While the specification might sound ordinary, the 11.50 is anything but, and with mild tuning proved to be (whisper it) as fast as the SS100, with greater low-down torque, and with its wider vee angle, even smoother.

The 11.50 is a comfortable machine, with wide handlebars, and shifting is rarely necessary once underway. [Mecum]
The 11.50 was the sleeper of the Brough Superior line, and a favorite of police forces in the UK and Canada for its ability to catch any car. I write with experience, having owned an 11.50 since 1989, and riding one across the USA in 2014 on the Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Rally, where it proved the fastest and best-handling machine among 100 competitors.  Fans of the Harley-Davidson EL ‘Knucklehead’ were served humble pie in a roll-on acceleration test in Colorado, where the 11.50 ridden two-up simply walked away from a beautifully restored EL.  Needless to say, prices for the 11.50 quickly doubled.  The 1933 11.50 in the National Motorcycle Museum is a superbly restored machine, just waiting for a new owner to discover what’s really behind the Brough Superior badge.  It’s a rare instance of a brand truly living up to its reputation, even the audacious boast of its name proving accurate: a Brough is Superior.

[Full disclosure: Mecum Auctions is a sponsor of The Vintagent]

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

A Chris Killip Retrospective

While photographer Chris Killip was known as a social documentarian, his upbringing on the Isle of Man meant it was inevitable he'd take a few extraordinary moto photos.  A legend in photographic circles, and a professor of visual and environmental studies at Harvard from 1991-2017, Killip was born in Douglas, where his parents owned the Highlander Pub - perhaps you've had a pint there on a trip to Mona's Isle?  Who knows what inspired the son of pubholders to take up a camera as a profession, but of course, a public house is a natural place to develop one's skills at social observation at a neutral distance: the parade of customers passing through are highlighted on a gimlet-lit stage, locals and tourists in a never-ending spectacle.

From Chris Killip's book 'Isle of Man 1971. [Chris Killip]
Killip left school at 16 to train as a hotel manager, work in his parents' pub, and photograph tourists at the beach.  He moved to London at 18 (1964) and worked as an apprentice commercial photographer under Adrian Flowers.  He soon went freelance, alternating work in the pub with photo gigs, but by 1969 he abandoned commercial photography to pursue his own work. He won fellowships from several local arts councils to photograph local cultures in the northeast of England, including Bury St Edmonds, Huddersfield, and Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, all of which were experiencing major economic changes as local industries (coal mining, shipbuilding, heavy industry) began to disappear in the 1970s and 80s.  As he explained in 2019, "I didn’t set out to be the photographer of the English de-Industrial Revolution. It happened all around me during the time I was photographing."

A secretary in the late 1970s, Tyneside. [Chris Killip]
Killip became one of the most important photographers of the 1970s and '80s, mingling with very 'local' communities around the UK that were left behind in a major global shift of Capital.  He immersed himself into the towns and people he photographed, and made deeply personal imagery of the Isle of Man, beaches, council estates, or in the mosh pit of a punk show.  He became a familiar figure at underground punk clubs in Gateshead in the 1980s, and captured the raw vitality of the scene in a manner only possible by a participant with camera in hand. He also documented the coal miners of Lynemouth, who, as he said, "had history done to them."

West End, Newcastle. Father and son.
From the project 'In Flagrante' 1973-1985. [Chris Killip]
Killip's breakthrough book collecting his photographic work in the northeast of England was published in 1988 as In Flagrante, with a text by art critic/theoretician John Berger and Sylvia Grant.  Shot on 4x5" black-and-white film, these portraits of Tyneside's working class communities are now recognized as among the most important visual records of 1980s Britain. Critic Robert Ayers called it "one of the greatest photography books ever published."

From his documentation of the punk scene in the northeast of England. [Chris Killip]
His photographic work documenting the Isle of Man TT Races date from 1971, and have only recently been published in a unique (and inexpensive - £6.70!) edition by Cafe Royal Books.  The collection is like no other TT photos I've seen: they feature none of the romance of racing, only its grittiness, its working class participants, and the dramatic changes to the 'biker' in the post-Easy Rider era.  Chris Killip kindly allowed me to include one of his photos in my most recent book 'Ton Up!', in the chapter about the 1970s (order a signed copy here!).  British motorcyclists of the 1960s were basically 'straight-edge', eschewing alcohol and drugs in order to keep their wits about them while riding fast.  By 1971, the rules had clearly changed, with the bikers aping American B-movie styles for their motorcycles and riding gear, and looking fairly wasted. In this era, the term 'Rocker' became synonymous with bikers on drugs with crappy choppers, and the old cafe racer vibe was long gone.

From 'Ton Up!' - a cafe racer BSA rider at Douglas, Isle of Man, in 1971. [Chris Killip]
Killip's books have been been recently published, including In Flagrante, and Cafe Royal sells a 5-volume set of their collaboration with the photographer over the past few years, before his death of cancer in 2020.   They include:  Isle of Man TT Races 1971, Huddersfield 1974, The Seaside 1975–1981, Shipbuilding on Tyneside 1975–1976, and Askam-in-Furness 1982.  They can be ordered individually, check out the Cafe Royal website here.

More from the Isle of Man, 1971. [Chris Killip]
If you’re in the UK, there's currently an excellent Chris Killip retrospective exhibition at Baltic in Gateshead.

'Isle of Man TT Races 1971', from Cafe Royal Books

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

2023 Quail - No Rain, No Pain

California has been swimming an atmospheric river so long its residents are traumatized, tired of getting wet, and pulling U-turns at the first sight of an orange cone.  That might be an explanation for the dozen empty spots on the grass at this year's Quail Motorcycle Gathering, or it could simply be lucky year #13 parsing the solidly committed from the those who let a 20% chance of rain convince them to miss a pretty amazing weekend.

Favorite rig of the weekend: a 1961 Willys L6-226 4x4 pickupu owned by Anthony Drago, with a Greeves scrambler in the bed. Perfect patina, even after a second repaint! [Paul d'Orleans]
Despite those missing Concours entries, the actual numbers of bikes at/around the Quail was well up, partly due to the presence of Bring-A-Trailer (BaT), who put out a call for an alumni gathering, and were heard.  The BaT zone just outside the Quail's entry gates was packed with motorcycles that had been purchased on their site, balancing out the overall Quail numbers, and prompting suggestions they should bring the party inside the gates next year?  They do reach a vast audience of car/moto enthusiasts who collect classics with two and four wheels.  Stay tuned for an interview with BaT founder Randy Nonnenberg and Auction Team Manager Tyler Greenblatt.

But first, the day before: the Quail Ride, a tour of the fantastic California coastal range, in full bloom after a very wet year. Quail founder Gordon McCall personally swept the apexes of corners before the tour! [Paul d'Orleans]
Can we all admit that motorcyclists are sorta cheapskates, except when it comes to buying motorcycles?  Every year our local vintage bike forums resound with gripers who think $150 or so for a spectacular event dedicated to their lifelong passion is expensive. Yes, you're underpaid, got bills 'n kids, but a whole lot of folks - nearly 50, including the volunteer judges - spend a whole lot of time making the Quail the finest motorcycle-only show in the country, if not the world.  And they succeed, every year, so act like you really like motorcycles, and show up.  Live a little.

Need a donut before your ride? I chose chocolate! And hey, dig my Paul Cox Berserker jacket by Vanson, and my El Solitario Rascal pants! The ultimate vintage riding suit (along with my old Gucci motorcycle boots). [Courtney Ferrante]
Full disclosure: I've emceed the Quail since 2011, so have my attachments to the place and the amazing staff that make it happen. But the big draw for me is the magic of the event, which has little to do with which motorcycles are entered, and much to do with the people who attend.   Want to talk to Bubba Shobert, Wayne Rainey, or Eddie Lawson?   No bodyguards, handlers, or velvet ropes here - just say hi, and start a conversation.  Or builders: Max Hazan is a regular (and a regular winner), who brings his lovely family; and talented folks like Dustin Kott, Hugo Eccles (Untitled MC) and Taras Kravtchouk (Tarform), among many other heavyweights in the design, custom, and electric scenes.  It's a great place to talk with folks in the industry, if you have questions or just want to know who's responsible for good design.

Variety, peeps. On the vanguard of future design, Taras Kravtchouk and his Tarform production-ready prototype. And, isn't it time the Quail had an electric bike category? [Paul d'Orleans]
We've had a Vintagent X Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation booth at the Quail for many years now, and this year we were book-heavy.  We gave half our booth over to the new Taschen 'Ultimate Collector Motorcycles' book, and invited a publisher's rep (thanks, Creed Poulsen) to be on hand and explain why the book is so special.  Thanks to the many who ponied up on the day, especially for the Fine Art Edition ($850), which is the most lavish book ever printed about motorcycles.  We also had deeply discounted books by your truly, all of which are available in our Shop, plus some rarities like Legend of the Motorcycle Concours brochures and tees.  We're the only place on the planet to find those, and the only place to buy signed copies of my books: if you want a personalized inscription, let me know.

Creed Poulsen, a Director at Taschen, repping the new Ultimate Motorcycle Collection: we sold quite a few! [Paul d'Orleans]
So, what bikes won?  Best of Show was an ultra-rare 1939 Miller-Balsamo 200 Carenata, with fully enclosed monocoque bodywork and a two-stroke engine beneath, owned by SF architect/arch collector John Goldman, who's been supporting motorcycle shows for decades with his amazing Italian and now Art Deco masterpieces.  This was the first year I kept my nose out of the judge's chambers, but apparently the futuristic Italian lightweight was a firm favorite across the board. For the other 25 winners in the 18 judged categories, check out the Quail PR page.  You'll also get a free eyeful of the metallic leopard Tom Ford blazer I found in Milan, as emcee means giving out the prizes, and being entertaining is my job, ma'am.

Best of Show: John Goldman's 1939 Miller-Balsamo Carenata, with a monocoque chassis. [Paul d'Orleans]
Do yourself a favor next year, and attend the Quail.  Better yet, shine up your bike and park it on the grass: Tyler Greenblatt from Bring-A-Trailer mentioned that bikes shown at the Quail tend to sell for a premium, and even if you're not planning on selling your machine, it adds a little provenance.  My personal faves?  They're mostly in these photos, but I did miss taking photos of a few great bikes; lustrous Italian lightweights, gnarly dirt track champs, fierce 1980s two-stroke GP racers, and customized bikes that looked very tasty indeed.  If you can swing it, I'd also recommend joining the Quail Ride on the Friday, a 100-mile tour through the gorgeous Carmel and Salinas Valleys escorted by hotshoe CHP bikes (six this year!), and a few hot laps (and I mean it, I was flat out on my '65 T120SR Bonneville and couldn't catch the pace car!) of legendary Laguna Seca raceway.  Top memories of the weekend definitely include the feeling in my nether parts cresting the hill into the Corkscrew hard on the throttle - a thrill that never ages. You can too: must be present to win.

Greg Arnold, Motorcycle Division Director at Mecum Auctions (a Vintagent sponsor), with a remarkable original paint 1918 Henderson Model H four coming up for sale at their Monterey auction in August. [Paul d'Orleans]
Little bike, big crowd. View from the podium at the Quail, with the Why We Ride 'kid's choice' winner: a 1976 MV Agusta Minibike produced to commemorate their last World Championship, owned by Marilyn Wiersema. [Paul d'Orleans]
Variety: Hugo Eccles' brilliant XP Zero, as seen in our Electric Revolutionaries exhibit at the Petersen Museum. And, isn't it time the Quail had an electric bike category? [Paul d'Orleans]
John Goldman's 1935 Moto Confort Grandsport 500. [Paul d'Orleans]
Holding up Max Hazan's double-Velocette MAC special, winner of the Custom/Modified Class. [Paul d'Orleans]
One-owner from new: Phil Lane and his 'never gonna let you go' Dunstall Norton 810 Commando. [Paul d'Orleans]
A pair of Ducati singles: an R/T MX and Sebring with patina. [Paul d'Orleans]
A lustrous Ducati 200 Elite with chromed jellymold tank. [Paul d'Orleans]
A rare DKW Hummel in original paint - early 1960s space-age extravagance, and its sister machine was the Victoria Sputnik. [Paul d'Orleans]
Deb Sell on her faithful Honda C77 Dream on the Quail Ride. [Paul d'Orleans]
Just a casual chat between old friends Wayne Rainey, Gordon McCall, Bubba Shobert, and Eddie Lawson. [Paul d'Orleans]
The Haas Motor Museum brought several delectable machines, including this 1929 Ascot-Pullin: read my Road Test of one here. [Paul d'Orleans]
Winner of the Arlen Ness Award, Keith Young with his '550' customized Honda 550cc Four, and 550 holes! [Paul d'Orleans]
On the Quail Ride, oldest bike was this 1939 Indian Sport Scout. [Paul d'Orleans]
On display outside the Velocette Owner's Club tent, my 1930 Velocette KTT Mk1. [Paul d'Orleans]
Sweet Harley-Davidson Sportster bob-job with low bars and springer forks - very nice. [Paul d'Orleans]
Another amazing bike from the Haas Motor Museum: this Seeley-Tait two-stroke triple emulating the DKW Singing Saw GP racer. [Paul d'Orleans]
From the private collections of Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey, several racers that had never been displayed in public. [Paul d'Orleans]
Thanks judges! For spending the better half of the Quail day peering hard at the entrants. [Paul d'Orleans]
Lovely c.1912 NSU V-twin on the grass: rare in the US. [Paul d'Orleans]
A pair of gorgeous pre-war Triumphs: a Tiger 100 and Speed Twin, evidence of stylist Edward Turner's genius. [Paul d'Orleans]
Shades of orange: an Aprilia X Philippe Starck Moto 6.1 and Norton Combat Commando, on the Quail Ride. [Paul d'Orleans]
Last year's Best of Show: Max Hazan's HMW Vincent, which he parked in front of the Vintagent X Motorcycle Arts Foundation booth. His son is ready to ride! [Paul d'Orleans]
 

 

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

The Ultimate Collector Motorcycles - Taschen

I had the pleasure of advising on (and being included in) a mammoth new project from publishers Taschen: the 2-volume set of The Ultimate Collector Motorcycles, a 20lb behemoth in a lovely slipcover with several cover variations - my advanced copy has a Münch Mammüt, but I've also seen a Brough Superior Golden Dream and Gilera Four GP.  The books are written by Peter and Charlotte Fiell and edited by Taschen; it's a real blockbuster, and like nothing else published about motorcycles.  The intent was to revisit the idea of a Top 100 list of the most important ('collectible') motorcycles, and the bikes were sourced from around the world, in private collections and museums, representing a truly remarkable array of machines...some of which I've Road Tested on The Vintagent!

Support The Vintagent!  Order your Collector's Edition ($250) here with free shipping anywhere in the world! 

Order your Fine Art Edition ($850) here, it's the most lavishly produced motorcycle book EVER!!!  It comes in two separate slipcases, and has a tipped-in cover photo printed on metal, with an extraordinary deep gloss, silver paper edging, and larger size (11.25x14.5"). It's so impressive, we sold four at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering - there's really nothing like it anywhere!

From Taschen PR:

"Dream Rides: the most spectacular bikes on the planet.  From the 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller to the 2020 Aston Martin AMB001, this book lavishly explores 100 of the most desirable motorcycles to have ever sped thrillingly around a circuit or along an open road.  From pioneering record-breakers, luxury tourers, and legendary roadracers to GP-winning machines, iconic superbikes, and exotic customs, this book celebrates motorcycle design and engineering at its highest level. Many examples are from acclaimed private collections and very rarely seen.  Others are the all-out stars of renowned motorcycle museums - such as teh 1938 Brough Superior 'Golden Dram' or the 1957 MV Agusta 500 4C, which took John Surtees to World Championship glory.  Alongside some early survivors in astonishingly original condition is a stable of fabled racers - the actual machines that were competed on by the likes of Dario Abrosini, Tarquniio Provini, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Barry Sheene, and Kenny Roberts.

The fascinating stories behind these fabulous motorbikes are expertly recounted in detail, alongside stunning imagery specially taken for the book by the world's leading motorcycle photographers.  Also included are rare archival gems, from early posters to remarkable action shots.  In addition, there is a forward by legendary petrolhead Jay Leno, and interviews with George Barber, founder of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum; Sammy Miller, championship-winning racer and founder of the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum; Ben Walker, Department Director of Motorcycles at Bonhams; Paul d'Orléans, founder of The Vintagent; and Gordon McCall, cofounder of the Quail Motorcycle Gathering, the world-renowned motorcycle concours event.held in Carmel Valley, California.

The Moto Guzzi V8 revealed, with a well-researched storyline explaining its technical and historic importance. [Taschen]
A cornucopia of motorcycle treasure and an absolute must-have for all bike enthusiasts!"

We'll have discounted copies available soon on The Vintagent - stay tuned!   The 'famous first edition' is limited to 9000 copies, while there's an art edition of 1000 copies coming too - more details to follow on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

A Crocker 'Small Tank' is included, of course. Read our Crocker history here (and enjoy the Comments section!) [Taschen]
The Imola Ducati 750SS we included in our Silver Shotgun exhibit at the Petersen Museum. [Taschen]
For something more modern, how about a Yamaha inline 4 two-stroke GP racer? [Taschen]
...and the box it comes in, something of a work of art itself! [Paul d'Orleans]
 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

CeDora and the Globe of Death

CeDora. Or Ce'Dora, or C'Dora.  Everyone on the Vaudeville circuit had a stage name, and young Greek immigrant Agnes Theodore chose a homophone of her given name as the character for her death-defying motorcycle act in the early 1900s.  CeDora rode into history as the first woman to perform in a Globe of Death, and her fame continued even after she retired, as her stage name was used for two generations, when another young woman, Eleanore Seufert, took over as CeDora, riding the Globe of Death through the 1930s.

Agnes Theodore in a charming publicity photo from 1917, with the 1908 Indian single she rode for most of her career, signed 'Ce Dora - Girl in the Golden Globe'.  Apparently her theatrical costume of frilly shorts provided as much excitement for Edwardian audiences as her riding skills! [The Vintagent Archive]
The original Globe of Death riders were bicyclists, and a first patent for a 'Bicyclist's Globe' was granted in 1904 to Arthur Rosenthal of Grand Rapids, Michigan. However, carnival historian A.W. Stencell ('Seeing Is Believing: America's Side Shows') notes the first Globe of Death act was probably created by Thomas Eck in 1903, using a bicycle ridden at around 6mph within a 16' sphere - that tilted as he rode.  Rosenthal's 1904 patent claims “certain new and useful improvements in Bicyclists Globes”, which means they already existed, and were a sensation worth developing.  It was Rosenthal who designed the steel-latticed globe that has been the pattern of construction for Globes of Death ever since, and allows riders to reach sufficient speed for horizontal and loop-the-loop riding in relative safety, or at least stability.  Arthur Rosenthal had his own Globe act, and teamed up with Frank Lemon as “Rose and Lemon,” a trick bicycle and motorcycle duo, who performed in the globe as the climax of their act, as a display of skill and virtuosity that was viscerally thrilling to watch.

The 1904 patent drawing for “certain new and useful improvements in Bicyclists Globes”, by Arthur Rosenthal, half of the 'Rose and Lemon' bicycle/motorcycle stunt act.  This patent laid the pattern for all Globes to come, although it was quickly copied by acts in Europe. [US Patent Office]
News of the Globe of Death spread quickly, with several other performers adopting the novelty act, such as Italian daredevil Guido Consi, who rode his “Sphere of Fear” in Rome in 1913, and by 1915 a Brazilian crew rode in New York City as “Cedero and his Golden Globe."  Cedero's globe was used back in South America for decades, and was discovered around 1970 in El Salvador by the Urias brothers, (who had their own Globe since 1912), who use it to this day. The popularity of traveling stunt acts in a nationwide carnival circuit cannot be overestimated: there was no television or regular radio broadcasting at the time, so live performances were wildly popular, and profitable, and early stunt bicyclists and motorcyclists earned a reasonable income.  Carnival life was not for everyone, though, as plying the Vaudeville circuit meant a never-ending travel schedule, and risking one's life several times per day.  The life of a 'carny' remains a unique lifestyle, as the obituary for the second CeDora attests.

Agnes Theodore began her Globe of Death career as a bicyclist sometime in the 'Noughts, with her husband Charles Hadfield as a co-rider, stuntman, and manager.  Hadfield was a bicycle race promoter who saw the potential of this new act, which they originally called the Golden Globe, a 16' diameter steel sphere made of woven strip steel and a tubular steel frame. The earliest CeDora exhibition posters (from 1905?) show her riding a bicycle exclusively, alongside a male rider, presumably her husband Charles.

Yet another variation on the name: Ce'Dora, 'The Most Daring Girl on Earth'.  This time Agnes Theodore is pictured prominently with a motorcycle, that looks very much like a c.1903 Motosacoche, which according to The Motocycle News she brought with her from Europe. [The Vintagent Archive]
Later posters (from 1906/7?) show CeDora with a motorcycle, which according to The Motocycle News (April 1909) she had brought with her from Europe (presumably when she emigrated to the USA), which looks to be a c.1903 Motosacoche.  It was natural that experienced bicyclists should include the new motorized bicycles in their stunt acts.  So it seems with Agnes, who was originally depicted as C'Dora or CeDora on a bicycle in a Globe, but in 1908 she and her husband purchased a specially built Indian single-cylinder 'motocycle', which several sources claim was one of six built at the Hendee Manufacturing Co. specially for stunt riding.  Thus from 1909 onwards we see Agnes aboard a single-cylinder Indian of unique configuration, with a small 'torpedo' tank, similar to but smaller than on their first racing models. Also, the chassis uses an additional brace from the seat tube to the rear axle, for additional stability.

Agnes Theodore, the original CeDora, bought a special Indian single-cylinder motorcycle in 1908, as seen in this photo from 'The Motocycle News' of April 1909. Note the brace over the rear wheel, and the tiny 'torpedo' tank. [The Vintagent Archive]
The Indian 'Motocycle' company made considerable publicity from CeDora's use of their product in her famous act, claiming in the April 1909 factory organ The Motocycle News that "there have been four performers in the world who have looped the Globe of Death on motocycles: all used Indians, and non have ever been injured.  C'Dora, whose picture appears [here], is now appearing at the New York Hippodrome.  She brought a foreign machine to this country with her, but got an Indian as soon as she could.  It never fails her.  Other performers have been using Indian for over two years, both in this country and abroad, and to its reliability they owe their lives."

The 1908 Indian single used by CeDora still exists, and was recently exhibited at the QAGoMA in Melbourne during  'The Motorcycle: Design/Art/Desire'. [QAGoMA: 'The Motorcycle: Design/Art/Desire', Charles M. Falco and Ultan Guilfoyle, Phaidon 2020]
The use of Indian 'motocycles' (they switched to 'motorcycles' by 1929) became standard for stunt riders, and continues to the present day.  In 1914, the original Wall of Death riders used Indian twins, some taken directly off the board tracks for maximum speed around large diameter Walls (see our exclusive 'Race for Life' article).  And twenty years after Indian produced these six stunt cycles, the 101 Scout model proved to have perfect balance: with a 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, low center of gravity, perfectly stable handling, modest weight, and utter reliability.  Most Walls of Death still include vintage 101s in their act as an homage to the many decades they were the standard for the industry: they're certainly still the most stylish of stunt motorcycles.

CeDora the second: the vivacious 16-year old Eleanore Seufert in 1929.  Her father - a friend of Charles Hadfield through bicycle racing - 'volunteered' her to replace Agnes Theodore, despite the fact she'd never ridden a bicycle!  But she proved well up for the job, and carried on through the 1930s. [Christopher Seufert ]
Anges Theodore rode the Globe for over 20 years, and retired from carny life (or at least stunt performing) in 1929.  Her retirement left her husband Charles without a star attraction for his Golden Globe, so he sought a new girl to act as CeDora: enter 16-year old Eleanore Seufert. Eleanore "grew up in Newark NJ, and her older brother was a seven-day bicycle racer, managed by her father. In those days, the marathon bike races would take place in velodromes across the nation and venues like Madison Square Garden. Eleanore's father knew a race promoter named Charles Hadfield, whose wife was the original CeDora. When she retired, Hadfield asked around for a new CeDora. Eleanore was volunteered by her father, even though she had never been on a bicycle. "The story she told - and maybe it was embellished over the years - was that her brother took her up to the top of Eagle Rock Avenue and sent her down with no brakes," said Eleanore's oldest daughter, Barbara Belanger. "That's how she learned how to ride." But it was her natural athleticism that helped her conquer the globe. "She would start in small circles and build up to where she was going fast enough to go upside down," said Belanger. "I'm sure it took a lot of strength and endurance." It was a stunt, but not without danger. She fell a number of times in the globe, and her best friend, an aerialist with the show, was killed in a fall." [From 'The Unconventional Life of a Supermom', 2008, NJ.com].  Wysocki traveled the East Coast as CeDora for 11 years, riding both bicycles and motorcycles, and apparently relished the freedom the life of a carny offered to a young woman.

CeDora and Charles Hatfield's Globe of Death in 1909, in Brockton MA. Charles is standing in the globe as Agnes rides in vertical loops on her Indian. [David Gaylin, 'The Wall of Death: Carnival Motordromes', Arcadia Publishing, 2017]
Old Vaudeville props that make money have a forever life in the world of carnys.  The 3-ton steel globe built by Charles Hadfield passed through many hands: after WW2 it was used by 'Speedy' Wilson's Globe of Death act right through the 1960s, and was later acquired by the Jordan Family, who use it to this day.  The design is almost identical to the vintage Globe currently used by the Urias family, which dates back to 1915, and was built by 'Cederos' of Brazil.  CeDora's 1908 Indian, seen above, has passed through various collections, and is in beautifully restored condition.  It is the only survivor of this type of factory-special stunt motocycle, and was recently seen at the exhibit 'The Motorcycle: Design/Art/Desire' in Queensland.

The Urias Brothers' Globe of Death, captured on 'wet plate' at Sears Point Raceway in August 2019, in a pair of tintypes, by the MotoTintype team of Susan McLaughlin and Paul d'Orleans. [MotoTintype]
The Globe of Death is still as death-defying and thrilling an act as it was in 1904, although safety is more of an issue today, as safety equipment has improved beyond all measure compared to the Edwardian-era satin theatrical costume with a pair of silk tights, and little else. The acts are wilder, faster, and more spectacular today, with hydraulic lifts, split globes, lighting effects, and a multitude of riders simultaneously spinning inside, to dizzying effect.  If you get the chance, go see for yourself ... and remember CeDora.

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

The Rarest of Racers: 1915 Indian 8-Valve

Say the words ‘8-Valve’ to a motorcycle collector and watch their ears perk up.  That’s how potent the history of these exotic machines, built by both Indian and (later) Harley-Davidson, are in the story of American board track racing.  It’s the most romantic era of motorcycle competition, mostly because of the extraordinary danger of the sport, it extreme toll on riders, and the bare-knuckles competition between brands that understood racing was the cheapest form of advertising.  It was ‘Race on Sunday, sell on Monday’, and even if your star rider slipped on the two miles of oily pine 2x4s laid at a 50degree angle, and lost his life… well, that was a headline too. For a time in the 1910s, every major and many minor cities in the USA featured banked-track ovals with wooden surfaces, called either motordromes, autodromes, or board tracks.  By the late 1920s they were all gone, destroyed by fires or bulldozers, and few missed the ‘murderdromes’, as they were dubbed in the press.  Other forms of racing quickly supplanted the boards in the public’s imagination, with hillclimbing becoming the most popular motorsport in the USA by the late 1920s, and dirt track racing the most popular in the world.

One of four genuine Indian 8-Valve racers known to exist, and the only one in a 'Marion' keystone frame. [Mecum]
The racers in all these competitions were specialized and honed to freakish extremes, often bearing no relation to the road-going products of their manufacturers, and Indian was the first to introduce such exotica on the track.  The Indian 8-Valve was designed by Oscar Hedstrom in 1910 solely to return Indian to the top of the racing game, where it had established itself in 1902.  Hedstrom’s 4-valve cylinder heads solved major problems with valve cooling on the overhead-valve concept, before direct lubrication was added to valve trains in the late 1920s.  It was well understood that overhead valve cylinder heads had better gas flow than inlet-over-exhaust valves, but valve breakages from overheating on 2-valve motors were common.  Hedstrom’s use of four smaller valves meant the valve train components were lighter and smaller, giving better longevity and easier revving, while possessing improved gas flow characteristics and thus producing more power.  The 8-Valve was immediately successful in racing, and earned its legendary status as a motorcycle of extraordinary technical innovation, and a devastating racer that totally dominated Board Track competition for years.

The Indian factory racing team in the 1910s with an 8-Valve racer. [The Vintagent Archive]
The extraordinary machine in these photos is one of only four genuine Indian 8-Valve racers known to exist today. We know it’s genuine as the bike has significant documentation and a known history from new, with photos of owners dating back decades, and much research done by former owner Daniel Statnekov.  It is the only known surviving example of a factory-built Indian 8-Valve racer in a ‘keystone’ or ‘Marion’ frame, which this machine pioneered, and was used by Indian subsequently with its sidevalve racers of the 1920s as a very light and very short-wheelbase racing frame.  The keystone frame was a clever use of the engine cases as a stressed member of the frame, by the simple expedient of cutting out the frame’s bottom tubes.  This lowered the center of gravity, which vastly improved the handling, and also gave a shorter wheelbase, which made the bike more nimble.  To complement the short and low frame, Indian built a shorter version of their racing front fork, which this machine possesses, and an enlarged fuel tank for long-distance racing – typical Board Track races of the era were held over distances from 100 to 200 miles, and stopping to refuel could mean the difference between winning and losing.

What a motor! A true innovation in design from 1911, and refined over the years, a bit. This is a second-generation example, a 'small base' 8-Valve. [Mecum]
This unique ‘Marion’ 8-Valve was presumably first used by the factory with its own racing team, and period photos show just such machines being raced by the factory in 1915.  While the 8-Valve was dominant on the track, Indian was developing its first side-valve roadster V-twin motor – the Powerplus – that same year.  Its designer was Charles Gustafson, who had previously designed the first sidevalve motorcycle engine in the USA for Reading-Standard.  Gustafson knew he could develop his Powerplus engine to produce more power with more reliability than the 8-Valve, and soon the Marion frame was raced with special Powerplus motors, which were indeed better for long-distance racing…but not faster.  This 1915 racer is a second-generation ‘small-base’ version of the 8-Valve, and was quite simply the fastest motorcycle in the world for decades. A list of speed records with this second-generation Indian 8-Valve included: 1 mile at 115.75mph by Gene Walker at Daytona Beach in April 1920, and 1 mile at 132.52mph by Jim Davis in April 1922.  Such speeds would not be equaled by FIM-certified land speed record racing until the 1930s.

 

The business side: while totally restored, this bike is known genuine, with a documented chain of ownership since the 1920s. [Mecum]
This 1915 Marion 8-Valve was originally purchased from the factory in the early 1920s by Waldo Korn, a professional rider for both Indian and Excelsior.  After a period of racing, Kern sold the Marion in the 1940s to Dewey Simms, a legendary tuner and racer, who used the machine for demonstration laps at events in the 1950s and 60s, including the Springfield Mile track.  Photographic documentation of Simms with this machine in that era are included with the sale: also included are the unique aluminum valve covers visible in the photos.  Note also the tunnel fabricated into the oil tank to allow clearance for the rear cylinder's exhaust pipe.  Simms sold this machine on April 7th 1966 to Renton WA collector Gary Porter, and in turn Porter sold it in the 1990s to historian/collector Dan Statnekov, who described it as ‘running but tired, with terrible paint.’  He leaned on surviving racing machines, racers, and historians to bring the Marion 8-Valve to perfect and running condition.

Veteran board track racer Jim Davis hunkers down on this machine in 1960 at the Springfield Mile, with owner Dewey Sims standing left, and Floyd Clymer announcing. [Mecum]
This is a unique and hugely important 1915 Indian Marion 8-Vavle racer, and its meticulous restoration was judged at an astonishing 100 points at the 1998 Perkiomen AMCA National meet, and took the Red Wolverton Award for the best restored racing machine.  It was also featured in the Guggenheim Museum’s 1998 ‘Art of the Motorcycle’ exhibit, and is included in the exhibit catalog on page 124.  This 1915 Indian racer is the most important American motorcycle for sale in this decade, without question: while other machines might be the flavor du jour, there is no motorcycle as rare, and none as legendary, as a real Indian 8-Valve.  It's coming up at Mecum's Monterey auction Aug 17-19 2023.  [Note: Mecum is a sponsor of The Vintagent]

 

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

Do You Know the Monster Man?

[A version of this article originally appeared in Cycle World magazine]

Legendary motorcycle designer Miguel Galluzzi is as refreshingly direct as his most famous creation, the Ducati M900 ‘Monster’.  When it was released in 1993, the bare-bones Monster was considered revolutionary, which speaks more about 1990s sportbike design than its status as the ‘first naked bike’.  Regardless that motorcycle history was, like Eden, pretty much all naked, the mantra of ‘90s sporting motorcycles was all-plastic-everything, and Galluzzi landed in the thick of it, after a stint designing cars at GM/Opel in Germany.  “I was getting fed up with the car business; each project took 10 years to develop – just too long.  My boss Hideo Kodama heard that Soichiro Honda wanted a Honda motorcycle design studio in Milan, to understand how things were done in Italy. They hired me to start the studio in 1987”.

Miguel Galluzzi in Venice, 2018. [Paul d'Orléans]
Honda might have been interested in the Italian process, but not so much in Galluzzi’s designs. He developed sketches and models that exposed the motorcycle’s engine, but there was no steering Honda away from the current idiom. “I was working on the Honda CB600F2, and it was all this plastic crap covering everything up.” His sketches for minimal bodywork were routinely rejected, and he grew frustrated after two years; so much for Italian design!  By then he’d met the Castiglioni brothers of Cagiva, owners of Ducati and Husqvarna, and was hired to develop the new-generation 900SS in 1990.  “I had ideas for bikes, and convinced my boss to build a half-fairing 900SS for the big Cologne show.  Four days before the show, Cagiva’s commercial guys said ‘we have to have a full fairing’!  We built it, but it was covered in Bondo, and after 10 days under hot lights at Cologne, the Bondo shrank and the bike’s shape went flat.”  Still, the full-fairing 900SS was a huge hit, and became Ducati’s #1 seller.

The 1990 Ducati 900SS was a huge hit for the factory, but Miguel Galluzzi felt that plastic covering everything was missing the point of a motorcycle. [Ducati]
To demonstrate a smaller fairing could work, Galuzzi hacksawed the bodywork on his ‘87 Ducati 750 Sport. “I cut the fairing in half and showed the bosses – ‘this is the bike we should build’.  So at the Bologna show in December 1990 we showed a 750SS with the half-fairing.  That was the beginning of the changes.”  Galuzzi never actually worked for or at Ducati, but was installed at the Cagiva HQ in Varese.  He prefers to keep his design studio away from the factory; “Usually around 5 or 6 in the afternoon, the factory guys got bored and would come to my office to ‘help’ design bikes, as design is the fun part - everyone wanted to hang out.  But they’d alter drawings, give unwanted advice, and change projects. It was a mess! So I put a padlock on the studio, and I had the only key! They had to ring a bell to get in.”

Artists have been messing around with Xerox machines since they were invented, so it's only appropriate a legendary motorcycle design was developed on Xerox too.   Enjoy 'Photocopy Cha Cha' (2001) by Chel White, a film made entirely from sheets of color Xerox paper. [Bent Image Lab]

The Monster’s birth was midwifed by an early ‘90s high tech device  - a color copier. “We had the first color Xerox machine at our office, so I copied magazine photos of a bare chassis, and drew some simple lines with minimal bodywork, like bikes had been since the beginning of time.  The form of what a bike should be; just enough to enjoy the ride.”  In the summer of 1990 Galluzzi asked his boss if he could pick up some parts at Ducati.  The 851 had just come out, and it was blowing people’s minds – the first twin-cylinder sportbike that could rev to 10,000 RPM.  “I built a raw special using all factory parts, but the 4V engine was too expensive for my project.  But we had plenty of 900ss motors lying around; it was affordable stuff, which meant a bike could be much cheaper.  That was the beginning of the Monster”.

Monsters have always been popular with kids! A brilliant name. [Facebook]
The code-named M900 project developed rapidly once the 900ss motor was chosen, and Galluzzi devoted considerable time to its creation. “My boss called from Bologna and asked, ‘what’s the name of this project?’  At the time my two sons loved these cute rubber toys at the grocery store, little monsters that came two to a packet, and every day they asked me ‘did you buy me a monster?’  I suggested we call the bike Monster, and they did!  It was just a throwaway.”  Cagiva’s marketing arm didn’t like the name, but French importer Marcel Seurat thought it perfect, and it stuck. “People said ‘this is extremely futuristic’, and I said, have you been looking at bikes from 50 or 60 years ago?  All the shapes in the ‘90s were soft in cars and bikes, soapy.  To me it wasn’t radical, it was just going back to basics.”

The original concept drawing by Miguel Galluzzi for the Monster: and enduring classic still in production, and still popular, because how could it go out of style? [Miguel Galluzzi]
In being so basic, the Monster was a blank canvas for customization, something Italian motorcycles had never been.  “People enjoy transforming bikes, personalizing them, painting and stuff. If you know the history of motorcycles, most of the fun part is there; choppers, café racers, everything like that, forever!”  Galluzzi considers the Monster itself a ‘custom’ build, as he used the frame from one bike, the motor from another, and added a custom tank.  It’s simplicity and use of existing parts made the M900 “the fastest and cheapest bike to put into production in modern history.”  It also became Ducati’s biggest seller for years on end, and a legendary design that changed the course of the industry.

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans