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September 6-9 on the Nationwide Motorbike Museum in Anamosa, Iowa
From original-paint to authentic pondering, there’s a tremendous range of equipment out there on the John Parham Property Public sale, hosted by Mecum. It was a troublesome choice to shut the Nationwide Motorbike Museum, however with the demise of its main benefactor just a few years in the past, it was all the time going to be a cash loser, so the choice was purely sensible. It’s unhappy to lose such a tremendous assortment in a single spot, however on the upside, it makes for an thrilling alternative for folk to search out some distinctive bikes. You’ll be able to bid on-line, nevertheless it’s undoubtedly preferable to indicate up and see the museum one final time, and catch the vitality of the public sale, which is all the time enjoyable. There are lots of of bikes and much more lots of of a number of automobilia – posters, engines, photographs, and a bunch of cool vintage toys. Take a look on the Mecum John Parham Property Public sale web page right here. And now, my faves from the Museum:
‘Wild Invoice’ Gelbke’s outrageous masterpiece has graced a thousand garages, however solely in poster kind, sans rationalization. The Roadog is impressed insanity constructed by an precise aeronautical engineer as an ‘ultimate touring bike’. Bear in mind the competitors within the early Sixties when he dreamed up this monster: a Harley-Davidson Panhead, or a BMW R60/3. 4-cylinder touring machines had most lately been produced in 1941 with the final of the Indian Fours, so for those who needed one thing car-like, you needed to construct it your self. So Gelbke did simply that, utilizing a GM 151 Iron Duke four-cylinder engine and its PowerGlide autobox, with a shaft remaining drive. Gelbke constructed his personal chassis from light-weight chromoly tubing, and appeared unconcerned with the size of his invention, which is 17′ lengthy and weighs an estimated 3300lbs. The entrance forks are a unit trailing-link design, just like a Fifties FN, however big, and utilizing 4 automotive shocks for suspension: the rear wheel is held in a swingarm, additionally with 4 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 gasoline tank perched behind the passenger. There’s even a spare wheel in case you get a flat…which is well attended to with the 4 hydraulic stands that help with parking.
Apparently Wild Invoice clocked 20,000 miles in his first RoaDog 12 months, and refined his ideas along with his 1972 Auto 4 (additionally on the market at Mecum), which he supposed to mass produce, in addition to the Grasshopper, with a Corvair motor. Wild Invoice by no means acquired the prospect although…he’d been making a residing as a trucker after falling out along with his bosses at McDonnell-Douglas, and police suspected he was hauling marijuana as a substitute of greens. In winter 1978, 12 officers surrounded his residence, demanding he come out: Gelbke tossed his gun out to give up, however when one officer slipped on ice, they assumed he’d been shot, and opened fireplace. When the smoke cleared, they took the unhurt officer to the hospital, and left Wild Invoice to bleed out within the dust. He was 40 years outdated. You’ll be able to’t purchase tales like that, however you should purchase the RoaDog. (Estimate $50-60k)
2. 1911 Steco Engineering Co. Aerohydroplane
From the ridiculous to the elegant, this 1911 Steco seaplane dominates the Innovation wing of the Nationwide Motorbike Museum, and is a remarkably elegant pioneer plane. It’s additionally claimed to be the oldest plane within the USA in authentic situation, and is a crucial piece of historical past that deserves a great residence. To place this airplane in context: Glenn H. Curtiss constructed the primary really useful plane in 1908 – the June Bug – which gained the Scientific American trophy that June for an plane that might take off, fly in a circle, and land the place it started. The Wright brothers airplane, against this, was a powered glider, launched utilizing a large rubber band, and couldn’t flip a circle. Curtiss was additionally the primary to construct a profitable seaplane that might take off and land in water in January 1911…thus this Steco is about as early a non-Curtiss seaplane as exists wherever, and no Curtiss of this period is authentic.
The Steco Engineering Co. was based by James S. Stephens, a mechanical superintendent of the Milwaukee Railroad and an engineering advisor for Hamm’s Brewing Firm. Stephens and his son Ralph based Steco Engineering Co., constructing prototype planes and automobiles. The Steco Aerohydroplane was constructed round a 1909 Gnome Omega 487ci (7980cc) 7-cylinder rotary engine, presupposed to be 1 of 38 of this model made, and 1 of two thought to exist: the engine was rebuilt by Fred Murrin of Greenville PA. The seaplane has a 42′ higher and 36′ decrease wingspan, is 31′ lengthy, and weighs a feathery 1,320lbs. If I had the room, I’d like to stare at this beautiful piece of flying equipment whereas I drink my espresso, however somebody with an even bigger warehouse than mine must do this. (No estimate, however no reserve). Additionally, take a look at the Steco automotive additionally on public sale.
Talking of planes…the final time a Curtiss bike got here to public sale was in 2009, and I used to be there (learn the story right here). Curtiss bikes are unicorn uncommon, and the person who invented the American V-twin is rightly revered for his distinctive bikes. Of their day, Curtiss single- and twin-cylinder bikes had been the quickest bikes round, taking velocity data and profitable races, principally as a result of Curtiss himself was often called ‘Hell Rider’ in his native Hammondsport NY, as he favored to experience quick, and constructed bikes that labored. He minimize his tooth racing bicycles within the Eighteen Nineties, and opening a bicycle store in 1900. He purchased his first bike engine in 1901, a Thomas Auto-Bi, and thought it pure junk: the castings had been unfinished, there was no carburetor, and no directions. He acquired it to work, then designed his personal engine that very same 12 months. The Curtiss bike firm was born. His first single-cylinder fashions used all ball bearings inside, making them much more strong with the restricted oiling programs of the day, and by 1903 he doubled up his design to create the primary V-twin within the USA. These early fashions used a single velocity belt drive, utilizing Curtiss’ personal non-slip belt design.
That first Curtiss V-twin instantly made its mark, beating each Charles Gustafson and Oscar Hedstrom on their Indians on the NYMC’s Riverdale Hillclimb, and lopping 4.4 seconds off their finest time. He then rode his bike to Yonkers for a Nationwide Cycle Affiliation race, the place he set a world velocity report, finishing a mile in 56.4seconds (63.8mph). Beating the business’s finest then setting a world report in one other city on the identical with a brand new design of engine made Curtiss immediately well-known. He set his first world report at Daytona/Ormond Seashore Florida in 1904 on his V-twin, recording 10miles at 67.4mph, a report that stood seven years. The 136mph velocity of his well-known one-way run on a V-8 powered contraption in 1908 is disputed, however was an instance of his ingenuity and bravado. He was already promoting engines to the nascent plane business, and when he grew to become the primary pilot to take off, circle, and land in the identical place in 1908, his future in aviation was sealed, and he devoted much less time to bikes, leaving his two-wheeled enterprise within the fingers of others by 1910. However, Curtiss’ early legacy with bikes stands as one of the vital necessary pioneering manufacturers within the USA, with actually essentially the most romantic of characters at its helm. This 1906 Curtiss is extraordinarily uncommon, and the unique American V-twin.
4. Indian Quarter Midget Racer
The one cause I’m telling you about this wonderful little automotive is I don’t wish to get the inevitable divorce if I displayed it my lounge. That is the best 4 wheeler within the Nationwide Motorbike Museum assortment, and that’s saying one thing; there are two different motorcycle-powered quarter midget racers, a Harley-powered prop-driven ice sled, and 5 motorcycle-engined mini-cars, all of that are…museum-worthy, proper? The physique of this little racer is all hand-beaten alloy, with a novel drilled-out grille, and a svelte monoposto physique with a tapered tail. The sprint panel is engine-turned with two gauges, and the steering wheel is a minimal metal arc. The engine is a pre-1915 IoE Indian Massive Twin, with 1000cc, that may very well be tuned to achieve close to 100mph in a bike. The chassis is welded up from square-tube metal, with presumably a quite simple rear suspension (notice the oval axle slots within the bodywork) and a strong axle with no differential (and chain drive?), whereas the entrance finish has steering by rod and easy wrapped leaf-spring suspension on the strong axle. The wheels are easy metal solids. Nothing is understood of the racing historical past of this machine, the bodywork and engine of this exceptional automobile, and the historical past of Quarter Midget / Child Automotive racing counsel this machine was constructed in the course of the Nineteen Thirties revival of the game.
This historical past of Quarter Midgets goes again to the ‘Teenagers, with Child Automotive racing. These had been replicas of well-known Grand Prix racers of the period, powered by bike engines of single- and V-twin configuration, and had been utilized in demonstration racing to help races for bigger automobiles, or as a part of a touring carnival. The primary Child Automotive races had been held within the Los Angeles space on the Ascot Park and Culver Metropolis tracks ca.1914. The brand new sport took a really public flip on the Panama Pacific Worldwide Exposition of 1915 (the PPIE – learn our ‘Racing Across the Rainbow Scintillator’ article right here), the place an car race monitor 3.85miles was constructed in what would develop into the Marina District, and into the Presidio army base. PPIE racing included each a Vanderbilt Cup and a Grand Prize race, with supporting races by groups of Child Vehicles for the Junior Vanderbilt and GP. Aviator Artwork Smith commissioned the San Francisco Harley-Davidson supplier Dudley Perkins to construct him a fleet of 5 automobiles, every with totally different bodywork that mimicked the Mercedes, Peugeot, Fiat, Stutz, and Marmon racers then vying for dominance on the GP circuit. Every automotive value him $400, and was powered by a Harley-Davidson J-series V-twin motor, utilizing a sequence drive to every rear wheel and giving two velocity: the automobiles had been able to over 60mph. Midget automotive and Quarter Midget racing reared its head in SoCal once more within the Nineteen Thirties, withe first organized Midget race going down in 1933 at Hughes Stadium in Los Angeles. It was so successful that Gilmore Stadium was inbuilt 1934 as the primary venue constructed solely for Midget Racing, which was open by means of 1950. Quarter Midget racing grew alongside Midget racing, and continues to this present day.
5. 1966 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide ‘Willie’s Latin Factor’
It’s a first-year Harley-Davidson Shovelhead, and Willie’s wonderful imaginative and prescient. If you experience with ‘Willie’s Latin Factor,’ you experience with Jesus, a complete lot of chrome, and an superior pink shotgun metalflake paintjob. Naming all of the custom-made elements 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, in addition to a number of additional lights, horns (in matching pink), baggage, and baubles. Most of the chromed items are modified Harley-Davidson equipment, just like the entrance fender guards and Hollywood trim, the crash bars, saddlebags, high field, windscreen, spotlamps, and seat rail, however all of them have been customized with additional chromed trim elements, usually welded-on chain. Willie’s Latin factor is an excellent eyeful, and a uncommon machine, being a first-year FLH Shovelhead.
In 1965 Harley-Davidson launched the Electra Glide, a Panhead FL with an electrical starter, and thus started one of the vital evocative names in bike historical past. With it, the Motor Co entered the fray with Japanese manufacturers that had come customary with dependable electrical starters because the late Fifties. Whereas no Japanese producer constructed a bike as giant or as helpful for touring in 1965, it did settle an necessary matter for customers, who had come to count on rising ease of use with their bikes. A brand new technology that grew up studying to experience Hondas was disinclined to kickstart a 1200cc high-compression V-twin: finally the kickstarter on the FL grew to become vestigial, then disappeared totally. The Electra Glide was a contemporary machine with no friends, greater and stronger than any touring bike in the marketplace, a distinct segment Harley-Davidson owned for a technology. Willie’s Latin Factor exhibits how a lot riders beloved to personalize their bikes, then as now, and is a really exceptional bike.
6. 1927 Brough Superior SS100 Pendine duplicate
One of many star bikes within the Nationwide Motorbike Museum, this gorgeous 1927 Brough Superior Pendine duplicate is among the many best examples of the mannequin on the earth. Constructed from a mixture of outdated (forks, gearbox, wheels, and probably the body) and new (engine, gasoline tank, fenders, and so forth) elements, the entire machine was masterfully assembled with period-correct elements to a regular that’s not often achieved by restorers of machines with full manufacturing facility provenance. The Brough Superior collector group has a well-established relationship with duplicate and semi-replica machines, as demand for early SS100s has lengthy exceeded the provision of full machines, and after practically 100 years many engines with out frames and vice-versa may be discovered scattered all over the world. The BS Proprietor’s Membership acknowledges and identifies such machines, with an understanding {that a} very good duplicate has important worth, particularly when recognized as such: in different phrases, they’ve their place within the Brough Superior group. The Pendine is essentially the most fascinating of all Brough Superior fashions, being the full-race model of the quickest manufacturing bike on the earth of the Twenties, the SS100, with every machine assured to have been examined on the Brooklands autodrome at over 100mph, an unlimited velocity in 1924. Manufacturing facility-modified SS100s held absolutely the World Velocity File many instances within the Twenties and 30s, and road-going fashions had been the costliest bikes on the earth as properly, with the value of any Brough Superior mannequin equal to or exceeding the value of a home in England on the time. Regardless of their specification with a full-race J.A.P. KTOR or JTOR motor, the SS100 was a luxurious bike, constructed to the very best requirements, with inner elements purchased in to George Brough’s specs. These weren’t ‘elements bin specials’: all Brough Superior Sturmey-Archer gearboxes used particular steels and bearings that had been costlier than different makes used, and their J.A.P. motors used knife-and-fork connecting rods and particular metal shafts not out there to different producers. The web end result was a bike that was not merely quicker than anything, however extra sturdy and dependable as properly, as their inner elements had been merely stronger. George Brough had a really shut relationship along with his suppliers, similar to Bert LeVack, improvement director at J.A.P. within the Twenties, who typically raced Brough Superiors himself.
The Pendine mannequin is called after Pendine Sands in Wales, a seashore with a dramatic tidal publicity, making it attainable for a number of hours every day to make high-speed runs for miles on moist sand. Circuit races had been additionally held on Pendine, and George Brough claimed the identify for his racing mannequin after many race wins there, very similar to LeMans, Daytona or Bonneville grew to become bike names in later a long time. The 1927 Brough Superior catalog defined, “Each SS100 Pending mannequin is assured to have been timed to exceed 110mph earlier than supply to the shopper.” No different bike on the earth may even strategy such a velocity in 1927, not to mention one which was totally road authorized, as lights weren’t but required on bikes… and a number of other Pendines had been ordered with lights anyway, as who doesn’t wish to be seen on the world’s quickest bike? The next 12 months George Brough himself proved his level by recording 130.6mph on a manufacturing facility Pendine on the Arpajon straight close to Monthléry, making him the quickest motorcyclist on the earth, on the quickest bike wherever. The specification on this 1927 Pendine is complete: a extremely tuned J.A.P. KTOR 998cc motor, fed by a Lucas racing magneto and respiration by means of a twin-float Binks carburetor, and exiting by means of twin ‘carbjectors’, the free-flowing mufflers Brough invented. The 8” brakes are Enfield, the forks are leaking hyperlink Citadel, and the sheet steel is totally nickel-plated and has acquired the proper patina. That is an achingly lovely bike, and the Pendine has lengthy sat atop any record of world’s finest bike designs, with George Brough hailed as a grasp stylist on par with the likes of Edward Turner (Triumph) and Pierre Terreblanche (Ducati, Bimota) as the best bike designers in historical past. Brough rode and raced what he constructed, profitable dozens of sprints and trials, and personally taking the World’s Quickest title. How does a Pendine maintain up at present? I rode a 1925 SS100 duplicate throughout the USA within the 2018 Motorbike Cannonball Endurance Rally, recurrently handed different opponents at 90mph: the SS100 made all 3600+ miles on the rally, and was by far the quickest machine. Superior certainly.
7. 1956 Rumi Formichino Scooter
The mighty Ant! Rumi was a small Italian bike producer identified for his or her laid-down twin-cylinder two-stroke, constructed to the very best requirements, with a repute for excellence and a confirmed monitor report of racing wins. Officine Fonderie Rumi was based by Donnino Rumi in 1914 to construct textile manufacturing equipment, servicing Italy’s burgeoning vogue business. Rumi switched gears throughout WW2, as demand from the Italian army for precision equipment discovered them constructing midget two-man submarines and torpedos for the struggle effort: this gave rise to the corporate’s distinctive ‘anchor’ emblem. Instantly after WW2, Rumi survived by taking common engineering work, and rapidly selected to construct bikes utilizing the manufacturing expertise 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 unique Rumis used cast-iron cylinder barrels, whereas their frames had plunger rear suspension with undamped telescopic forks up entrance, and wheels with full-width aluminum hubs. The engine was slung beneath the body tubes, and held at two factors, and the chassis dealt with very properly, whereas the engine produced sufficient energy for the manufacturing facility to make its mark in competitors. Rumi gained the Liége-Milano-Liége lengthy distance race in 1954, and took the primary eight locations within the 1954 Swiss GP. Additionally they gained the ISDT Staff Prize in 1954 with 3 Gold medals, and plenty of extra long-distance races, enduros, and Grands Prix.
In 1952 Rumi launched the final word scooter, the Formichino (little ant) with a cast-aluminum body, bodywork, handlebars, and wheel rims – an outrageous and distinctive spec for a scooter, or any two-wheeled automobile. The Formichino is probably essentially the most distinctive and collectable of all scooters, for its distinctive design, attractiveness, and glorious efficiency: being a Rumi, a Formichino gained its class within the 24-hour Bol d’Or race for 3 years in succession within the Fifties! The Nationwide Motorbike Museum has much more scooters to select from – American, European, and Japanese – however the Formichino is my favourite because it’s so uncommon and so cool.
8. ‘Dragon Bike’ from The Wild Angels
To followers of customized bike historical past, the ‘Dragon Bike’ from the 1966 movie The Wild Angels is iconic, and among the finest examples of real-world chopper design utilized in a movie. Two years earlier than Simple Rider, Peter Fonda starred as ‘Heavenly Blues’ on 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 movie was the primary time Peter Fonda was related to bike tradition, and featured precise members of the Hells Angels MC as supporting forged members and fellow riders. Memorable scenes from the movie embrace a sermon delivered by Fonda from a commandeered pulpit, the place he utters the immortal traces, “We wanna be free, and never be hassled by the person!” Wild Angels made Peter Fonda a counterculture film star, and paved the best way for Simple Rider.
Assistant Director Peter Bogdonavich watching. The Dragon Bike is iconic. [API press photo]
That is the authentic Dragon Bike, which sat for years in obscurity, however was pulled again into the limelight by Mil Blair, co-founder of Easyriders journal, who offered the machine to John Parham. The Dragon Bike was constructed specifically for The Wild Angels, and was rigorously authenticated and painstakingly refurbished. Care was given to not over-restore the machine, and what you see are principally authentic finishes, chrome and paint. It’s a uncommon occasion of a well-known film chopper truly surviving into the current day, not like the Simple Rider choppers, which had been stolen and damaged up, or different bikes that merely disappeared. That is the true deal, and one for a deep-pockets memorabilia collector. (Est. $100-120k: reserve public sale)
9. 1940 Indian Mannequin 640 Sport Scout racer
Within the Forties, 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 nationwide championships in AMA Class C racing grew to become a very powerful racing sequence within the USA in 1933, when the Melancholy triggered a re-think on tips on how to entice viewers to racing, and tips on how to revive gross sales. Class C racing demanded the race bikes had been based mostly on serial manufacturing 750cc sidevalve bikes or 500cc OHV machines: fortunately Indian already had the Scout, and Harley-Davidson the W sequence, so a great combat was assured. This 1940 Indian Mannequin 640 Sport Scout is an effective instance of an AMA Class C racer. The brand new class rapidly grew to become very talked-about, with sellers and personal proprietor/mechanics taking the Indian vs Harley-Davidson wars to the dust monitor ovals, TTs and hill climbing occasions.
Each Harley-Davidson and Indian had been prepared for the introduction of the Class C racing season. The Sport Scout, launched in 1934, was a robust contender within the sequence for 20 years, significantly within the early Fifties with the Indian wrecking crew of Bobby Hill, Invoice Tuman and Ernie Beckman, who shared a number of Nationwide Championship titles, and swapped the AMA No.1 plate over a four-year interval.
The Indian Sport Scout used a 42-degree V-Twin sidevalve, 45ci (745 cc) motor, and was in manufacturing for 9 years (1934 to 1942). Indian’s chief engineer and designer, Charles B. Franklin, chargeable for the creation of the Scout (1919), Chief (1922) and Scout Pony (1932), roughed-out in sketch kind the Sport Scout earlier than his demise aged 52, on October 19, 1932. Diverging from Scout’s lengthy operating cradled-framed and leaf-spring fork bike (1920 by means of 1933) the primary Sport Scout, just like the Scout Pony, used a keystone inflexible body by means of 1940, then used a plunger rear suspension for 1941-42, with a girder fork used on all years. The 2-piece body consisted of a entrance downtube and rear fork bolted to the engine/transmission unit by entrance and rear mounting plates. Lack of a body below the motor/transmission maximized floor clearance throughout banking and the girder fork provide extra front-end journey, making the Sport Scout a great bike for dust monitor racing. Tuner alterations to this bike embrace a BTE twist grip throttle, a modified foot clutch, shortened hand shifter, a particular foot-peg arrange, a solo/pillion seat setup and a Splitdorf magneto instead of the unique battery ignition. It’s attention-grabbing to say that Indian stopped producing this mannequin in 1942, and all of the wins within the Fifties had been taken on Sport Scouts that had been at the least 10 years outdated! It’s a legendary machine, and never straightforward to search out at present.
10. 1928 Husqvarna Mannequin 180 V-twin
Husqvarnas from the Twenties? Yep, the traditional firm has the deepest roots of any bike model, based in Huskvarna, Sweden because the royal munitions manufacturing facility again in 1689. The corporate was first privatized in 1757 as Husqvarna, and started producing bikes in 1903 – the identical 12 months as a sure American megabrand. They constructed strong, well-engineered machines and shortly grew to become the most important bike builder in Scandinavia, with a wide variety of singles and V-twin, sidevalve and OHV, and a string of very profitable racing bikes too. Husqvarna’s hottest mannequin of the Twenties was their distinctive 550cc V-twin designed and constructed in-house as the primary all-Husqvarna bike – beforehand they’d used some bought-in elements. Husqvarna’s 550cc V-twin line was launched in 1915 with the Mannequin 150, utilizing sidevalve motors that had been remarkably dependable and constructed for Swedish circumstances in all weathers, which earned them nice affection of their place of birth. They had been additionally raced, for instance when the Mannequin 180 was launched in 1926, a trio competed within the 24-hour endurance ’Midvinterävlingen’, the place solely two Husqvarna 180s had been left operating on the finish of the race! The Mannequin 180 had a caged curler big-end and a knife-and-fork connecting rod, which made the engine slimmer because the cylinders not wanted to be offset. The crankshaft bearings had been force-fed by an oil pump, which elevated reliablity, as did the doubled-up curler bearings on the drive aspect of the crankcase. The Mannequin 180 had a two inch decrease saddle peak than its predecessor, and weight was trimmed by eradicating the heavy valance on the fenders, in addition to, on some fashions, a particular cloth/rubber footboard changing forged gadgets. Electrical mild was an choice, with full Bosch generator, magneto, and good-looking 8” headlamp. A particular hand pump on the aspect of the gasoline tank lubricated the drive chain!
The Mannequin 180 was a really mild v-twin at 293lbs, and with an American Schebler HX159 carburetor, efficiency was energetic. With a decrease saddle peak on the 1927 fashions, the dealing with was good, because the motor was set barely ahead of the middle of the bike, an excellent location for a rigid-frame machine with sporting pretensions. The paint scheme was a good-looking Swedish blue surrounded by black panels and chassis paint. In search of a special V-twin than the standard? It is a fairly darn cool bike.
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