Wheelz exhibit bike named “bike of the Year”

(11/25/2005)

 

The Panhandler, pictured below, built by Bruce Mullins, owner of Skunkworx Custom Cycle in Columbus, Ohio, has been named “Bike of the Year” by Easyriders magazine. When Panhandler was chosen for the Wheelz Exhibit at the Columbus College of Art and Design last September, Exhibitions Director Natalie Marsh agreed that it could be briefly removed from the show for a competition to be held in Houston, Texas early in November. Now, as builder of a “bike of the year,” Mullins keeps good company among other leading builders in the exhibit, including Paul Yaffe, Arlen Ness, Eddie Trotta, Indian Larry, Jesse James, Chris Cruz, Donnie Smith, and Tom Langton.

 

Mullins, born in 1960, was raised in Barberton, Ohio where he went into paint and body work. He says, “In 1990 I was getting tired of the routine, just about the time I traded a paint job to a guy for a used Yamaha.” Mullins rebuilt and did custom paint on the Yamaha, which caught the eye of other motorcycle owners in his area who encouraged him to get into custom motorcycle work professionally.

 

Relocating to Columbus, Mullins, shown here, went to work for V-Twin Motorcycle Exchange where he got involved in basic customizing. He says, “I was stretching frames and tanks and that kind of thing when I heard another dealer in the area complaining about how he could not match Ducati's red paint for repair work. I got a sample from him, mixed my own formula to match the Ducati red, and hit it spot on.” This achievement, which the Ducati dealer considered a “feat,” contributed further to Mullins' reputation in the local custom bike community.

 

Mullins started his own business, Skunkworx, in 2000 in a 2,000 square foot garage. Today it is in 24,000 square feet of space with more than a dozen customer bikes in progress. Mullins says that Panhandler, completed in April 2005, is the first motorcycle he has built from his own drawings. He says, “I learned drafting and mechanical drawing in vocational school. When I could not find a built frame that would fit my vision for the bike, I bought some drafting equipment and created my own design and had the tubing bent to my specifications.”

 

One of the most unusual features of the bike is its “swing-away” fuel tank, pictured above. Mullins recalls, “We were trying to keep everything as sleek and clean as possible, and we thought we would like to have a hidden fuel filler. That kind of started as a joke, but then someone said, ‘Why don't we make one side of the gas tank fold down and mount the fuel filler on the inside.'” This is exactly what Mullins and his team did with the right side of the fuel tank, and this feature enabled them to hide the oil tank and all of the electrics in the left side of the tank. With the oil supply in the left tank, Mullins decided to make the oil lines – usually problematic for builders – an artistic component of the design, as shown above. He says, “Instead of trying to hide the lines, we used brushed stainless steel and made them a conspicuous design component on the left side of the engine. To my knowledge, we were the first builder to use the brushed stainless tubing, and now others have begun to use it.”

 

Panhandler's first competition was the Heritage Motorcycle Rally Build-off in April, 2005 where it missed first place by a single point. Mullins explains “We won the ‘people's choice' portion of the competition hands down. However, there was also a 30-mile ride where the bikes were judged for rideability and performance. We had not had time to mount the front brake quite right, and we lost some points for that, which put us out of first place by a single point.” Coming so close to a championship encouraged Mullins to re-engineer the front brake, pictured above, and have another try, resulting in the victory in Houston that will place Panhandler on the cover of a future issue of Easyriders.

 

Panhandler has been reinstalled in the Wheelz Exhibit where it will be on display at the Columbus College of Art and Design through December 11, 2005. For more information on Skunkworx, click here. For more information of the Columbus College of Art and Design click here.  For more photos of the Panhandler, by photographer Michael Farabaugh, click here.

 

November edition of IJMS now on line

(11/24/2005)

 

The November issue of the on-line International Journal of Motorcycle Studies is now available. It includes “A Brief History of ‘Outlaw' Motorcycle Clubs” by William Dulaney, “Sex and the Art of Motorcycle Mechanics: Motorcycles as Personal” by Kris Slawinski, a roundtable discussion of the movie “Easy Rider,” and reviews of books by Ernesto Che Guevara and Danny Lyon. To access the new IJMS, click here.

 

 

Will money kill racing at the Isle of Man?

(11/22/2005)

 

Having survived two world wars, constant criticism as an unsafe circuit, and the loss of its world championship status, the Isle of Man TT rolls on, closing in on its centenary. But it may be money -- that which makes or breaks most institutions – that will at long last kill the most legendary of all motorcycle competitions. If so, it will not be for a lack thereof, but because there is too much.

 

The TT exists because the British Parliament banned racing on public roads in the early days of the last century. In response, the Isle of Man welcomed an automobile race to its public roads in 1904. However, motorcycles were the true vehicle of choice for the era, selling over automobiles at a rate of three to one, so in 1907 the two and three-wheeled contingent was invited to the Island as well. Thus began the Tourist Trophy, held each year in the Spring. In 1923, a second motorcycle event was hosted on the Island.  Originally planned to provide racing for amateurs, in 1930 it was upgraded to become the Manx GP, conducted in the Fall. Over time, the Island became the Mecca for motorcycle racers and their fans from throughout the world. Perhaps its dark side, the danger of the mountain circuit and frequent fatalities, was part of its romantic allure. Each year, like Mediaeval knights going to battle, leather clad young men bump started their mounts with the knowledge that they could end their day in either death or glory.

 

By the 1960s, cars and motorcycles were no longer a novelty. They were as common as fleas, and safety on public roads had become an issue that governments could no longer ignore. Street circuits were coming under fire, and the Isle of Man, as the greatest of these, was feeling most of the heat. I became a delegate to the FIM in 1971, and I recall that at my first meeting the future of the TT as a world championship venue was high on the agenda. The Isle of Man tourism authority had come to the meeting to host a big cocktail party for the delegates, and I would quickly learn that in the world of FIM diplomacy, when someone hauled out the drinks and hors d'oeuvres, things were getting serious. Captain Norman Dixon, chairman of Britain's Auto Cycle Union and an archetype for quiet Victorian dignity, stood before the group and literally pleaded, “Don't kill the TT. I implore you, please don't kill the TT.”

 

But defenders of the TT were not dealt a good playing hand. The very next June, Gilberto Parlotti, a friend of Giacomo Agostini and great rival of Angel Nieto, was killed on the Island, racing to earn world championship points at a round that Nieto had decided to forego because he did not like the odds for survival. Nieto and Barry Sheene were already vocal critics of the mountain circuit, and Parlotti's death prompted Agostini and Phil Read to declare a pact to never race on the Island again (an agreement that Read would later break). Unanimity among grand champions like Agostini, Read, and Nieto, and up-and-comers like Sheene, steeled the will for a boycott among the leading teams. I attended the TT in 1973, and it was evident that history had turned a page. Jack Findlay was the only top tier rider to enter the Senior TT, and he won aboard a Suzuki two-stroke works machine. Peter Williams came second aboard a Matchless four-stroke single, representing the kind of aging technology that had not won the race since Mike Hailwood achieved victory aboard a Norton in 1961. Furthermore, the results suggested that Findlay was riding well beneath his ability, since Williams brought the ancient Matchless home in only slightly more than a minute of Findlay's winning time. Was this really a race of world championship caliber?

 

Facing unabated criticism, after the 1976 season the FIM finally stripped the TT of its world championship status. In 1977 the British Grand Prix was moved to the purpose-built Silverstone circuit on the mainland, which heralded the end of an era. Street circuits were still being used in Belgium, Yugoslavia, Finland, and Czechoslovakia, but one by one they would be removed from the world championship calendar. But removal from the world championship calendar did not kill the TT. To the contrary, both the TT and the Manx GP have survived on their merits, continuing to draw motorcycle enthusiasts from throughout the world for annual festivals of speed, sound, and nostalgia. The fatalities have continued, but they are not so brightly lighted by the press, now that the world's top riders are not involved.

 

In the mean time, while the races have changed little, the financial culture of the Island has changed a lot in that tourism is no longer one of the main drivers of the Manx economy. Motojournalist and Isle of Man resident Bruce Cox reports, “The economy has changed completely since the ‘big bang' in the communications and financial industries at the start of the ‘90s. We are now a financial center, and tourism has little affect on the economy as a whole.” Less reliance on tourism can result in less tolerance for the noise and chaos of the annual races.

 

Scottish motorcycle historian Myles Raymond, who attended the Manx GP this year, elaborates, “Many of the locals there told me they really think the TT and the Manx are living on borrowed time. The Island has become more of a tax haven for mainlanders who retire there, driving up the house prices and making it more difficult for young people who grow up there to stay. This skews the demographics so that there are less people living there whose livelihood depends on the local economy, and locals told me the population and Council are slowly becoming less and less interested in supporting the races.” Cox concurs, “There have always been wealthy folk here because of the offshore tax structure, but now there a lot more of them.”

 

One ominous example of change is the fact that the Murray Museum, located on Mount Snaefell, closed this year for lack of attendance. I visited this museum during my first trip to the Island in 1971 on the occasion of the ISDT. Featuring rare and ancient artifacts from the British motorcycle industry, it has always been a must-stop place for motorcycling tourists. I saw my first wicker sidecar there, and recall staring in awe at the famous Wooler with rocking-beam engine. It is a shame that tourism will no longer support such an institution.

 

Analyzing the overall situation, Cox states, “It is not really the affluent who are complaining about the TT. They are rich enough to fly off to wherever they feel like during TT fortnight. There are, however, a lot of normal working people who don't like the disruption of roads closing for daily morning and evening practices. Even more so, there are a lot of people who are concerned about the continuing death rate both in the races and on the roads.” On that topic, Raymond reports, “There were five deaths, resulting in this year's Manx being called the ‘Black Manx,' which only helps cement the gloom.” Cox adds, “There are rumors all the time about the 2007 centenary year being the last one, but the government continues to vehemently deny this.”

 

Indeed, if there are plans to end the TT, they are not reflected in its official website. Depicting a high level of optimism, it lists the dates for future TT races through 2014. For the official Isle of Man TT website, click here. For the site for the Manx GP, click here. To reach Myles Raymond's website click here.

Photo from the 2005 Manx GP provided by Myles Raymond.

 

Editor's Note:

Concerning the Isle of Man, Bruce Cox, quoted in the commentary above, and American publisher Dick Lague have teamed up to form Cold Creek Partners LLC, and have been appointed the North American distributor for Duke Video, the world's largest supplier of motorcycle-oriented home entertainment products, including historical videos. Based on the Isle of Man, Duke Video was founded by Peter Duke, son of the legendary motorcycle champion and six-time TT winner Geoff Duke. Lague served 25 years as president of the motorcycle group for Petersen Publishing Company and now is head of his family-owned Ignition3 video production company. Cox was publisher of Motorcycle Weekly and co-promoted races with British cohort Gavin Trippe in the United States before returning to Great Britain and settling on the Isle of Man, from which he runs his own television production business. Duke Video offers over 2000 titles. For more information, click here.

 

 

 

(11/19/2005)

 

Historian Carl Edeburn is working on a project to document the exploits of the great Indian riders, including Al Nelson, Bill Tuman, Bobby Hill, Chuck Basney, and others. He is currently focusing his research on Lester Hillbish, Stanley Witinski, Melvin Rhoades and the brothers Woodsie and Frenchy Castonguay. Hillbish, Witinski, and Rhoades all had ties to the Reading Motorcycle Club. Anyone who has information or knows of secondary sources of information for any of the riders mentioned above can E-mail Edeburn at Dimensions5@mchsi.com. To learn more about Edeburn's published work, click here.

 

 

Images of the world's fastest Indian

(11/18/2005)

 

Since we learned about it from New Zealander Sandra Perry more than a year ago, Motohistory has been following the progress of the production and distribution of the motion picture “The World's Fastest Indian,” starring Anthony Hopkins in the role of Kiwi speedster Burt Munro (1899 – 1978). Previous stories have appeared in News & Views on 7/12/2004, 8/23/2005, 9/11/2005, and 10/25/2005.

 

The movie has premiered in Toronto and Invercargill, New Zealand, and is expected to go into general distribution in the United States in February 2006. Those who have seen it give it high marks. American Indian expert and restorer Dave Hansen, who knew Burt Munro, says, “Hopkins nails Munro. He captures his mannerisms and personality perfectly." Cycle News reviewer Henny Ray Abrams said, “As a movie about a motorcyclist, it's the best to come along in years, maybe decades.” History purists should be prepared to see the story abbreviated per usual motion picture plot development methodology. For example, although Munro made many trips to Bonneville to confront what he called “the God of Speed,” the movie depicts a single visit to the salt where his lifetime of effort comes together in the achievement of a world land speed record. For the whole story, I recommend “Burt Munro: Indian Legend of Speed,” by George Begg, published in New Zealand by Begg & Allen in 2002.

 

Costar to Hopkins in the movie is Munro's incredible streamliner, built around a 1920 Indian Scout engine that Munro worked on up to 16 hours a day for much of his adult life. Between his Indian and his 1937 Velocette engines, Munro reckons he experienced over 250 major blow-ups over a 20 year period, yet he continued to rebuild and race the same equipment, fabricating his own major parts, including cylinders, pistons, and rods while repeatedly patching shattered engine cases. Three replicas of the Indian were built for the movie. One was an accurate non-running replica (shown above), one was a chassis and empty shell (shown below), and one was powered by a Ducati engine for scenes of the machine in motion.

 

Over his career, Munro built three versions of the streamlined shell. The first was made of metal and was too snug to be practical. It became the plug from which a lighter fiberglass shell was built. As he “tuned” his streamlining by trial and error, Munro built a second fiberglass shell in which he made his successful record runs. Over time, it was modified in detail. For example, the shell shown in the movie is an earlier version with three small vertical stabilizers on its tail. The final version had a larger single vertical stabilizer, and still exists.

 

When trekking to America for Bonneville speed week became an annual affair, Munro decided to leave his chassis and shell with friends in the United States, returning to New Zealand with only the engine, which he would rebuild and modify for the next year's event. Munro had a chassis in New Zealand that he used for test runs, but he had no place where he could even begin to run the engine out in top gear, so at home he ran it only in the unstreamlined chassis to get some idea how well his mechanical improvements were working.

 

That chassis and the actual land speed record engine (No.50R627) still exist in New Zealand, owned by Norman Hayes of Invercargill. When Munro saw his time of struggle with the God of Speed coming to an end, overcome by age and major changes in the rules for Bonneville streamliner design, he assembled a second engine from parts to install in the streamliner, which he sold in America after his retirement. That machine, featuring the true land speed record chassis and shell, passed through several hands and was finally gorgeously restored by the late Pasadena, California artist and collector Dean Hensley. It is still owned by the Hensley family.

 

For more images from the filming of “The World's Fastest Indian,” click here and here.

 

Editor's Note:

Many in the American antique motorcycle community are aware of Dean Hensley's beautiful and elaborate graphic designs, some of which were featured on a series of T-shirts that included tributes to the Burt Munro Special, Ed Kretz, Sr., Ed Kretz, Jr., And the Globe of Death. By popular demand, Hensley's work is being reproduced by his brother Tom on quality shirts. For more information, E-mail Tom Hensley at cdh52@charter.net.

 

We have a winner!

(11/15/2005)

 

The winner of Motohistory Quiz 18 is Michael “Classic Bike Mike” Kron of Krautheim/Klepsau, Germany, who correctly identified the engine and drive train as that of a TWN (Triumph Werks Nuremberg) Contessa scooter, built from 1955 through 1957. With its cylinder removed, one can see the double-ended piston rod of this unusual “split single” design, which was characteristic of the post-war two-stroke TWNs. Kron explains, “A total of 6453 of these scooters were built. It has a 197cc 10 hp engine. The typical TWN engine design is the twin-piston system. In one cylinder block there are two cylinders with one cylinder head, one sparkplug, and one gasket. The two cylinders are connected at the top.”

 

Pictured here is a cutaway TWN BDG125L motorcycle engine. Again, the pistons are missing, showing clearly the double-ended connecting rod and the twin cylinders that share a single combustion chamber.

 

TWN was a subsidiary of the British Triumph firm, and became autonomous in 1930. Prior to that date, it assembled motorcycles from Coventry-supplied parts, but afterward began developing its own two-strokes in capacities from 175 to 350cc. TWN was acquired by Grundig in 1957.

 

Several readers noticed the unusual connecting rod and guessed that the quiz engine was from an Austrian Puch, marketed by Sears in the United States under the Allstate brand during the late 1950s and early 1960s. This is an understandable error since the 175 and 250cc Puchs also had two cylinders with a single combustion chamber. However, the design was different in that the Puch's cylinders sit fore and aft, and the TWNs sit side by side. The split-single design is also sometimes referred to as a “twingle.”

 

Why did TWN and Puch use these unusual split-single designs? The fundamental porting system for the modern two-stroke engine was created and patented by Adolph Schnuerle in the 1920s. Several companies tried novel approaches to achieve efficient fuel flow while avoiding Schnuerle's design, seeking to avoid paying royalties. The TWN's split single draws fuel into one cylinder and sends exhaust out the other. With the Puch, one piston slightly leads the other, theoretically creating a kind of pumping motion to improve fuel flow. Both designs have been abandoned in modern, high-efficiency two-strokes, in part because of the invention of the expansion chamber in the early 1960s.

 

To learn more about Adolph Schnuerle, see Motohistory News & Views 8/12/2004 . To see how the Puch split single design works, click here.  For a picture of the TWN Contessa scooter, click here.

Congratulations, Mike, your Motohistory cap is on its way to Germany.

TWN cutaway engine provided by the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum.

 

Bar Hodgson:

Canadian promoter extraordinaire

(11/14/2005)

 

From behind the iron gates under the letters “Falcon Ridge,” in the town of Whitby, Ontario, two large German Shepherds approach, snarling, barking, and bearing their teeth. They appear to be more than adequate to protect the 200-plus rare motorcycles that repose in various buildings throughout the property. But when their master, Bar Hodgson, turns them back with a silent hand command, then advises them it is alright, they suddenly flash big doggie smiles and become my new best friends.

 

Born in Toronto in 1938, Hodgson (pictured here) became infatuated with motorcycles in 1953. Like many North American youngsters of his age and era, he was powerfully influenced by the mythical figure of the motorcycle tramp depicted by Marlon Brando in “The Wild One.” Hodgson recalls, “Motorcycles meant freedom and adventure to me. That movie was about living outside the boundaries of the ordinary, and the motorcycle was a vehicle that could take you there.”

 

Hodgson's first shot at the freewheeling lifestyle of motorcycling fell somewhat short of the glamorous Triumph ridden by Brando. Rather, it was a used Corgi scooter for which he paid $15.00. To make matters worse, his father vociferously disapproved and ordered him to return the bike. The Corgi's prior owner refused to return Hodgson's money, but offered to take back the scooter in trade for a rifle. Left with little choice, Hodgson dragged the rifle home, only to upset his father even more. As a result, the original transaction was let stand, and young Hodgson was allowed to keep the Corgi. From this humble beginning he stepped up to a 1939 BSA single, then a 1952 Triumph Thunderbird, which he bought from George Chuvalo, the Canadian heavyweight boxing champion who once went 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali. Hodgson had arrived, since this Triumph was not so different from Brando's bike in the movie that started it all.

 

Hodgson began drag racing and speed tuning, and opened a business building custom motorcycles, drawing his influences from the California custom cars and motorcycles depicted in magazines of the period. In December, 1972 he received a Kawasaki franchise and opened Superbike Center in Scarboro. He recalls, “Yvon DuHamel was making a big name for himself racing a Bob Hansen tuned Kawasaki triple in the AMA Formula 750 series and in Canada under the sponsorship of F. Manley Corporation, the Canadian national Kawasaki distributor, and he came to the grand opening as our celebrity guest.”

 

In 1976, Hodgson bought the Toronto Motorcycle Flea Market and moved it indoors, into the Toronto International Center. Hodgson says, “I did it because motorcycle dealers were not allowed to exhibit in the Cycle Canada Show. I thought that was wrong and short sighted. I decided to do a better job, and I created my own show that catered to retailers like myself.”  Hodgson's vision of how to structure a motorcycle show proved correct, because it eventually took him away from retailing into fulltime show promotion. Today, presented by Bar Hodgson Productions, the North American International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW is now in its 30th year, and has become the benchmark for Canadian motorcycle expositions. Hodgson explains his success: “It better fits my personality than the day-to-day of retailing. I am a good project guy, and I like to work on a complex operation and see it come together in a spectacular production that fulfills the needs of many exhibitors.”

 

Through the SUPERSHOW, Hodgson established his name as an outstanding organizer and promoter. As a result, individuals in the Canadian motorcycle industry approached him in the mid-1990s with encouragement to take charge of motorcycle racing activities at Mosport Park. At that facility, Bar Hodgson Productions promoted the Mosport round of the Canadian National Superbike Championship and managed 20 track days per year for six years. During this period, Hodgson started his own belated road racing career when he began competing in vintage classes.

With success at hand as a race promoter and show organizer, Hodgson began to invest in collectible motorcycles, and today the complexity of his operation is evident in the busy offices that blend seamlessly into an array of rare vintage machines that fill every spare corner of a large building on his gated property. Hodgson's desk practically disappears behind a vintage Whizzer and an exquisitely restored Victoria Bergmeister. His wife Hedy answers inquires and processes show applications while surrounded by NSUs and Nortons. A staff member stuffs promotional mailers within reach of a 350cc works Velocette that is one of only four built to win the 1949 and 1950 world championships. Beyond the doors that separate his office from his shop are rows and rows of stunning motorcycles, many of which are highly pedigreed racing machines. In the lofts above are memorabilia and a resource library that will rival any in North America.

 

Yet, this extensive collection is not just one man's self-indulgence, hidden behind iron gates. Rather, it has become a strategic component of Bar Hodgson Productions. Dubbed the “ SUPERSHOW Collection,” the bikes provide a mobile museum which is a key attraction at the SUPERSHOW, and are moved throughout Canada to promote Hodgson's interests. To this end, Hodgson created in 1998 a non-profit foundation through which the collection and mobile museum are managed. Hodgson says, “I don't know when we will have a bricks-and-mortar facility open to the public. In the mean time, it is very satisfying to be able to take segments of the collection to different venues, wherever they are needed and will be appreciated.”

 

Hodgson's keen interest in motorcycle history embodies a desire to see great Canadians receive their due for outstanding contributions to the sport. In fact, during our visit, 1981 Canadian Superbike Champion Lang Hindle (pictured above) drops by. He reminisces about his bike and personal riding gear, which are part of Hodgson's collection, and the two men begin to outline Hodgson's latest project, the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. Hindle explains, “Motorcyclists have been recognized in the Canadian Motor Sports Hall of Fame, and we are appreciative of that recognition, but that institution has not been able to really focus on motorcycling to the extent it deserves.” Consequently, the newly created Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame will host its first Gala Banquet and induction ceremony in May, 2006. The event has broad and enthusiastic support, since the Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada, representing clubs and federations throughout the large nation, has already signed on as its major sponsor.

 

At 67, Bar Hodgson shows no sign of slowing down in his quest to promote motorcycling in Canada, honor its history, and achieve the recognition that he believes its champions and industry leaders deserve. For more information about the 30th Annual North American International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW, scheduled for January 6 through 8, 2006, click here.

 

SUPERSHOW is a registered trademark of Bar Hodgson productions.

 

Motohistory Quiz 18

(11/14/2005)

 

What is it? Be the first to tell me the brand and nation of origin of this scooter power train, and I will send you a Motohistory cap. Here's a hint. Look closely at the top end of the connecting rod. Send your answer to Ed@motohistory.net.

 

 

(11/12/2005)

Legends of American Motocross calendar available
Veteran motojournalist Charlie Morey has produced a 2006 calendar featuring legends of American motocross that is available at Lulu.com, a print-on-demand website. Morey was one of the leading photographers during the formative years of professional motocross in the United States . His work appeared frequently in Cycle News from 1974 to 1981, then in Dirt Rider Magazine from 1982 to 1996.

The 26-page Legends of American Motocross 2006 calendar features 14 of Morey's favorite photographs, including the famous 1974 picture of Jimmy Weinert and Tony DiStefano (shown above) that won that year's FIM international photo contest. Now retired from motorsports photography, Morey creates and sells fine art photography prints and is resident artist at the Infusion Gallery in downtown Los Angeles. To learn more about the Legends of American Motocross calendar, click here, or contact Morey at Charlie@digitalphotography.tv .

Historical doings in the Pacific Northwest

Rightfully so, Soundrider.com bills itself as the Northwest's ultimate motorcycle resource.  This includes motohistory, from the location of museums to historical information to upcoming events. To check it out, click here. An equally good resource is the website of the Vintage Motorcycle Enthusiasts. For more information on VME and its upcoming events, click here. In addition, a site has been set up to cover post-vintage motocross activity in the Northwest Region of the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association. To reach it, click here.

 

Works Performance will sponsor 2006 AHRMA road racing

(11/10/2005)

 

Works Performance, a leading suspension company that has been producing shock absorbers for both road and off-road applications since 1973, will be the title sponsor for the American Historical Racing Motorcycle Association 2006 Historic Cup road racing series. The series, for vintage racing machinery through the early 1980s, will include ten rounds, beginning at Kershaw, North Carolina on March 3. For more information on Works Performance, click here. For the complete AHRMA road racing schedule and information about other AHRMA programs, click here. And, let us not fail to congratulate Editor Matt Benson for completing the 200th issue of Vintage Views, AHRMA's official journal.

 

Vintage swap meet set

(11/8/2005)

 

A vintage swap meet and bike show, hosted by the Potomac Vintage Riders, will be held January 22, 2006 at the York Fairgrounds in York, Pennsylvania. For more information, click here.

 

Art of the Motorcycle moves to Orlando

(11/5/2005)

 

On October 31 the Guggenheim's Art of the Motorcycle Exhibition completed its six-month run in Memphis, Tennessee. The motorcycles, shown here in secure storage, will soon be moved to Orlando, Florida where the show will reopen at the Orlando Museum of Art on January 22 and run through July 23, 2006. For more information on the upcoming Orlando Art of the Motorcycle Exhibition, click here.

 

We have a winner!

(11/4/2005)

 

Don Rosene of Anchorage, Alaska has correctly identified the object in Motohistory Quiz 17 (News & Views 10/31/2005) as a part -- the main frame and lower engine case -- from a four-cylinder Militaire or Militor motorcycle. Several readers thought it was from a Neracar, which is a good and logical guess.

 

Let's review the hints that were given with the quiz:

 

1) It's not an auto and not a cycle, but maybe both.

The first manufacturer of the Militaire was the Militaire Autocycle Company, founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1911. The vehicle, featuring two girder-type frame rails like an automobile, hub-center steering, and a single-cylinder engine, somewhat like a Neracar, was actually conceived as a two-wheeled automobile. It even had a steering wheel rather than handlebars, and retractable training wheels to make it stable at rest, since its operator was not supposed to put his (her) feet down.

 

2) It hoped to be a good soldier, but got shot down five times.

After the original company went under in 1913, the Militaire was resurrected by Norman R. Sinclair and totally redesigned as a much larger, heavier vehicle with an inline four-cylinder engine, and manufacturing was moved to Buffalo, New York. The new Militaire was tested for military use, but was no better suited for that purpose than it was for civilian transportation. When the Buffalo firm failed, Sinclair started over in New Jersey, and renamed his product the Militor. When the Jersey City venture failed, Sinclair moved manufacturing to the Knox Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer in Springfield, Massachusetts. This effort failed also, so Sinclair moved manufacturing to the Bullard Machine Tool Company in Bridgeport, Massachusetts, where production finally ceased once and for all in 1922. By this time the Militor had a more conventional front steering geometry, had lost its training wheels, and was offered only with a sidecar attached since it was entirely too heavy and cumbersome to actually ride as a solo motorcycle. The reference to being “shot down five times” refers to the Militaire/Militor's five cities of manufacture, where it failed in each and all.

 

3) It rolled like a cannon and sold like a bomb.

In addition to its very long wheel base, heavy automotive-type frame, and car-like engine and gearbox, the Militor had twelve-spoke wooden “artillery” wheels. It is believed that less than 200 of these machines were ever built, and in an era when conventional motorcycles of proven design and reputation were having a difficult time surviving against the affordable Model T, it is simply amazing that this ungainly behemoth struggled on in the marketplace for more than a decade.

 

Very few Militaire/Militors are known to exist today. An example of the final design with sidecar is on display at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama. The chassis shown in our Motohistory Quiz is being used as a pattern by Ontario restorer Fred Crawford (pictured here), who is replicating it for two current restoration projects. A Militaire engine and gearbox sold at the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days auction in 2005 for better than $3,000. The example pictured above is a 1915 model owned by New York collector Jim Dennie.  For a photo of the early single-cylinder Militaire, click here

Congratulations, Don, on knowing your Motohistory. Your prize and tickets to the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours d'Elegance are on the way.

 

Militaire photo courtesy of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum

 

Broughs on the Block

(11/3/2005)

Prize possessions of the late Bob Schanz will be featured at the Bonhams & Butterfields auction scheduled to take place at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on November 12, 2005.  In addition to a Munch Mammoth, an original paint 1913 Merkel, a 1938 BMW RS155 road racer, and a Matchless Silver Hawk, no less than five Broughs will be offered. For more information, call 415-391-4000.

 

Simpson named chairman

at Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum

(11/1/2005)

 

Stan Simpson, of Cibolo, Texas, has been named Chairman of the Board of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. He replaces Mark Mendell, who stepped down from the Chairman's position to devote more time to his business. Mendell will continue to serve as a member of the board. For more information on Simpson, click here.

 

The Museum has also announced its annual on-line auction, offering rare or unique items that could make a fine holiday gift for your favorite history-minded biker. For a listing of items for sale and instructions on how to bid on line, click here.