Vintage Style - 1910

[revmike]

I uploaded this because I thought the detail in this shot was great.

I had to make some chages to this original post. Utah Historical Society aside, this should be F E Whittler, famous speed racer of the early 1900s on a Flying Merkel. If it is Whittler. This is some good vintage, period detail of a running Merkel. I think Whittler shortly thereafter was also running Indians. He was also punished by the racing folks for running in unsanctioned events. Which makes him an original "outlaw" biker in 1910.

~Rev Mike

This is John F Whittler ( more likely F. E. Whittler ) in Salt Lake City on June 28, 1910. Photo by Shipler Commercial Photographers; Shipler, Harry.

Whittler on Machine

[revmike]

1910 Curtiss Single

[revmike]

This is the Wagner frame (1910), which is of exclusive design, having 3 bars terminating in the fork head. The first and second bars form the diamond, and are of 16 gauge tubing. The lower bar, of 14-gauge tubing, makes the loop around the engine. It will be noted that the motor is hung low and well forward, so that perfect balance is obtained. The seat mast and loop are one continuous piece, and there is no separate exhaust pipe as the waste gasses are carried through the loop frame to the muffler. The standard equipment is the Wagner special twin fork, or a spring fork if desired by the purchaser. The company will furnish either rubber or Wata-Wata leather belts. The Tourist battery model sells for $200, the spring fork battery for $210 and the magneto model for $225

[revmike]

Here is a nice diagram of a 1910 motorcycle with the various parts labelled. Should be easy enough to read. If you need a bigger copy, PM me and I'll send you one. Pretty cool.

~Rev Mike

[wickedblockhead]

good stuff Rev! enlightening!

[revmike]

more to come!

[TemeculaTerry]

Im getting a poster made of the first one - cool stuff...

[Guest]

The seat mast and loop are one continuous piece, and there is no separate exhaust pipe as the waste gasses are carried through the loop frame to the muffler.

That sounds horrible. Man, that must have caused some serious problems with condensation & integrity issues... now I've got something to look for. Thank for sharing.

[MetalHeadFab]

Bikes like that make me proud to be an American.

Great snap shot of our history.

[revmike]

That sounds horrible. Man, that must have caused some serious problems with condensation & integrity issues... now I've got something to look for. Thank for sharing.

That is what I thought, continuous loop and it would seem that the exhaust was also in that same loop weird. Not to mention heat.

~Rev Mike

[revmike]

That is what I thought, continuous loop and it would seem that the exhaust was also in that same loop weird. Not to mention heat.

~Rev Mike

Jump ahead for a minute to 1917, I just thought this was pretty interesting... Cannonball Baker and his Indian Motorcycle....

[revmike]

And... more of the same with some details from July 1917

From the Wiki-verse...

Erwin George "Cannon Ball" Baker (March 12, 1882 – May 10, 1960) was a motorcycle and automobile racing driver and organizer in the first half of the 20th century. Baker began his public career as a vaudeville performer, but turned to driving and racing after winning a dirt-track motorcycle race in Crawfordsville, Indiana in about 1904.

Baker was also famous for his record-setting point-to-point drives, in which he was paid to promote the products of various motorcycle and automobile manufacturers. In all, he made 143 cross-country motorcycle speed runs totaling about 5,500,000 miles (8,850,000 km).

In 1908, Baker purchased an Indian motorcycle and began entering and winning local races. His most famous victory came in 1909 at the first race ever held at the newly built Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Baker also raced at the 1922 Indianapolis 500, placing 11th in a Frontenac. He later became the first commissioner of NASCAR. Baker was inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

[revmike]

Merkel Light from 1910... sorry, I cleaned this up as best I could - very poor copy and too small for the details to boot, but a great example of some of the work going on.

~Rev

[revmike]

Okay, last ones tonight. This is cool, just an illustrated list of engines and frames being manuf in 1910. This should be an interesting reference. If you want a bigger picture of these to download, I have huge (20 in x 30 in) jpg copies here: (have fun!! ~Rev Mike)


Large 1910 Engine Chart

Large 1910 Frame Chart

[philbey]

those pics are banana's. are the engines sketched to the same scale? I'm guessing no.