[Elektron]

I have lots of pics which fall in this category, and it's a broad one. I'm going to post what I have and hope that others will find this thread one where they will also contribute. I looked at the existing thread categories for pics, and believe this will allow additional opportunities for stock or nearly-stock bikes to be seen. Since bikes change over time, as owners keep them operational, stock is more-of a general description than a hard and fast rule. Let's see what pics this attracts.

 

[Elektron]

More pics.

 

[Elektron]

More pics.

 

[Thebigguy0811]

Those are great pics of a lot of early iron. I love the detail on the FN headlight.

 

[Elektron]

Those are great pics of a lot of early iron. I love the detail on the FN headlight.

Apart from the heart of any bike (the engine, of course), I find the front end to be a tell-tale of the engineering of the period. I'm just glad we don't have to mess-with a Prest-O-Lite to illuminate the roadway in-front of us.

Some more pics.

 

[HD48FL]

Great pics, both of your threads have been adding to the sticky for "Our Picture Threads":

Our picture threads...Please check here before starting...

These are some of our biggest and longest-established pic threads. If you need to see pics or have some to add, bump one of these threads rather than just starting a new one. And, here are some tips on pic hosting and posting. Vintage bikes 'teens to WWII, USA, British, Italian, and other...

www.jockeyjournal.com

 

[Thebigguy0811]

The headlamp on the Erie is awesome. I almost expected the side jewels to be red and green ala boat running lights

 

[Elektron]

The bike here is actually pre-dating the lower-numerically age specified, but don't let that keep you from seeing it. Hammondsport NY's own Glenn Curtiss, when the bike was built, Curtiss became the 'fastest man alive,' on the ground or in the air. Yes, he held the WSR for planes at the same time. This engine was built for airship use, and the boss (Curtiss) decided it would make a pretty-impressive motorcycle powerplant, too. It did, on Ormond Beach FL before WWI.

 

[Ratso]

Holy cats, a direct-drive V8! Elektron have you got any further beans to spill about it? Displacement, est. power, top speed achieved? About what year was it built? And when you say "built for airship use," d'you mean like for blimps? Was the engine ever used in an airship.

I guess I'm out of questions for the time being. Many thanks for throwing up all these swell pics.

 

[Ducbsa]

No pesky clutch either; they must have towed it up to some minimum speed.

 

[Elektron]

I took the pics at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC one beautiful spring day. Motorcycle, Curtiss V-8 | National Air and Space Museum Listed as between 30-40 HP @1800 rpm from 4 liters/244c.i.

Here's where to turn for detailed info: Glenn H. Curtiss Aviation Museum - Aviation History / Naval Aviation / Early Aviation - Finger Lakes - Hammondsport, NY
Curtiss’s 1907 World Record V8 Motorcycle (136.4 mph) to answer your question. It was another 30 years before Joe Petrali came close-to but did not break Curtiss's record, in 1937.

Is Joe Petrali The World’s Greatest Motorcycle Racer?

Joe Petrali was one of the last great Class A racing stars who competed in board track racing, dirt track, speed records and hillclimbs. His record of 49 AMA national championship races lasted 55 years.

www.cycleworld.com

Petrali went to work for Howard Hughes after that record, and was the flight engineer in the amphibious airplane the Spruce Goose.

From another source:
It took another 23 years before it (Curtiss's 1907 record) was beaten in 1930 by Joseph Wright's OEC Temple JAP at 137.23 mph (220.99 km/h). Within weeks, BMW rested the crown with a run by Ernst Henne of 137.74 mph (221.67 km/h) and the combined forces of BMW saw Henne better the record every year until 1937.

The tale of the 1907 Curtiss V8, the only motorcycle ever to hold the outright land speed record

Despite all you read about early car speed records, trains actually held the land speed record until 1907. That all changed when Glen Curtiss built and rode a V8 motorcycle to a land speed record of 136 mph. Within a decade he would become the Henry Ford of the aerospace industry, but his…

newatlas.com

Yes, the engine was designed and built by Curtiss for lighter-than-airships, and sold for that purpose. He decided that it would make a good motorcycle powerplant. Bear in-mind, this record was set a year before Henry Ford began production of the Model T!

Current motorcycles in the western NYS Curtiss Museum:

Originals
1903 Curtiss Hercules
1908 Curtiss V-Twin (on loan from Charles & Martha Darling)
1909 Curtiss V-Twin (on loan from Charles & Martha Darling)
1910 Curtiss Single Cylinder with sidecar
1911 Indian (on loan from Vern Fasel)
1912 Curtiss Single Cylinder
1917 Henderson (on loan from Frank Westfall)
1922 Evans (on loan from Frank Westfall)
1924 Ner-A-Car (on loan from Charles & Martha Darling)
1925 Cleveland (on loan from William Dorman)
Reproductions
1907 Curtiss 8 Cylinder

More on the Curtiss V8:

The tale of the 1907 Curtiss V8, the only motorcycle ever to hold the outright land speed record

Despite all you read about early car speed records, trains actually held the land speed record until 1907. That all changed when Glen Curtiss built and rode a V8 motorcycle to a land speed record of 136 mph. Within a decade he would become the Henry Ford of the aerospace industry, but his…

newatlas.com

 

[Thebigguy0811]

Love the bike. The bevel gear set looks like it would eat your foot in less than a heartbeat.

 

[dan r]

Nice pix, thanks. The AMCA events are a great place to see a large variety of brands.

A friend has been working on this collection for 25+ years...

during war years...

 

[Elektron]

OMG, maybe I could afford one of those! That's something! I hope that building is sprinklered, remember what happened to NY Yankee Reggie Jackson's collection of bikes and muscle cars.

Here's a BMW used by the 'Desert Fox,' Erwin Rommel the Wehrmacht tank commander, as converted to Imperial dimensions by Harley-Davidson. They 'reverse-engineered' the BMW, because the shaft drive and the robust design stood-up to the punishment of operating in the hot, sandy terrain.

 

[Elektron]

Here is one of the most technologically-advanced bikes of the pre-WWII era, the Gilera Rondine. It's a 500cc (30.5 cu. in.) DOHC four cyl. built to battle the mighty BMW's being built/raced at the time.

Eighty-seven HP @ 9000rpm. In 1937 it set a world record of over 167mph.

 

[Elektron]

Another website which is for a certain model of Japanese bike, has a member who posted a lot of pics of the Cannonball Run 2021 when they got to TX. I'm assuming that it's OK to post a link to pics of the American and British bikes he photographed.

Here is the link.
What did you do to your Vmax today? Part 2 | Page 629 | Yamaha Star V-Max VMAX Motorcycle Discussion Forum (vmaxforum.net) See posts #12,561-12,563. The easiest way to view them, is to click on the first bike pic, and when it appears in full-screen mode, just use the arrows on the left and right sides to view the pics.

There are about 28 pictures, and anyone interested in older bikes will enjoy the pics.

An example:

Picture #7 of bikes on their own is a Ner-A-Car, which is a 1920's design using hub-center steering and a low-slung, feet-forward seating position. It's very-advanced for its day, and numerous current manufacturers have released production models of hub-center steering designs.

 

[Elektron]

Rat's Hole Daytona Beach 2023

Two H-D 45 cu. in. engines, points, no power-adders. The bike was very neat. It's headed to Utah this summer for the long course.