The History of Motorcycles- pt4 Feeling the Need, the Need for Speed
14 Thunder Roads Magazine Louisiana / Mississippi | December 2017 | www. thunderroadslams. com
By: Melanie Schwarte Re-Print by Request
At this point in our journey, the Wright Board track racing in 1920s
Brothers are making quite a name for themselves buzzing around the skies, and Model T’ s are rolling off Henry Ford’ s assembly lines. But what is happening in the world of two wheels? The early 1900’ s continued to bring changes to the motorcycle world. Once manufacturers had tackled the basic change over from bicycle to motorcycle, the need to start improving took over. There was an aspect of the pre-war production era that was not included in excelsior vtwin last month’ s installment, that simply cannot be excluded from the evolution of these beloved machines … racing. The new sport of motorcycle racing began drawing large crowds bent on celebrating our piston powered future. And with racing came an increased need for comfort, safety, and of course speed.
While numerous small companies throughout Europe were involved in the racing industry, many operated only a short time before ceasing production. One highly notable advancement that came from across the pond occurred in 1908, the development of telescopic pneumatic suspension systems. The new suspension designs made their way from England to the US, and the result was well received. After all, who doesn’ t appreciate a ride that doesn’ t end with your body aching and the famed“ iron butt”?
Meanwhile, in the states, motorcycle racing popularity was increasing by the minute. Early racing was actually held on horse racing ovals or bicycle velodromes, but by 1909 construction of wooden tracks specifically designed for motorcycles began to appear. They called their tracks motordromes, and they were circuits of 1.25 miles constructed out of 2 x 2 and 4 x 4 lumber. They featured severely turned banks which allowed riders to reach speeds previously unseen in the motorcycle world. Crashes were frequent and horrific. Riders who went down faced being impaled by the wooden track, and they were often fatal. Despite the dangers of racing, people flocked to watch, and riders wanted to go faster. This need for speed resulted in demands for more powerful, versatile, and comfortable machines … and there just happened to be some American companies ready to satisfy that need.
While Indian and Harley Davidson continued to keep up with the times and improve their production models, there were two other companies whose focus was simple … SPEED. I’ m pretty sure these guys followed the motto“ if ya ain’ t first, you’ re last”… or maybe that was Ricky Bobby … but who the hell cares?? These people helped ensure that today you can pass everyone in the hammer lane, give’ em the old one finger salute for slowing you down, and wear a smile while doing it.
The Waltham Manufacturing Company was actually founded in 1893, but it wasn’ t until 1903 that they would commence production of the famous“ Orient Racing Bicycles”. These bikes were first introduced to the world at the Charles River Race Track in Boston, at what would come to be known as the first recorded motorcycle speed event in the United States. The Orient set a tack time of 7 minutes over a 5 mile course. Not bad for a first run, but exhibiting the primal need to go faster, to push the limits if you will … they went on to develop an improved 4 HP, 1,000 cc V-Twin that powered the Marsh-Metz before the company’ s motorcycle division went belly-up in 1908.
The other, more familiar, US name in motorcycle racing was Excelsior Motor Company. Though the company operated overseas as well, the US division began operations in 1905. A Chicago based division; Excelsior’ s first motorcycle was a 21 cubic inch, 344 cc 4stroke, single speed machine with a leather belt drive. It had a top speed of 35-40 mph. This first attempt would not suffice. Humor me, if you will, but at this point in my writing I am forced to take a small break and giggle at the scenario unfolding in my head … Four chimps in all their ginger glory, standing around this bike. The first is smiling at his brilliant creation, awaiting praise from the others on a job well done. Chimps 2 and 3 pat him on the back and commence telling stories of the awesomeness that has just unfolded in front of them. But chimp 4 stands a bit apart … scratching his head( or whatever chimps scratch) and pondering.( Number 4 you see … he is the crazy one, the envelope pusher, the friend that always sees another option … that usually gets you all in trouble). The other 3 stop and stare at Number 4, and Number 1 of course has to ask what the problem is … Number 4 looks up, one eye making contact and the other trailing up and off to the left( as usual). He smiles as he raises his arms, lets out a loud abrupt conglomeration of excited grunts … and begins flexing his throttle hand. Squealing and grunting commences, and they all begin exercising those throttle hands. And so it begins …. back to the drawing board. And so it was for Excelsior … there had to be a better way, a faster way. By 1910 they had introduced an engine configuration they would become famous for, and continue to produce until 1929 …. the notable“ X Series”. This engine was the V-Twin measuring 61 cubic inches( 1,000 cc) and would become the first ever to hit the century mark. The“ Model Big X” was the mainstay of Excelsior production, sporting an inlet-overexhaust V-Twin, it was firstly belt driven, and later had 2 speed and 3 speed gearboxes. Production was limited in comparison to Indian and Harley, and many of these models were exported to Europe and Australia.
This era brought about the evolution of spring frames, magneto ignitions, kick starts, spring mounted seats, improved tires, and heavier / sturdier frames to accommodate the larger engines. The motorcycle had become its own entity, no longer a bicycle with an engine, but a separate machine with its own technology. In late 1913 and early 1914, at what was then its heyday, motorcycle production suddenly began to slow to a crawl … production turned its focus almost entirely to producing motorcycles for the military. By the outbreak of WWI in 1914, the motorcycle had rapidly progressed into a dependable, speedy, and relatively inexpensive means of transportation. Next time we’ ll take a look at where the First World War propelled the motorcycle.
Melanie Schwarte, Thunder Roads Iowa Melanie @ thunderroadsiowa. com