old photos

[Ken Lee]

Cory , I think the year must be 1917 or 18 , it looks like an electric model , which I think came out in '17 , Ken

[exeric]

Hey Eric! I forgot to ask. Is that J-Model of 1916 vintage? I'm assuming there's a kickstart hiding behind that gals skirt........

I think it's a 1916, for the simple reason that the paint looks lighter than the olive color, and the striping stands out more than it would on the olive color. The lighting and charging system is the Remy model 15 unit which was used from 1915 through early 1918. This bike has nickel handlebars that were featured through 1917. The distinctive 1916 features such as the dog-leg frame, single block starter pedal, and 1-year-only fender are hidden by the girl's "proper" attire. If that girl was dressed in today's fashion (or should I say, lack of fashion), we would have no trouble seeing that stuff.

[c.o.]

Thanks for confirming Eric! I've finally moved on from studying the flat tank machines and made it to '16... A couple more years and I may make it to the '30's!!!

[William McClean]

It wasn't uncommon in the teens. Even the venerable Corbin offered a front wheel drive setup for a while ... Perry

From a reprinted advertisement in ' Early Riders ' { printed in 1978 } showing an ad from the Saturday Evening Post of March 22, 1913, for
' Stewart Speedometer, Magnetic Principle. ' Driven by a belts and pulley system.

" This speedometer can be attached either to your front extension spring or mudguard, so that your headlight will show directly on its face. You can read it at at night as easily as in the daylight. "

" We are shipping thousands of these new instruments all over the world. "

The Stewart Speedometer Factory, 1910 Diversey Blvd., Chicago, U.S.A.

I wonder how many were really produced.

[Perry Ruiter]

Not to hijack the thread, but here's a couple more pieces of front wheel speedo ephemera ... Perry

[Chuck#1848]

WOW..........one hundred bucks..........almost half the amount of a bike in 1911!!!

[William McClean]

$15.00 for Motorcycle version, without clock, belt drive.

The one in Post ad from 1913 has a black face, mutli dial { Season Milage, Trip, MPH } it has 2 belts driving it, linked by a short axle with a pulley at each end, You can almost make out that linkage in Perry's post of the mailing lable, about halfway up the front fork. All for $12

This all looks like more fodder for an accesories catagory

[Rooster]

WOW..........one hundred bucks..........almost half the amount of a bike in 1911!!!

The hundred-dollar model included a 3-day Seth Thomas clock. I wonder how that stood up under the punishment the old motorcycles were capable of delivering?

[exeric]

Thanks for confirming Eric! I've finally moved on from studying the flat tank machines and made it to '16... A couple more years and I may make it to the '30's!!!

I've said this before, but my favorite era of motorcycles is the mid teens through the mid twenties. Incredible things happened in that period of time; most notably WW1. As horrible as wars are, they change the world and motorcycles change too. Before the war you had an age of innocence with board track racing, 3 speed transmissions, and the beginnings of streamlining. After the war came the Ace, the Scout, JD's, and the Henderson Deluxe. I loose interest after the mid twenties because motorcycles got predictably similar. There are some standouts in those years, but after 1953 it's one big yawn.

[c.o.]

after 1953 it's one big yawn.

You said it! I think I'm drawn to the early stuff because I get caught up in how new and exciting those times must have been. The racing would have been spectacular to witness and the numerous makes and models floating around kept things less than stale.

[milw.pirates]

h-d photo's

Ken, they were just random pics I found. I don't have any info on them. Some of the pics I post I can provide some background but these one's.... well, I'm in the dark. If your familiar with Milwaukee and Juneau Ave in particular then you may be on to something... I'll have to go through my factory shots and see if we can piece this together. Thanks for your input!

the photo of the girl with the sidecar rig,with the dog in sidecar,look at the brick layout above the windows and the screens over windows and the angle of the side walk,from the northside of Juneau Ave front office steps ,the sidewalk pitches down heading west to main gate and guardshack,the windows are also in blocks of 3,and those screens were still in use up into the 60's .I would say that is dept.43 behind those windows,exp. engineering.

the other photo of the girl and bike in front of garage,is what later became the employees garage,for guys that rode bikes to work,the swing doors later were replaced with an overhead door,same dark green color,in the background you can see other bikes and a couple cars,to the right of the doors is the guard shack.

are there any numbers in lower right corner of photo or on back?

[milw.pirates]

maybe we should search old enthusiast issues

I'm wondering why this bike has Around the World on the gas tank?

If some one has old "Enthusiast" issues from late 1915 to early 1917,maybe this gal rode around the world in a sidecar rig solo ?
any thoughts?

[Rubone]

milw.pirates,
That is a well documented photo. It appears in Chris Sommer Simmons book "The American Motorcycle Girls". Her name was Della Crew. The shot is dated 1915. She rode around the US and into Mexico and Central America. The dogs name is "Trouble"
Robbie

[Chris Haynes]

If some one has old "Enthusiast" issues from late 1915 to early 1917,maybe this gal rode around the world in a sidecar rig solo ?
any thoughts?

There was no Enthusiast in those years.

[Perry Ruiter]

the photo of the girl with the sidecar rig,with the dog in sidecar,look at the brick layout above the windows and the screens over windows and the angle of the side walk,from the northside of Juneau Ave front office steps ,the sidewalk pitches down heading west to main gate and guardshack,the windows are also in blocks of 3,and those screens were still in use up into the 60's .I would say that is dept.43 behind those windows,exp. engineering.

Harley Davidson claims that photo was taken on Juneau Avenue ... Perry