harley eight valves

[Chris Haynes]

http://www.hendersonkj.com/books/index.html

[exeric]

Thanks Chris, I should get another copy since mine is getting a bit antique looking.

[c.o.]

[QUOTE=Kozy;97689]

Thanks to Jerry Hatfield and all with the info about obtaining a copy. If the sales history holds true those $75.00 copies should be moving to bargin shelf shortly! I think I'll try thy the e-bay route first.

Try checking the transportation section in used book stores. I've picked up a few valuable out of print books for pennies on the dollar......

[Jerry Hatfield]

If ya think those prices are bad have a look at this one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...condition=used

The Indian Restoration Guide was offered at up to $325. So Starklite and I re-published the book. Starklite sells it retail for $54.95 and also offers the book wholesale to established dealers.

[wlwood]

Maldwyn Jones story transcribed (Part 1)

Peter:

I ran the Jeff Clew story on Maldwyn Jones through an optical-character recognition program, then gave it a quick read to clean up (some? most?) of the errors. Can you tell me where this appeared, so I can make note of that?

--
Bill Wood

Here's the text that I pulled out of the story:

Dirt-track Pioneer

Maldwyn Jones made his own crash helmet, developed the steel shoe, and was among the first riders to adopt the broadsliding style. Profile by Jeff Clew.

Speedway fans in Britain believe the sport originated in Australia. because a group of Australian riders introduced dirt tracking here in 1928. Johnnie Hoskins, the grand old man of speedway, recalls organising what was probablv the first event in Australia on a hor~e trotting track in Maitland in December 1923. The racing was very different to today's speedway: riders were even forbidden to take their feet off the footrests of their hastily-prepared road machines.

But in America motorcycle racing on loose surfaces had started much earlier. During 1909 racing was taking place regularly on the horse racing tracks at county fairgrounds despite the counterattraction of the board tracks being built by Jack Prince, an engineer from New Jersey. Both attracted factory-sponsored riders at a time when the USA had numerous thriving motorcycle manufacturers. Among the competitors was an expatriate Welshman, Maldwyn Evans Jones, whose family roots were in Welshpool. Now in his 90th year and living in Mesa, Arizona, he has clear memories of those early days and is, almost certainly, the oldest surviving speedway pioneer.

While a schoolboy in Ohio, Maldwyn had been impressed by one of the top riders of the day, Freddie Huyck, riding a Flying Merkel at Dayton, Maldwyn later attended a technical school in Cincinnati. Here his talents developed in the machine shop. But he quit school when the Miami Cycle and Manufacturing Company, one of the largest bicycle producers in the USA, bought out the Merkel business and resited the company in Middletown, Ohio, 14 miles from his home. Maldwyn had already ridden on the horse tracks at county fairs, usually on 30.50cu in (500cc) singles. Joe Merkel made it clear that the company was no longer supporting racing, but offered Maldwyn a job in the repair department, with the prospect of road testing rebuilt engines.

Soon after he started work, Maidwyn came across a room in which all the old racing parts had been dumped. He got permission from his immediate boss to make use of them, without direct reference to Joe Merkel, and resurrected a belt-drive 500cc Racing single with a ported cylinder barrel. Knowing that this machine had come close to winning important races but had slowed when oil from the cylinder ports had sprayed onto the drive belt, he constructed a shield over the ports to act as a deflector.

This ingenuity paid off, and he almost won the Fourth of July races in Hamilton, Ohio, when he and ‘Cannonball’ Baker eliminated all the opposition in a pursuit event. Baker won when Maldwyn ran out of fuel, but the latter had experienced the satisfaction of beating Baker in an earlier ten-mile race.

Maldwyn's next machine was also a 30.50cu in single, again reclaimed from factory junk. Until then it had been obvious that Joe Merkel knew what was going on, but had silently condoned it. But with an important 100-mile race coming up at the Dayton 1/2-mile dirt track, Maldwyn needed Merkel's permission to enter. Merkel felt sure that such an old machine would not withstand the grueling race, and refused.

Feeling bad about the decision, Maldwvn quit his job and forewent the race. But two weeks later he found the Dayton club were holding some short-distance races, and he agreed to ride a Thor for a local dealer. Merkel and three other factorv officials turned up to watch, and Merkel bet that Maldwyn would not finish in the first three places. When Maldwyn won the first race Merkel left, which was just as well because Maldwyn won the next two as well. Only a fall in the fourth event stopped an unbroken run of success.

The president of the Miami company asked him to return to the factory, and offered the job of road testing the new Flying Merkel. Maldwyn relented, and the reunion brought fresh benefits. With a friend in charge of the frame building department he could now get any kind of frame, handlebars or tank made without having to raise an official order. The engines he continued to build and tune himself,

Contemporary photographs of the period show Maldwyn wearing a crash helmet of his own manufacture. This was a remarkably prophetic design with protection for the base of the skull, not unlike today's open-face helmet. The materials used were leather and cork, sewn together. He also wore protective leather gaiters similar to those used by the old-time chauffeurs, and was probably the first rider to try a steel-shod shoe or boot to aid sliding on corners.

In those days it was common practice to sprinkle calcium or chloride on the track to lay the dust, but race leaders would deliberately raise a cloud by trailing their left foot. Initially Maldwyn considered this to be unsporting, but he was forced to adopt the technique to continue winning. Furthermore, the leg-trailing style helped him stay on the bike during some of his more hectic moments, Many photographs taken as early as 1916 show him riding speedway-style in beautifully controlled slides which would put many modern riders to shame.

In 1913 Maidwyn undertook his most ambitious engine conversion when he transformed a side-valve Merkel engine into a two-valve overhead layout. Starting with a choice of three cylinder heads, from a Pope, a Waverly and a Jefferson, the last-named was used. But he could not select a matching Jefferson cylinder barrel because it would not fit the Merkel crankcase. Undaunted, he sawed off the top of the original Merkel cylinder and machined it to mate up with the gasket joint of the Jefferson head.

Other problems occurred, such as the need to modify the long holding-down bolts, and when these were overcome he had to make the rocker supports, rocker arms, pushrods and other small parts. The biggest task was the making of the cams, with no patterns to follow. Starting with blank cams that had finished pinion teeth, he cut and shaped the profiles by hacksaw and file, afterwards having the cams hardened. The shape followed his belief—at the time—that the highest valve lift should coincide with the point of greatest piston speed, and that the valve should then be let down on to its seat as gently as possible.

The cams were big and ran in ball hearings, with the result that they produced an unexpected source of engine vibration. This was overcome by drilling holes in the side of the heavy part, so that they could be balanced. Aluminium alloy pistons being unknown at that time, it was customary for Merkel to use steel pistons of the ‘hourglass’ shape. Maldwyn reduced these to a skeleton in his racing engines and used only one piston ring.

The biggest disappointment in Maldwyn’s racing career occurred at the 1913 Savannah 300-mile road race, when Bob Perry was acclaimed the winner. Faulty lap scoring had relegated Maldwyn to second place, when in fact he had won; much to their discredit, the Indian team’s scorers, who knew the truth, kept quiet.

Maidwyn had gone to Savannah with Cleo Pineau who, with Lee Taylor occasionally making up the third man, formed the Merkel team, They had precious little factory support, and on this occasion had no one from the factory to help out, only two ‘locals’ hired in Savannah itself. About a couple of weeks after the event, the Savannah motorcycle club realised their error and declared Maldwyn the winner. But it was too late, the glory had gone. It was the lack of factory support that eventually caused him to desert Merkel, going on to ride a wide variety of makes, including Reading Standard, Thor, Harley-Davidson, Excelsior (USA) and Henderson.

During the Great War Maldwyn went to work at McCook Field, Davton, where he became involved with the dynamometer testing of aircraft engines. But he still managed to ride occasionally for Harley-Davidson and Excelsior, remaining with the latter marque until the end of the l921 season. Then he began a long career with the Schebler carburettor company, which necessitated a complete break with motorcycle racing to preserve impartiality. At that time Schebler supplied carburettors to almost every US motorcycle manufacturer.

Maldwyn also rode the board tracks successfullv but considers they were easy to cope with and required no special skill, as no sliding was necessary. They were constructed from rough-cut 2 x 4in timber, with a 1/2-in gap in between for drainage purposes. The surface became slippery as it was polished by the machines' tyres and also received a liberal coating of oil.

[wlwood]

Maldwyn Jones story transcribed (Part 2)

And here's the rest:

In falls, riders often collected more than their fair share of splinters. One unfortunate, who reallv earned his nickname of Glen ‘Slivers’ Boyd, came off in front of a capacity crowd at Omaha, Nebraska, on lulv 4, 1912. His rear tyre blew and locked the wheel, and Boyd slid for 100 feet at the bottom of the banking, trapped beneath the machine. During a fortnight’s stay in hospital physicians removed some 200 splinters from his body. The longest, measuring over 14 inches. was in his thigh. After its removal Bovd used to carry it with him to prove the truth of his story.

The passage of time mellows incidents that originally must have been quite frightening. Maldwyn recalls quite unemotionally his attempt to gain for Henderson the 24-hour record set up by ‘Cannonball’ Baker on an Indian. Using the two-mile board track at Cincinnati, the first run had to be abandoned due to heavy rain, which made riding at over 80mph unbearable,

The second attempt was made a short while later, without the benefit of moonlight. A makeshift lighting system was devised for the hours of darkness, using car headlights mounted on a box containing a battery. Paraffin lamps were also pressed into service. The attempt started at 1pm. and all went well for the first 450 miles. But a misfire due to excess oil caused Baker's record to be missed by just two minutes at the 500-mile mark.

Maidwyn tried to make up time, but at about 9pm someone pointed the light at the far end of the back straight towards the top of the banking, thinking it would help. Maldwyn followed the light and almost went over the top of the banking, his right foot running along the plank that overhung the top of the wall. As the machine slowed, its back end broke away and rider and bike slid, rolled and tumbled for over 300 feet. Amazingly he was not hurt, only so dizzy that at first he couldn't stand. But the machine was almost a complete write-off, so the marathon came to an abrupt end.

Racing machines in those days were not that different from standard road bikes. They were stripped of all but the barest essentials to gain the optimum power-to-weight ratio, and had a spindly, rakish appearance. With no springing at either end the ride was hard, and with direct chain drive to the rear wheel there was no question of a gearbox, let alone a clutch.

The throttle had just two positions, open and shut, so that speed had to be controlled by means of a handlebar-mounted cut-out button, which interrupted the low-tension side of the magneto. Starting was by means of pedals and a chainwheel, with a freewheel on the rear wheel hub just like a bicycle. The pedals also doubled as footrests, so woe betide the rider if the freewheel jammed. On the track, machines were started by the customary run and bump, which was not too easy with some of the V-twins.

Maldwyn remembers that poor starting on the bikes at the time cost him the 1920 Dodge City 300-miler. He had already broken the record for 100 and 200 miles, and was leading by two miles at the 260-mile mark when one of the brass terminal clips to the sparking plug leads broke. After the repair his engine, which was still very hot, would fire on only one cylinder and he and his exhausted pushers had no alternative but to give up.

The start on flat tracks was often hazardous, for as many as 21 riders could be on the line, in three rows of six with the additional three at the rear. At a 25-mile race in Toledo, Ohio, Maldwyn was in the last row with his Flying Merkel. in company with Cleo Pineati and Lee Taylor, and selected the outside position, By the time the first bend had been reached he was in the lead and on his way to another win. Maldwyn always opted for the outside berth, as this gave him room to get round other machines. Most riders, even today, strive to get the inside line; originally this had been MaIdwyn’s pick until the occasion when he was crowded into another rider's rear wheel and sustained a badly cut thumb.

Asked what he thought of today's speedway stars, Maldwyn considered there is too much showmanship and that some of the more lurid riding styles are not necessary to get around the tracks quickly. It is, of course, difficult to compare eras separated by 60 vears, but you have to respect. the comments of a man who was practising the art of sliding before any of today's riders were born!

[Jerry Hatfield]

According to Jeff Clew, an Aussie friend of his had researched the history of dirt track racing. The friend concluded that Maldwyn Jones was the first dirt-track racer in the world to wear a steel-soled shoe. This conclusion surprised me, because Maldwyn had never mentioned this matter to me in our conversations and in his letters. I called Maldwyn. I can still hear his squeaky voice when he said, "You know, come to think of it, I think maybe I was the first to wear a steel-soled shoe on my left foot. I wasn't trying to invent a new riding style. I was just tired of wearing out my left boot." Maldwyn's modesty convinced me.

[jurassic]

[Jerry Hatfield]

Regarding the beautiful photo, is the wooden beam a compression release?

[HarleyCreation]

Re: "Dirt-track Pioneer"

The article about Maldwyn Jones was interesting and informative. Thanks for posting it.

I esp enjoyed the rather detailed description of the Jefferson-Merkel "special" that Jones built. What those guys could do with a hacksaw and a file!

Too bad it didn't also contain Jones's contact with Harley-Davidson c1915-16 when we know he obtained one of the first Harley Four-Valve engines (stamped as a 1915 motor) and then used it in another special using Merkel parts.

Jones would have had considerable inside info about the the Milwaukee factory and what their policy was about releasing the early multi-valve (4V & 8V) motors. Who, how, where, and when did he get it. And ultimately what happened to it. Also whether his 4V/H-D-Merkel special was home-brew or built in Milwaukee. Knowing Harley's policies it seems unlikely they would use Merkel parts, but you never know.

Too bad we didn't get the story of this critical period of American motorcycle racing when famous makes like Merkel were falling by the wayside and Harley-Davidson was coming up strong on the racetrack. Jones would have known a lot. He would certainly have known how he got that rare landmark Harley 4V motor and ultimately what happened to it.

Thanks again!

[Barry Brown]

Herb, Just out of curiosity was wondering if you compare notes with Steve Wright from time to time? Did he not obtain a lot of the info and photos for his first book "American Racer" from Maldwyn? One would hope he also made some tape recordings of Maldwyn's reminicenses.

[HarleyCreation]

No, I haven't been in touch with him, but I do respect his work. American Racer is an excellent reference work and I use it to compare my own findings to because it's reliable.

You gotta wonder what Maldwyn might have disclosed about H-D's policies concerning the release of the early multi-valves. That he had a 4V in a Merkel chassis and the motor was stamped as a 1915 model does raise important key questions.

[pem]

Hey wlwood, someplace I have a copy of a photo of "Slivers Boyd" standing next to an
airplane he just crashed near Sacremento around 1916. He looks like it was a pretty hard
landing and the plane was completely destroyed. Those guys must have been some tough
customers back in the day.

Dick

[wlwood]

I had the good fortune to interview Jim Davis many years ago, and he had a wealth of stories about the wide-open nature of racing in those days, including his own "slivers" story. I'm sure that, like wine, many of those stories have "improved" over the years (and of course, we don't hear the stories from the fallen riders for whom things didn't work out so well), but yeah, those guys must have been pretty rugged.

[Chris Haynes]

Hot shoe racer Bob Shirley's card says "The older I get the faster I went".