Henry Melk invented the first H-D???

[c.o.]

"Melk & Ole's Motor Shop"

That has a real good ring to it!

Super find Barry! That is one cool little sickle! How was it's git up and go?

[Barry Brown]

As far as we know it was a one off. Jim Dennie now owns it and has it and several of his other bikes on loan to the Curtiss Museum. Jeff Slobodian who restored it for Jim contacted a relative of Nelk who sent him incredible pictures of his lathe etc. taken around the time the bike was made. Nelk worked for Smith bicycle shop in Palo Alto Ca. I probably could have made money winning bets about the first ohc American ( maybe anywhere!) made motorcycle. You should have seen Bob Chantland's face ( 2 Cyclone owner) when I told him about it! Back in the 60's there was an article about it in the California Classic and Antique Motorcycle Association of which I was a member. I didn't know that the AMCA existed at that time! I'll try to dig it up and post it here if you want.

[Barry Brown]

I have made the assumption there is enough interest so here is more on the NELK.

[c.o.]

That was a great read......thanks Barry! Mr. Nelk though maybe eccentric was thinking past the times!

[23JDCA 808]

".... Do you know what Nelk's first name was? ...?" Carl N. Nelk
I find three patents for him. The first is his carb, which might help if you have to rebuild it?
http://www.google.com/patents
716573, 1002723 and 1077964. ...bill in oregon

[23JDCA 808]

From Directory of Palo Alto, Mayfield, Stanford University, Ravenswood and East Palo Alto 1902; C.N. Nelk, mechanician, 620 High

1904 Palo Alto phone directory
Carl Nelk, electrician, 164 Hamilton Ave. ...bill in oregon

[Chris Haynes]

Jim Updegraff doesn't know his California motorcycle history very well. Long before Mr. Crocker built his bikes Mr. Marks invented his motorcycle in CA in 1896. It was produced under the California Motorcycle Company and Yale-California banners. I believe the Vard also predated the Crocker.

[HarleyCreation]

Yes, the CAMA article is very good read. Got the date of the Bulletin and issue?

Added this and patent data on Nelk card. He does deserve a mention when discussing early advanced bikes.

The article states he collected early bicycle and motorcycle journals. Maybe be got the OHC idea from something built elsewhere at an earlier date.

Barry, you said this was a barn find. Is there a story to go along with it? If so, please tell.

[Chris Haynes]

[QUOTE=HarleyCreation;89128]Yes, the CAMA article is very good read. Got the date of the Bulletin and issue?



CAMA dissapeared in the late '70's if memory serves.

[Barry Brown]

Yes, the CAMA article is very good read. Got the date of the Bulletin and issue?

Added this and patent data on Nelk card. He does deserve a mention when discussing early advanced bikes.

The article states he collected early bicycle and motorcycle journals. Maybe be got the OHC idea from something built elsewhere at an earlier date.

Barry, you said this was a barn find. Is there a story to go along with it? If so, please tell.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 2 1971.
The story is a good one. I met an old man at Hershey who described this bike he had that he thought could be very old with water cooling ohc. It sounded implausible but I expressed an interest and he mailed me a picture. At the time I thought the bike might be bogus just because of the exotic spec in such an early chassis. The picture sat on my desk for a year before I hit upon the CAMA article, a quick phone call and thankfully it was still available! What amazed me is that no collector in California had snagged it as surely they all knew about it. Those were the days!

[William McClean]

I think the Nelk made a feature appearance in the AMCA calander a few years ago.

[bobbyt]

Jim Updegraff doesn't know his California motorcycle history very well. Long before Mr. Crocker built his bikes Mr. Marks invented his motorcycle in CA in 1896. It was produced under the California Motorcycle Company and Yale-California banners. I believe the Vard also predated the Crocker.

Another early California bike was the Duck. It was built in Oakland in the
preteen years. As near as I can tell it really was America's first 2-cycle.

http://www.autohistory.org/feature_10.html


Bob Turek
#769

[HarleyCreation]

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 2 1971.
The story is a good one. I met an old man at Hershey who described this bike he had that he thought could be very old with water cooling ohc. It sounded implausible but I expressed an interest and he mailed me a picture. At the time I thought the bike might be bogus just because of the exotic spec in such an early chassis. The picture sat on my desk for a year before I hit upon the CAMA article, a quick phone call and thankfully it was still available! What amazed me is that no collector in California had snagged it as surely they all knew about it. Those were the days!

Thanks for the info.

That is a good story of a very exotic early machine. I wonder where Nelk got the idea in the first place for OHC. That he read early auto journals is a good clue.

[HarleyCreation]

Another early California bike was the Duck. It was built in Oakland in the
preteen years. As near as I can tell it really was America's first 2-cycle.

http://www.autohistory.org/feature_10.html


Bob Turek
#769

Another interesting early make.

Mitchell also had a 2-stroke very early and displayed it at a motorcycle show circa 1902-03-04 (I'd have to look it up), but I don't know if it was marketed and sold or not. But a proto was build.

[23JDCA 808]

...I wonder where Nelk got the idea in the first place for OHC. That he read early auto journals is a good clue.

Maybe David Dunbar Buick?
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dunbar_Buick
In early 1902, he set up a second company, the Buick Manufacturing Company, with the twin aims of marketing engines to other car companies and of manufacturing and selling its own cars. Once again manufacturing and development problems meant that by the end of 1902, Buick had run out of money with only one car to show for his work. The concentration on development had produced the revolutionary "Valve-in-Head" overhead valve engine. This method of engine construction produces a much more powerful engine than the rival side valve engine design which all other manufacturers used at the time. Overhead valve engines have been used by most car manufacturers but now only GM and Chrysler produce "push-rod engines" with any great regularity. Since overhead cam engines are design variants of OHV engines, it is fair to classify virtually all modern engines as derivatives of Buick's invention.