'03 Warwick

[c.o.]

Hello All,
Just to add a little information that I had researched through the years.. Indian(Hedstrom+Hendee) had rented or leased/borrowed the tool room of the Keating Wheel Company, Middletown, Ct. to build thier first motorcycle, circa 1901.. It was a copy of the previously manufactured 1901 Keating model, other than the camelback fuel tank. My feelings, Keating was first, Hedstrom/Hendee copied Keating. Keating built motorcycles in 1902 as well, and ended production that same year.. Indian moved up to Springfield, Ma in 1902+-.
Its been a few years since I have touched on this subject, so it can be a little fuzzy-BPK!!!
To view a 1902 Keating-
http://keatingwheelcompany.com/

Any information pertaining to the Keating Wheel Company would be greatly appreciated!

Very interesting............ that Keating that you have there is quite the machine! As for the theory on Keating being a forerunner to Indian, I don't think there was much honor among the early manufacturers as a lot of them seemed to regularily rip each other off! So nothing would surprise me if evidence surfaced.

[pem]

Is that 1902 Warwick an original example? It sure looks like it could be.

Dick

[BPK!!]

Warwick

Hello All,
Just to add a little information that I had researched through the years.. Indian(Hedstrom+Hendee) had rented or leased/borrowed the tool room of the Keating Wheel Company, Middletown, Ct. to build thier first motorcycle, circa 1901.. It was a copy of the previously manufactured 1901 Keating model, other than the camelback fuel tank. My feelings, Keating was first, Hedstrom/Hendee copied Keating. Keating built motorcycles in 1902 as well, and ended production that same year.. Indian moved up to Springfield, Ma in 1902+-.
Its been a few years since I have touched on this subject, so it can be a little fuzzy-BPK!!!
To view a 1902 Keating-
http://keatingwheelcompany.com/

Any information pertaining to the Keating Wheel Company would be greatly appreciated!

[c.o.]

Well Herb, that's a little more info for sure. Now just to find an example of one, picture or otherwise.

[HarleyCreation]

Found a Warwick bicycle ad from 1893.

Also, from my files it seems that Warwick offered motorcycles in 1903 and 1904. They seem gone by 1905 and were not offered in 1901. So unless they were sold in 1902, they were only built for two seasons: 1903-04.

[jurassic]

warwick

Cool ad....have you ever seen a motorsickle one though? I'm having a tough time finding any info.

hi cory ,i do have a motorcycle ad somewhere ,but cant find it.still looking. but it is the same company.i do remember that.

[jurassic]

03

[c.o.]

Cool ad....have you ever seen a motorsickle one though? I'm having a tough time finding any info.

[jurassic]

thank you mr. clymer

[HarleyCreation]

Here's another thought.

Not only were Warwick and Indian geographically close to each other, but they both went back to the pre-motorcycle bicycle 1890s era in some form or another.

Were there any earlier exchanges or mutually shared projects or job work between proto-Indian and Warwick in the bicycle era that has been missed or forgotten?

I'm at a disadvantage here because I know so little about Indian, early or otherwise. It's like a strange new continent far away that is enticing and alluring as I know that new discoveries await the first explorer who finds them! The hints and clues are all there...

[c.o.]

Sometimes asking the right questions is nearly as good as having the answer. I think this Warwick connection is worth pursuing as it might open up new information about early Indian and period design trends. Your comment about a Hedstrom making his proto "in a bicycle shop in Connecticut" does ring a bell. And after all, you could throw a stone from Springfield and in would land in Connecticut. We don't even know how big of an outfit Warwick was at this point. Warwick might have been larger and did more things than we know.

I've sent out a few e-mails to folks that may know, but I haven't heard anything back on it yet. I still haven't got my time machine figured out to find any leads........it's all still a mystery.........

[c.o.]

It's always good to know what other guys are interested in. From the amount of views, these things get read so there is interest, but very few join in.

In my confused overloaded brain, I want to say that once I saw a Warwick auto ad -- just the auto -- but I can't be sure if that is a real memory or imaginary and I'm confusing it with some other early car ad!

Another very interesting possible "first" about Pennington is the word "motorcycle" itself. I've got to dig into it and try to determine: 1) If he actually invented the word, or: 2) Was the first to apply it to a gasoline-powered 2-wheeler.

The fact that Pennington called his invention "The Motor Cycle" and formed "The Motor Cycle Company" leads me to suspect that there were no others and his was the one and only, the first, the original!

Right here in the great American Midwest the motorcycle may have originated!

I watched a portion "Glory Days The History of Early American Motorcycling" tonight. By the looks of it has to be 25 years old or better. It states that in 1897 one Eronomous (I know that has to be spelled wrong) Mueller of Decatur, Illinois was the first to get a patent for the "Motorcycle", but his vehicle was of the four wheel variety. It also states that in 1901 that one Robert Keating applied for a patent for "Motor-Bicycle" and that two months after that application Hiram Pierce applied for the first patent for a two-wheeled "Motorcycle". Now I didn't watch it all to see if the credits revealed sources for this info, but I thought it might be of some interest. Herb, if you've got info that shows Pennington used it first, that would be a significant note for the history books.

[HarleyCreation]

Yeah, I think your right. I was feveriously searching about last night and I think my imagination possibly started to play a roll in my thinking. But it does seem to me that quite a few of the early American machines had similarities to the Indian just with the fact that Aurora spread powerplants all over the place. As far as the Warwick / Connecticut reference in Greg's article............it seems to me that Oscar Hedstrom built his initial proto-types in a bicycle shop in Connecticut, prior to shipping them to Springfield for Hendee's approval. Maybe Warwick, built it's machine and just sold it in Springfield? All I know is that so far we have a lot more questions than answers!

Sometimes asking the right questions is nearly as good as having the answer. I think this Warwick connection is worth pursuing as it might open up new information about early Indian and period design trends. Your comment about a Hedstrom making his proto "in a bicycle shop in Connecticut" does ring a bell. And after all, you could throw a stone from Springfield and in would land in Connecticut. We don't even know how big of an outfit Warwick was at this point. Warwick might have been larger and did more things than we know.

[c.o.]

And of course the man himself.........Mr. Hedstrom.

[c.o.]

Here's Hendee..........