1910 Harley-Davidson Silent Gray Fellow

This was the bike, a simple single-cylinder, 494 cc inlet over exhaust engine that  produced six and half horsepower. It paved the way for much of Harley-Davidson's later success.

This bike is a 1910 Harley-Davidson 6A

Chain drive was for the starting pedals only. The bike was put on it's rear stand and started since it had no gearbox or starter. The rear wheel also houses the back-pedal type coaster brake. There was no front brake fitted.

That's a German made Bosch Magneto above the leather belt that is a free wheel clutch operated by the lever.

These machines required manual pumping 'on the fly' to keep the oil flowing.

 The leather drive belts were prone to slipping and ultimately replaced by chain drive as well.

The Schebler carburetor

 The Harley-Davidson logo circa 1910

Exhaust cut-out offered reduced noise in town and maximum power and sound when opened.

The view from the sprung saddle seat and wide, tiller-like bars is graceful. The hidden controls are run internally for the spark advance and the throttle.

The leading-link style forks offered a small measure of suspension for the front end at least and helped reduce broken forks on the rough roads of the day.

Capable of a maximum speed of 45 mph (72 km/h) and weighing just 195 lbs (88.5 kg), the performance was 'stately' rather than sporting.

These machines were produced from 1904 through 1918, V-Twin production began in 1907.

All photos by John P. Lawless 

Imola 200 winner Paul Smart & the Ducati 750 Super Sport

Paul Smart helped put Ducati's first real big v-twin, the 750 Super Sports on the map with his win at the Imola 200 in 1972. Forty years on, Ducati saluted the man and the machine with the Paul Smart Replica a 1000cc V-Twin styled after the no compromise racer from the seventies.

These photos were shot at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Complex for the AMA Vintage Days celebration in 2005. Paul and the team fire up the 750 and he put in some quick demonstration laps for the crowd, estimated at over 50,000 for the weekend.

Big Booming bass sound from the twin pipe with had no baffles.

Off he goes to the delight of the Ducatista , a sleek silver missle reminding race fans what racers from the seventies were like as compared to todays sanitized superbikes.

While Paul was busy on the world stage, a couple of Cycle magazine editors and part time racers were about to do the same in USA. More on that later.

1938 350cc Velocette Mk VII KTT

 Veloce Ltd. of Hall Green, Birmingham, England produced the legendary Veloce and Velocette motorcycles from 1905 through 1971.  The firm was the creation of German emmigrant Johannes Gutgemann who later anglicized the name to the more familiar John Goodman. It was quite a family affair from the outset until the final days, with Percy, Peter and Bertie Goodman continuing the tradition over a period of  sixty years. During ths time, Veloce produced both road and track machines of many types.

The motorcycle featured here is the Mk. VII KTT, a 3

350cc OHV features a girder front fork and rigid rear chassis. Despite this seemingly primitive setup, the KTT offers excellent handling and is truly a small scale gem. Both over the counter production racers such as this Mk VII and full " works" versions were favorite mounts of riders Stanley Woods, Ivan Rhodes and Ted Mellors both at the Isle of Man T.T. races and continental outings. 

Veloce produced a nember of techinogically stunning machines, such as the supercharged "Whiffling Clara" and "The Roarer",  a pre-war shaft drive 500cc supercharged racer.  Despite their small size compared to the competition, Veloce offered intersesting machines that were competitive and clever in design. Both road going and racers are highly sought after and very valuable today.

                                                                                             

Motorcycle Swap Meet Oley, PA

Rare as the proverbial hen's teeth, the Emblem motorcycle is a seldom seen sight these days. The AMCA meet at Oley, PA never fails to surprise attendees with the most unusual machines. This original paint Emblem is fully operational and is far more striking than a mega-dollar restoration. As they say, it's only original once....

Next stop, Ner a car. Carl Neracher created this bike with it many innovative features in 1921 and they were produced thru 1927 both for the US and overseas markets.

You can just barely make out the manufacturers name on the tank, but this Thor single cylinder was a running machine and demonstrates a preference for mechanical operation over cosmetic perfection that's a favortite theme of the AMCA events.

Indian motocycles, a dozen lined up for an impromtu timeline on late pre-war and early post war production.

A lovely little AJS 250cc tank shifter. Complete, running, well preserved and sold for about ten-thousand US dollars just before I arrived. Well bought.

Alfred Angus Scott hit on a winning formula of lightweight two-stroke designs that eventually led to the Squirrel, Super Squirrel and Flying Squirrel models. Production can to a halt in 1950 for the beloved Scott.

Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles are still the most dominant marques to be seen at any AMCA event and always will be.

Some folks have a real sense of humor for their project machines, and this one ticked all the right boxes for a custom with attitude.

An Indian for the optimist!

Harley-Davidson XR-1000 Battle of the Twins Racer

 

This bike was campaigned in the early 1980's AMA Battle of the Twins class with rider David McClure who won the BOTT Amateur national championship in 1982. If was a factory 'back-door'special that featured many innovative features. These hand made race bikes were a clever combination of XR-100 and 750 Sportster parts combined to deliver a top speed of 150 + mph.

It's one of those rare Harley-Davidson machines whose style and function are both deliberate and beautiful.

That fuel tank is designed for stretching out over at big tracks like Daytona Speedway.

Side profile shot allows the big sump to be seen beneath the bike. Just one of many special features on this bike.

Fournales shocks, massive swingarm, Brembo brakes, Marchesini wheels, it had it all.

The opening under that gas cap was big enough to swallow an orange!

-HOG photo-

That's Gene Church on legendary ' Lucifer's Hammer', perhaps the most iconic of the HD BOTT racers. Both Gene Church and Jay Springsteen rode the 'Hammer'.

Here's a link for a great video from Daytona BOTT race in 1985 with Harley v. Ducati in an exciting race.

http://youtu.be/LHIxDGtNsYs

JD and JL prepare to start the beast for the first time after many years in storage.  What a machine!

All photos except Lucifers Hammer image by John Lawless