old photos

[c.o.]

Hello Sverre. I believe it's a Marsh-Metz 90 degree twin. This one looks like it says National on the tank. They were also sold as Haverford, Arrow, and Peerless.

You nailed it Eric! I'll have to make the next one a little more difficult I guess....

I think this picture is during the FAM Western Endurance Run, from New York to Chicago. Indian won with Excelsior placing a close second. Their showing was a big boost for the new brand.

Bob Turek
#769

You are absolutely correct Bob!

[c.o.]

After studying this pic for awhile I don't think anyone will be able to convince me that Cyclones only came in yellow!!

[exeric]

I must be missing something on the above Cyclone; what does that starter gear mesh with? That's a great picture though.

[bill campbell]

hey eric the starter gear would mesh with the front motor sprocket just like the pope's of that era

[Scott Parker]

I found a Haverford brochure online that is not in the AMCA library. if anyone is interested...http://digital.hagley.org/cdm4/docum...PTR=1515&REC=3 Seach the site for MOTORCYCLE and you will find a Flying Merkel brochure also

Hello Sverre. I believe it's a Marsh-Metz 90 degree twin. This one looks like it says National on the tank. They were also sold as Haverford, Arrow, and Peerless.

[sirhrmechanic]

C.O. Wrote: "After studying this pic for awhile I don't think anyone will be able to convince me that Cyclones only came in yellow!!"

It definitely looks like a dark color... however... some of the early film emulsions would not register colors in the yellow range. This could cause the negative to show anything 'yellow' (including yellow metal like brass or copper) as unexposed. As a result, the silver would wash off the film substrate during fixing. Then when printed, the final print would show the color as dark or black.

I have to scan them and will post tomorrow. But we have some original pictures of the RR Springfield works that drove us nuts... because it showed all the 'brightwork' in the engine bay as black. Yet we know that these parts came bright. In the prints, however, they all look to have been blackened. This includes brass carb, copper lines, etc. It took several years before the mystery was solved...

Finally, I found the answer in a c. 1950's Leica manual that I got for Christmas last year. The Leica handbook talked about early emulsions and how they weren't fully panchromatic. Film prior to the late 1920's could be insensitive to light in the wavelengths reflected by yellow. As a result, yellow will come out looking black!

That doesn't mean that the bike in this picture is not a dark color (or a rich color like a deep red.) It certainly looks like it is. But there 'is' a possibility that all these bikes were yellow and that this picture is distorted by the early emulsions.

Cheers,

Sirhr

[c.o.]

Sirhr!! That certainly does shed a different light on things. I've seen black and white photos of Cyclones that appeared "light" in color that certainly would pass for yellow. I've also seen photos like the one posted above that gave me the impression that a dark "blue" may have been an option. I should mention though that the lighter appearing photos were later (post 30's for sure) and your explanation could very well have cleared up why this would be so.

[c.o.]

LaCrosse, Wisconsin circa. 1915... Does anyone see anything special about that Indian in the middle??

[yhprum]

Electric start?

[Sargehere]

How about electric start 1914 "Hendee Special" after its factory conversion to kick start under warranty? The chain-driven kickstarter replaced the 6-volt starter-generator unit on the left front of the engine.

The experiment was declared a failure, mainly due to the inadequacy of the batteries of the time (it carried two) and owners were offered conversion to kickstart if they shipped their motorcycles back to Springfield.