I got to see this machine at the Guggenheim Art of the Motorcycle exhibit when it traveled to the Field Museum in Chicago, (I saw a second Curtiss V-8 airplane engine on the same day at the Museum of Science and Industry). The Curtiss was one of my favorite motorcycles of the exhibition. A bunch of motorcyclists from Minneapolis/St.Paul got together and took the train to Chicago. It was many years ago, but I still have very fond memories of that weekend!
If he had used an inline 4 (half of this V8) and built PRODUCTION bikes with it, he would've DESTROYED Harley, Indian, Henderson, Excelsior, Thor, ALL of them! A 134cid inline 4 in 1907? Hell yeah!
It's 2023. Who cares if he was the fastest man on the planet, over 100 years ago. What we need to understand about this man is deeper than that. Was he comfortable with his identity and his gender? Perhaps he was hiding his true self from the world? Perhaps he wanted to be the fastest woman on a motorcycle, yet didn't have the support from his parents and piers? No doubt, the education system was against his type, back then. That evil education system of times gone by that focused on math, science, biology, English and history. We are so fortunate to live in an age in which we can celebrate our son's bravery and achievements if they simply wear a dress and want to be a girl. Today we have a new type of pioneer. We should be so proud.
@@wierdbike Nobody READS anymore, except students and really OLD people! 😆 I used to read a book per week, till I found RU-vid, Twitter, and OnlyFans 🤣!
I sort of wish I'd grown up in the late 1800s-early 1900s, it was such an interesting time and safety was an afterthought- it was all about function back in those Days.
Gents, speed and therefore velocity is normal. How we as individuals interpret that as kilometres, miles, knots, ground or air speed in a given timeframe is less so. Our appreciation of Mr Curtiss, the effort to produce this video and the appreciation of the discipline of engineering is more so. However fantastical his machine, it required human consciousness and spirit and testicles which make a clanging sound that should be appreciated.
