I've only read of the Flying Merkel and others. Thanks to you guys acquiring these gems, restoring them back to new and taking such good care of them, they'll be there for future generations after we're dead and gone....bravo!!!!
I love these old bikes. simply amazing. i also like watching the mechanics of these old engines. ie the lifters and rocker arms and what not. you can actually see them work as they're running
I would give my left nut for any of those bikes Lee had tucked away! I love old Boardtrack Racers and any old Harley-Davidson Racing memorabilia! I own 2 Harleys right now but I would love to get my hands and a true vintage classic like those! I agree that old 1915 Harley 2 speed was pretty awesome!
Good Day, Wow super rest job on that venerable racer,eh! Lead base enamels? They were really durable! Takes years to fade, over todays plastic isocyanate lacquers. I bought some CDN made lead based auto enamel yrs ago...still have it,..waiting for someday. I like ancient bikes, but cannot afford. I noticed there were no brakes on that racer. Riding it would be tricky! It sounds nice,..& no smoke!
Never even heard of this bike before yesterday (11/6/22). Went to the pondarosa and one was there, they look stunning in the flesh! They also look very fragile, must be a nightmare for spare parts. Still a gorgeous thing though
I grew up in Middletown, Ohio! I think I read something about the Miami Cycle works awhile back...Gonna have to research this now, very interesting and love this old bike, super cool !
I've never seen a Merkel in person,just magazines.However,all of the one's I have seen had "THE" in front of the name with streaks coming off of it.Maybe this is a later one and they dropped "THE" from the name.I don't know.I live 15 miles from the worlds largest motorcycle museum,Barber's Motorsports Park.He has well over 750 bikes in his collection,but as far as I know,he doesn't even have a Merkel! Would love to see one though,has to be my favorite antique bike!
That's how older motorcycles like this were built.. They had what were called total loss oiling systems, which means that the oil ran through the engine and came out of the bottom. There was an oil tank in part of the gas tank, which had a hand pump linked to it. The rider had to pump it every onece a while to add more oil to the engine. Of course leaking oil all over the place had the effect of making the racetracks very slippery..
All I can say Is WOW !!! That is one beautiful machine man...I really got into board trackers a couple years ago and this has to be the finest specimen I have ever seen..5 stars ! How close is that to the original paint color...Is there a paint code available ?
You adjusted the chains on these in a similar fashion to an old bicycle.. Moving the rear wheel forwards or backwards would tension the chain or put more slack in it.
I wish this was mine , it belongs to a gentleman who goes to the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Groups Annual rally . I'm not sure on the value and would hate to guess. I thinks it's great ANY vintage/Classic bike that is ridden on the road or taken to rallies and rode there is GREAT!! People get to see and hear that Classic sound..Can't see and hear that if it is stuck away hidden.
Nice, that. If I owned that bike I'd rename it the 'Flying Merkin'. (If you tried starting the 'Flying Millyard' like that, you'd end up flying yourself.)
Lees was the belt drive though. This was a chain driven bike. But still a great bike. Me i like the org sweety looking bikes. How about that collection lee had. UNREAL !! That 1909 sears bike the pope bike all the harleys, Indians the parts the cars . I would have loved to have went through that stuff. Me i wanted that 1915 Harley 2 speed with the lighting bolt on the tank.
Right but not a classic tesioner, I meant one more like the one on dh bikes to keep enough slack but refrain it from wobbling that much which could lead to a snap and much damage both to rider and the engine.
Those old enamels used red lead to create some of the vibrate colors of the early 1900s - such as Merkel Orange. Which is actually an INDIAN LAKE ORANGE. I used to have a can of this lead-based orange - but it hardened up solid and turned black due to air and moisture rusting the can. Lead base paints wear incredibly well and last - but the do chalk without sealer coat - usually a varnish back in the day.
The old brilliant colors of long ago had lead in the compounds used. Chrome yellows, oranges, reds, blues etc. all had lead in them...which cannot be used today in paint mixing. The Merkels had a color very similar to "Red Lead" powder...of which I have two pounds of...which is at least 70 years old, and still good. It is toxic to use. It is not for sale... The new chemistry of paints today cannot match the old lead based paint colors of 100 years ago. They are close, but not an exact match.
@1991porcupine You would have to shut the engine off when you want to stop. Most board track racers didn't have brakes, a clutch, or even a throttle in some cases. Definitely not something you want to drive on the street, unless you have brass balls and a pair of really heavy boots to use to stop it..
OMG!!! I absolutely love the restoration you did on this rare Flying Merkel! I just seen one of these that was a barn find that sat for 40 years in the Lee Hartaug Collection and just went to auction and it fetched $175,000 US!!! I'm curious what a stunning running restoration like this would go for! Do you have any estimated value or an appraisal of what it's worth? I'm so glad people like you keep this hooby alive by restoring these beauties and riding them!
What a nightmare,now if your in a town in Texas with perfectly smooth roads and lots of fuel stops your in luck with this thing if not think about pushing it around in the mud with a flat.Yeah neat trick and no brakes too when can get it up to 60 mph.
It's a board TRACK racer dude, they where made to ride a wooden oval track instead of a Texas road, and they aren't supposed to have brakes, imagine hitting the brakes when you are on one of those wooden banks! Yeah, you would be dead...
Don't be like that Zumipali2,if we didn't have this type of early stuff,then we wouldn't have our bikes today.Top speed of these early v twins wasn't that much slower than the aircraft of the day,i say "hats off to those early folk".
