Oldest Motorcycle?

[flyer35]

Howdy all,
I see from a few posts there are some motorcycle lovers here. I'm curious whats the oldest motorcycle you've ever owned? Mines in pieces right now being restored, but here's a pic of what it looks like put together mostly at least.

Its a 1912 Pope.

Rob

[cgjones]

I had a 1975 Hodaka Super Combat. Until I snapped my shin in half.

[squad314]

Rob,

That's really cool,what's the specs?None of mine were old enough to be mentioned,but a buddy had a '78 Electra glide shovelhead.Every now and again we would trade off just for fun.Another guy at work has a 650 Bonneville ('72?) plus a newer Triumph Trophy.They're kinda neat sitting next to each other in his garage.

[flyer35]

Pope motorcycles were built from 1911 till 1918 in Westfield, Massachusetts. They built twins and singles which mine is. Had some pretty big engines for the time too, in 1914 they had a 998cc v-twin. The singles like mine were single speed (no gears) coaster brake (VERY scary) and a top speed of about 30 Mph. Mines in different states at the moment, engine out west being restord, rims down south being redone and the rest here in MN.

Rob

[SonnyD]

flyer35..............WOW, double WOW.....That is really cool :D

The oldest one I've owned was a 1961 Vespa, my very first bike in 1963, and the oldest one I currently own is a 1965 Honda C110 that I've had since 1975. It's in major pieces in my basement. I had big plans to restore it, but odds are it will never happen.

Wow, I just can't get over flyer35's bike....bikes like that give me goosebumps!

Regards Sonny

[whitefeather]

1959 250cc Zundap......Ugly machine but it was mine and I enjoyed it

[cobrajoe]

I guess you could say my oldest bike is a 1979 Honda CX500 custom, then again, it's my only bike.

That Pope looks really nice, I didn't know anybody actually owned one of those, I've only seen them in books!

[flyer35]

cobrajoe, you should go to a rally put on by The Antique Motorcycle Club of America. They do roadtrips on bikes even older! This is my oldest bike, but not the oldest I've ridden. The oldest I've ridden was a 1909 Indian. Talk about a bike.

Rob

[Rebeltruce]

Growing up my dad owned a 47 Chief, original condition no restoration at all.. As a 16 year old I had a 69 Sportster.

Up until a few months ago I had a 76 Honda CB750 SS that was chopped....now I only own two...a 07 Road King Custom, and an old Sportster chopper I built.

Not to change the subject, but I just got back from a bike trip to The Dragon, and stopped by Wheel's Through Time in Maggie Valley, NC. All american bikes and just a couple vintage cars. I highly recommend a visit!

We met Dale the owner, whose been collecting bikes since he was a young kid, there are at least a thousand bike there and they all run! He even started four or five up for us. One in particular was an old Crocker...fired right up and off he went riding through the museum....did a 40 foot burnout down the middle of the museum floor!!!! Great day, great place to visit!

[J.B]

Holy cow, didn´t know of Popes, awesome old iron. 1912 is far beneath any age for a vehicle I could imagine to have, must be worth a fortune. I once read the story of the first Harleys. They looked rather similar and seemed to run forever. My few books and magazins about the topic are worn from repeatedly reading. The other bikes named also sound very nice.

Here are 2 pics of my 1974 AMF|Harley-Davidson Electra-Glide FLH 1200 (74 cui) which is the oldest

motorcycle I had:





I restored this baby from ground up on my own with a little machining help on motor and tranny. The pics were taken before the tranny was overhault with a Fat Boy stainless steel handlebar. The original (2-piece) handlebars that were only built in 1974 and which are now on are chubbier, what fits the look even better. The bike has some customization and special parts which I spare you to name. :D

Best wishes,
JB

[squad314]

The bike has some customization and special parts which I spare you to name. :D

Nice looking FLH JB,good job.Am I seeing a Fatboy front end,wheels and discs and an S&S air cleaner/carb?

[Piet.S]

I guess my oldest was a NSU Superlux, don't know how old really.
I also rode a 1965 BMW R60 for years.
Put in a R69S engine, fit a sidecar and sidecar gearing and rode it all the way to Turkey and back.

[Stryke]

65 BSA lightning



Mines gold instead of red though .

[J.B]

Thanks Squad, it´s actually a new 30° FLH front end, the Fatboys have 32°. Thus their handlebar doesn´t fit as perfectly as the original FLH ones. It had a brandnew S+S Super E with Super E air cleaner on which I still have like the original Keihin Carb with the lunch box air cleaner. I attached a 38 mm Edelbrock Quicksilver flat slide carb with a from me customized S+S Super B air cleaner with K&N filter. The Edelbrock ones didn´t attract me and other cleaners I have didn´t fit at all. The Super E carb has a 1 7/8 inch (48 mm) profile, which is too big für the old 1200 ccm engine. I know guys that have it even on 1000 ccm engines and think it would run great. The current 38 mm carb works extremly well. A special feature of it is that it automatically attunes to lower air pressure on hills. By the way, the original Keihin also has 38 mm.

Besides it has a Dyna S dual fire ignition, a NOS FLH camshaft with the original hydro lifters and a S+S oil pump. Together with the old 2 in 2 crossover exhaust it runs like **** and hisses like a big cat. The primary chain housing is encapsulated with a 10 fingers clutch and Barnet wet & dry discs. Every single bearing on the bike is renewed like the Progressive Suspension fork legs.

The old spokes wheels and many other original parts are, if not on the bike, still existing, e.g. the original big aluminum headlamp "oxhead" housing (the one on is a Hydra-Glide retro), side bags, windshield, 2 double seats, one is the legendary 1977 solo flex comfort seat, a hinged rear fender and some more.

Stryke, beautiful BSA! Plus 1965 is my year. I like that symmetrical round look with the 2 cigar mufflers a lot. Also very nice is the bench which allows 2 riders to sit on one level, loved it on my Zuendapp KS 80. I´d love to see pics of the other bikes named as well.

Best wishes,
JB

[squad314]

Here is my last bike.Not the oldest I owned,just my latest one,a '92 HD Fatboy.It originally came "Patriot Red" but I had custom paint done.I designed the flames and a friend painted it.It was House of Kolor "Kandy Apple Red" with orange and yellow.Here are some of the mods and "Go fast goodies",

Edelbrock heads
Crane Fireball cam
Screamin' Eagle ignition
Mikuni HSR42 carb
Kuryakyn Hypercharger with K&N airfilter
2 into 1 Thunderheader
Corbin hollywood solo saddle
Clean FL front fender
Polished Fatboy wheels
Detachable windshield,bags and backrest
Lots and lots of chrome and braid etc.

The last year I had it,the front fender was damaged and I decided to go back to stock paint.I ordered brand new black tanks and fenders from the factory,and the picture of it in black was the night I sold it.I put 79,000 kms on it and enjoyed every minute.

[J.B]

Really nice Fatboy you had there. The parts list speaks for itself. The HSR42 is a very good carb for it, like a big brother of my 38 mm but with ss barrels and more durable. The paint job is very pleasing to my eye. This is the bike I´ve dreamed of. In 1994 I went to our local HD dealer which was one of the biggest if not the biggest in Germany at that time. I asked him for a Fatboy. They were all sold. Even all other Softails and Road Kings were sold out. He told me I´d have to wait at least a year. There were some Fatboys available on the market but they often were used, not much customized and had far higher prices than the new ones from HD. I drove around and asked non HD dealers and backyard mechanics for a reasonable priced Fatboy. One of them had a picture of my FLH in an shelf behind his shop counter. Because I couldn´t get the desired Fatboy I decided to go oldstyle.

Best wishes,
JB

[robo19x]

and here's one with a friend's harley and another friend's new royal enfield.

[xdrewsiferx]

2007 Suzuki Sv650S that is the oldest bike I have ever owned and the only one.