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Membership Card Info, The Condensed Version

At the beginning of the 20th Century the name Flying Merkel was synomnous with innovative design and blazing speed during America's Golden Age of motorcycling. We would like to tell you that's why we picked Jerry Ottaway's 1913 Flying Merkel for this year's membership card but, it's just not that scientific. More often than not it comes down to, "What bike image do we have on file that we haven't featured in the magazine or on the calendar." And this year Jerry's number came up.

Jerry's Flying Merkel is a fine example of his extraordinary collection of original paint bikes. The story of how this machine found its way to Jerry's Kansas home is any interesting, but lengthy one. The Reader's Digest condensed version goes something like this.

Long time club member, the late Duane Dreesen, acquired this machine from the late Jim Lucas. But one thing was immediately obvious from the start, it was missing some critical pieces: the rear wheel, rear stand, fender and fender braces with luggage rack! Fortunately, Duane knew where the missing pieces were. A neighbor of Jim Lucas owned these items. Unfortunately, Jim and his neighbor could never get together on a price. Jim once even offered, "Let's flip a coin and the winner takes all," but the neighbor won't budge. For whatever reason there appears to have been some bad blood between the two of them. In any case, soon after Duane purchased the Merkel from Jim, the neighbor offered to sell the missing parts to Duane! Go figure.

Current owner, Jerry Ottaway, entered the picture 25 years ago when Duane Dreesen wife wanted a kitchen remodel more than a Flying Merkel in the garage. Bummer Duane.

This Merkel is one very fine piece that has found a loving home in the Sunflower state. Congratulations, Jerry, over 10,000 Club members will be carrying your Flying Merkel with them throughout the year. (see PDF of Membership Card)

Virtual Henderson Heaven

Dave Hennessey, once the Harley Hummer king, has set his sights on America's foremost four-cylinder motorcycle, the Henderson. For the past six or more years Dave has immersed himself in all things Henderson to the point where he has put his love of the mighty Four on the web for all the world to see: www.hendersonkj.com.

We'd spent some time surfing the site and came away impress with the depth of information available there. He has a good start on a list of enthusiastic owners, a Henderson bulletin board, shots of "Mr. Henderson" Carl Vandre's, latest projects and Youth Coordinator, Matt Olsen's, three and a half month internship with Carl to name just a few.

As Ted Hodgdon, one of the AMCA's four founding members said, "If you are fortunate enough to own a Henderson, any model, restore it, rebuild it and treasure it. For you have one of the world's finest motorcycles..." The mighty Four from the house that Schwinn built might be out of reach financially but that shouldn't stop you from giving the site a look. We can always dream, can't we?

A Triumphant Year

Vintage Motorcycle Days (VMD to insiders) recently announced that Triumph will be the marque at this year's old bike festival. As you would expect, numerous activities are centered around Triumph for VMD's July 25-27 weekend.

This 17th annual event is once again headquartered at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, which is just one hour north of Columbus.

Displays, seminars and a salute to Triumph Cafe Racers built before 1980 are all part of the plan. VMD will also recognize the Triumph Bonneville's 50th Anniversary. Bonnevilles are as hot today as they were at their introduction in 1957. Clean original bikes and correctly-restored examples currently bring top dollar at today's auctions.

Laverda Owners also get their chance to shine as VMD named the North American Laverda Owners Club as the "classic club" for 2008. As you can imagine, orange will be the color of choice at their display area.

AHMRA will be on hand with something to satisfy the boy racer in all of us. Road racing, flat track, motocross and trials so if you can't find excitement in this line-up, you must be comatose. Advance ticket for the races can be purchased at www.midohio.com or by calling (800) Mid-Ohio.

For additional general information on this years Vintage Motorcycle Days visit the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum's website: www.motorcyclemuseum.org.

A Sturgis Double Take

Have you ever dreamed of attending the Sturgis Rally? Or, perhaps, you have. We'd be willing to bet though, that not many of you have ridden to the Black Hills Classic on Harley-Davidson's limited edition Sturgis model. If your luck holds, and you buy a ticket, this honor might be yours in the near future.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame, located on main street in downtown Sturgis, has acquired a 1982 H-D Sturgis model as this year's raffle bike. With a limited three-year production run, clean, low mileage, original paint examples can be hard to find, but they've come up with one. Proceeds from their annual raffle are a major source of income for the museum and we encourage you to lend your support. Tickets are just $10 each or three for $25. The drawing will be held once again during the rally on August 9, 2008. To purchase tickets visit the museum's website: www.sturgismuseum.com or call (605) 347-2001. You could be "styling and profiling" to the 2009 rally... but, you'd still be anonymous in a sea of Harleys.

Cutting Amazon Out Of The Loop

Good news from Steve Wright, author of American Racer, 1900 - 1940 and American Racer, 1940 - 1980, they're going back on press! Since these two popular books have been out of print for many years, the demand has skyrocketed. Recently copies have sold on Amazon.com in the $500 to $1,200 range. Because of this, a decision was made to do a limited reprint of both books. This short run will also include 50 pairs that are signed by the author, leather bound, and will come in custom slipcases. Steve is compiling a list of people interested in purchasing one, or both of these high-quality books. Prices are yet to be determined but Steve mentioned they will be way below what they are selling for on Amazon.com. If you are interested, contact Steve asap and get on his list. Don't miss out this time around. Steve Wright

Where Indians Live And Bobbers Are Born

Some would say it's been a long lonely road since May of 1953 when Indian closed up shop. Others, perhaps, still don't accept the fact that the once mighty Indian Motocycle Company is gone. For the men and women who struggle to keep the dream alive, they are lucky to have compatriots like Mike Tomas on their side.

Mike Tomas, better known as Kiwi Mike or Indian Mike, is the proprietor of Kiwi Indian MotorCycle Company, based not in New Zealand, Mike's birthplace, but Riverside, California.

Living in the past doesn't mean you have to travel alone. Even though the Springfield firm shuttered their operation 55 years ago, the demand for Indian parts and services seems stronger than ever. Mike, and other Indian parts suppliers, are still running strong. In Mike's case, though, he wasn't happy just filling spare parts orders. He could see the demand building for some totally redesigned items and, the hottest trend in customs, a resurgence of the Bobber.

Several years before bobber mania swept the nation Kiwi set out to reproduce Indian's heart, the crankcases. We don't know if this idea was hatched on the back of a cocktail napkin but Mike is quick to point out that it was a long process. "It took us two years of hard work. Everything is now digitized. Internally it's engineered better than stock, but you can still interchange with original parts." Externally they kept the classic Indian look but don't let that fool you, these crankcases are beefier and bristle with improvements. Their "test of fire" came on the 2001 Indian Century Ride Home Rally, in which Mike and the crew rode from Riverside, California, to Springfield, Massachusetts. "The engine ran flawlessly, we had no problems." Mike said with a smile. Complete Kiwi engines are next and from what we saw they aren't far off.

Bobbers R Us could be on the marquee below the company name. It appears much of their time and resources are being expended in this direction. And why not, the market is hot. Mike mentioned a bobber was recently ordered by Matthew Fox, star of ABC's hit series Lost. Matthew had seen one of Kiwi's custom bikes at the Grand National Roadster show and "just had to have one." He might have to get in line because at the time of our visit there were six other customers in front of him.

Building subassemblies plays a large role in the daily activities at Kiwi Indian. Everything from complete flywheels, complete engines, front leaf spring suspensions, CV carb kits and bolt-on handlebar assemblies keep the staff busy from 8 to 5. In addition to all this hand assembly they manage to fill between 15 to 40 parts orders each day. With eight people on the payroll and a multitude of jobs for each one of them, you'd better know how to multitask.

Branching out into a more mainstream venue, with Bobbers for example, is all well and good, but Mike freely admits his heart is tied to the Springfield V-twin. To help spread the word about Indian's glorious past Mike and the staff started hosting a Friday Bike Night each month. June, 2007, was the inaugural event and the crowds at these, last Friday of the month parties, have steadily increased since then. It gives Mike and the boys a chance to show off their handiwork in addition to education the motorcycling public about our antique hobby. Free food and soft drinks await you.

In the meantime, if you need some items to keep that old Chief of yours on the road, and ahead of Milwaukee's best, give Kiwi a call. They can be found at: www.KiwiIndian.com or by calling 800-601-(KIWI) 5494.

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© 2008 AMCA

 
 

 

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