Motorcycle Museum at Iron Horse, Monroe, NC (December 30, 2011)

Took a windy ride on the next to last day of 2011, went to Iron Horse which is a Suzuki/Honda dealer in Monroe, NC. They also, as do many dealers have a sort of motorcycle museum there (no admission charge either) and some great old classic motorcycles on display. This one is better than most, as the bikes are very old, such as this old Indian. While some are tagged better than others and some I can talk about some this bike is a bit of a mystery. Still though, you can see the bicycle roots of this old Indian which was the bike that competed with HD for so long. For a time they were built here in NC. 

Bike below is a 1929 Excelsior-Henderson motorcycle. That engine is unique, being an in-line four , but running along the frame. Triumph uses an arrangement like that with its Rocket III triple. This type of engine was also used in cars and in aircraft. The company was owned by Ignatz Schwinn (also famous for bicycles) and was formed from a merger of two companies. It ended production during the Great Depression around 1931. There was an attempt to re-start the brand just a few years ago, but it did not last long, coming out with one model. I think I have a photo of that bike in a long ago previous post.    

This black bike is a 1947 Indian Chief. It was 74 cubic inches, and put out 40 horsepower. Brand new this bike cost $475 dollars. Indian as I noted had a long history, and there have been a number of attempts to restart the brand. Currently the company puts out three versions of the Indian Chief, all of which are very pricy. It is owned now by Polaris, which is the parent company of Victory Motorcycles. That resulted in the closing of the North Carolina factory in Kings Mountain-I believe they are now being built in Iowa. It will be interesting to see what happens to the brand in the near future.     

Amazing old Harley-Davidson, this is a 1914 model. According to the info near the front tire it was one of the first chain drive models of Harley-Davidson, was around 500cc and put out a whopping 4 horsepower. Once again you can see the bicycle roots of the motorcycle, and this was just a few short years into the history of what is the longest produced American brand. Harley-Davidson has had an amazing history, and has turned out some legendary motorcycles over the 100+ years it has been in business. Truly, Harley-Davidson is not just a great motorcycle, but it is an American icon.

Bikes below are at left a Pope (that is the Gray one) and next to it is a Cleveland. Both of those are two of the many brands that came out in the early days of motorcycles. Henry Ford came out with the famous Model T which due to its low price put many motorcycle companies out of business, the car certainly being a lot more practical for families. However, motorcycles and motorcycling has endured over the years and there have been some remarkable advances during the over 100 years that men and women have been riding in America and around the world.