A Piece Of Motorcycle History – 1914 Flying Merkel

If someone says “motorcycle”, the first thing that comes to mind for most, is Harley-Davidson or maybe a Honda. Motorcycles have been around for over a century but it’s The Flying Merkel, a motorcycle built by Joseph “Joe” Merkel, that set the standard for revolutionary motorcycle innovation back in 1911.

The Flying Merkel is considered by many to be one of the most important engineering achievements during the formative years of motorcycle development. The Flying Merkel included the early precursor of telescopic forks, a mono shock rear end, cam-driven valves, a throttle-linked oil feeder, and ball bearings rather than the usual bronze bushings in the engine.

What makes The Flying Merkel so revolutionary is that all of these innovations were included in one package and created by one man. Merkel debuted his motorcycle in 1911 and the motorcycles made quite the splash at the American board track races with their flashy orange paint schemes and unbeatable performance.

In 1911, and after some success, the Miami Cycle and Mfg. Company acquired Merkel, and Joe stayed on with the company until he sold his shares in 1914 just as WWI was kicking off in Europe. It turns out this was a smart move for him financially and he did not return to the motorcycle market after cashing out.

The rarity of Flying Merkel thus makes them collectors items and as such, the bikes fetch a pretty penny at auction. The surviving Flying Merkels are now worth an absolute fortune with models that were raced on the board tracks pulling in close to $500,000 at auction. This 1914 Flying Merkel, being featured by Mecum, is expected to fetch between $150,000 – $175,000. The auction, which was held on August 19th, already sold for an undisclosed amount

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Source: Silodrome