The Bicycling World, Vol 64, No 18
Articles in this issue
- Glenn H. Curtiss organizes a $600,000 holding corporation at Hammondsport, N. Y., absorbing the Curtiss Motorcycle Company, the Curtiss Aviation School and the Curtiss Motor Company, with Monroe Wheeler of Bath vice-president and C. Ray Hall secretary-treasurer.
- The Chicago Cycle Supply Company leaves 3255 North Clark street for three floors and 10,000 square feet at 22 West Lake street, Chicago, and will thereafter sell bicycle and motorcycle supplies wholesale to the trade only.
- The United States Tire Company tells the trade that manufacture and sale of Nobby Tread tires continue as before, the court having suspended the injunction sought against it pending appeal.
- The New York and Brooklyn Automobile Supply Company, 1717 Broadway, takes the sole eastern agency for the Henderson motorcycle, with Felix Lewin, late of the Moto-Accessories Company and secretary of the Harlem Motorcycle Club, in charge.
- The Vim Cycle & Hardware Company, 137-139 Broadway, Buffalo, secures the Excelsior auto-cycle for western New York and northern Pennsylvania; president John W. Henry says the house will act as general distributor as well as Buffalo retailer.
- The Waverley Mfg. Co. of Jefferson, Wis., offers a complete four-horsepower single at $225 built around its overhead-valve motor, with quarter-elliptic vanadium leaf springs at frame and fork, Heitger carbureter, Bosch magneto, Diamond double roller chain and Corbin band brake.
- The Eisemann Magneto Company shifts its sales department from Detroit to the main office at 225-227 West 57th street, New York; A. T. LeBlanc becomes sales manager, H. D. Wilson keeps the Detroit branch and Lon R. Smith takes a new Indianapolis branch.
- Walter F. Andrews, Canadian bicycle champion and sole Toronto Pierce agent, takes an Indian sub-agency at 369 Yonge street; H. M. Kipp sets up the Canadian Indian depot at 384 Spadina avenue, and Sam Vogan gives up the Minneapolis agency.
- A five-story concrete structure, 87 by 135 feet and costing $60,000, is planned for the Harley-Davidson works at Thirty-seventh and Chestnut streets, Milwaukee.
- The Indian foot starter ratchet mechanism is now enclosed in an inconspicuous metal cap to shield it from dust, mud and flying stones.
- J. A. Handin resigns as sales manager of the Aurora Automatic Machinery Co., makers of the Thor motorcycle, without announcing his plans.
- Every machine leaving the Pierce Cycle Company factory at Buffalo is road-tested 50 to 100 miles by a permanent staff of eight testers, photographed resting at the roadside.
- E. C. Kicherer, New York representative of the Flanders Mfg. Co. of Pontiac, Mich., says the Flanders will carry an Eclipse clutch at the $175 list with a polished motor base, and flatly denies rumours of a price reduction.
- The Ford Motorcycle and Auto Supply Company of White Plains, already county distributor for Flanders, Curtiss and Marvel, contracts with the Excelsior Motor Mfg. and Supply Co. for the Excelsior line in Westchester county.
- President Byron C. Dowse describes the monthly departmental banquets the Federal Rubber Mfg. Co. gives in the red room of the Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee, illustrated with the whole executive force at table.
- Marcus Allen, formerly of the Empire Tire Co. and manager of the G. & J. Tire Co.'s New York branch, takes charge of the Federal Rubber Mfg. Co.'s New York branch under his old G. & J. associates.
- John N. Carroll, Jr., of the Chase Motor Company, Charles and Read streets, Baltimore, is photographed on the "big gun" he used on an up-State Harley-Davidson selling trip; the house has been delivering 1912 H-Ds since the first week of November.
- Amos Shirley, one of the pioneer New York bicycle and motorcycle dealers, sailed for England on Saturday, January 13, and will be away about six weeks.
- Full-page plate of silhouette portraits of eighteen trade figures cut at the New York show, among them W. A. Johnson (Pierce), Geo. M. Hendee (Indian), W. F. Remppis (R-S), Col. George Pope, A. B. Coffman (Yale), Arthur Davidson (H-D), H. N. Kirk (Excelsior) and J. A. Handin (Thor).
- C. W. Martin, Jr., Goodyear's Southern States district manager, has grown from one Atlanta store to five branches in a year and is rebuilding Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Birmingham and New Orleans to a single uniform plan of construction, decoration and stock handling.
- The old Reliance Motorcycle Company plant at Owego, N. Y., idle since July 31, restarts under the newly incorporated Ives Motorcycle Corporation, capital $60,000 with $15,000 of bonds split between Owego and Elmira; W. H. Ives and Frank T. Carroll are among the directors.
- W. E. Jackson of 628 Third street, San Francisco, northern California distributor for Dayton bicycles, invites subject matter and electros from manufacturers for a forthcoming bicycle sundry catalog.
- Indian agents from Buffalo, Ilion, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Trenton, Rochester and Rome adjourn from the New York show to the Springfield works, where treasurer F. J. Weschler entertains them and a vote of thanks is tendered the Hendee Mfg. Co.
- Argues that the F. A. M.'s proposed one-year board-track franchise is too short for an investor to recover his outlay, and that permanent franchises revocable for rule-breaking would better attract capital to the sport.
- Holds that sentiment at the New York show shows the sidecar will bring women to motorcycling, sparing them the undignified tandem seat, now that high-powered engines, clutches and change-speed gears can carry the extra burden.
- Abbot Bassett completed twenty-five years as secretary of the League of American Wheelmen on Tuesday, January 17, having been chosen secretary-editor in 1887 after one of the hardest fought battles in League history and seen membership grow from 10,000 to 103,000.
- Credits the bicycle with forcing advances in production methods and creating whole industries, and urges every manufacturer, dealer, jobber, club and rider to support sending an American bicycle team to the Fifth Olympiad.
- Opening pages of the alphabetical review of accessory exhibits at the New York show, covering American Bronze's Non-Gran bearing bronze, the American Circular Loom No-Lag twin magneto, American Vanadium castings, F. A. Baker's accessory line and Bantam, Schafer and Benford bearings and plugs.
- Continuation of the accessory review: Bosch's enclosed ZEV and ZE1 magnetos fired under a stream of water and the new crescent-point plug, Bower compound roller bearings, Eisemann wedge-lipped pole pieces, New Departure double ball bearings, Persons' springless Model "R" saddle, and Splitdorf, Stewart, S K F and Texaco goods.
- The Federation of American Motorcyclists board, meeting in New York January 12-13, adopts resolutions letting the Competition Committee grant one-year exclusive board-track agreements within twenty-five miles, at annual fees of $125 to $750 scaled by city population and $25 a day for sanctions.
- Chairman Thornley says the racing-rules revision sub-committee will report during the Chicago show, President Hamilton being anxious to have the new rules settled before the season opens.
- Chairman Estabrook's weekly bulletin reports coming affiliations at Newark, Pompton Plains, Plainfield, Attleboro and Waynesboro, names F. M. Charlton of St. Eleuthere, Quebec, holder of card No. 12,205, the most northerly member, and puts registered repair shops at 475.
- Chairman Thornley asks every rider to submit his contract to the Competition Committee before signing, after last year's promoters bound men to terms that could have forced them to ride at outlaw meets for unclear pay.
- At the suggestion of Toronto Motorcycle Club secretary Thomas Anderson, the board offers to sanction Canadian meets for affiliated clubs only and to bar F. A. M. members from unaffiliated meets on penalty of suspension, board tracks excepted.
- A meeting at the Dennison Hotel called by W. A. Gibson of the Empire Tire Company reorganizes the Indianapolis Motorcycle Club without its bar and at halved dues, elects G. H. Westing temporary chairman, and names Erwin G. Baker, H. Kinney, J. Merz and Harry Graff to a board-track committee.
- The LaPorte Motorcycle Club holds its first annual banquet with 26 covers and experience talks; secretary Carpenter predicts 40 new members for the coming season.
- John S. Prince and Paul Derkum are building a circular three-lap banked Stadium track three miles southeast of the Los Angeles City Hall, to open about February 4; Derkum will manage, substituting Class B professional races for the old trade-rider events and starting fields by bugle and flag from pits set behind a wire fence.
- The South Bend Motorcycle Club, about 40 dealers and riders strong, adopts resolutions condemning the use of cut-outs in city streets and is preparing a schedule of runs for next season.
- The Angel City Motors Club of Los Angeles organizes with 30 charter members under president Philip Younger, will deposit indemnifying bonds so an arrested member can leave his membership card instead of cash bail, and plans a February motorcycle show.
- The Utica Motorcycle Club elects Homer G. Buckley president at its January 14 annual meeting and banquet and settles into new rooms at 120 Lafayette street, sharing the building with the Utica Motor Boat Club and the Aviators' Club.
- The Bakersfield Motorcycle Club elects Charles P. Clark president and plans an F. A. M. convention of San Joaquin valley clubs from Ducor to Fresno, a five-room clubhouse with garage and repair shop, and a race course near the city.
- The New Jersey Motorcycle Club votes a 250-mile Decoration Day endurance test and hears promoters George Kreamer and George Hamilton, with Electric Park manager A. C. Dunlap, on the proposed Newark track.
- The Sacramento Motorcycle Club, over 150 strong, elects E. S. Emery president, names competition and publicity committees and a board of trustees, and plans runs on bright winter Sundays.
- Annual election returns from the Cortland, N. Y., Chesapeake (Baltimore), Piqua, O., and Mansfield, O., motorcycle clubs.
- Prints the subscription list for the American Olympic Bicycle Team Fund, headed by Frank B. Mihlon's Newark Velodrome at $100 and the St. Louis Cycling Club at $60; San Francisco promises eleven men for the elimination trials, Buffalo forms two clubs including the Royal Flyers under N. C. A. man Louis Debo, the Pope Mfg. Co. travelling salesmen give $25, and the riders' popularity contest brings a rush for voting blanks.
- President J. A. Hall calls a meeting of the United Cyclists for Tuesday evening at 9:30 P. M. at Brooklyn Turn Hall, Atlantic avenue and Hoyt street.
- Daniel J. McCann of 111 Central avenue, Chelsea, Mass., well known as a motorcycle pacer and left in a nervous condition by a severe electric shock, was committed to Westboro Insane Hospital on January 16 by Judge Albert D. Bossom.
- Newark Velodrome manager John M. Chapman sails on the White Star "Baltic" to lay his program for the world's championships of August 25 and 28 and September 1 before the Union Cycliste Internationale congress at Paris, and hopes to sign Ellegaard, Friol, Dupre, Pouchois, Rutt or the Italian Moretti.
- The Century Road Club of America's annual ball at Lyric Hall, Sixth avenue and Forty-second street, on January 13 draws practically every city cycling club; the Manhattan Wheelmen take the silver loving cup for the largest turnout and Harry A. Gliesman brings a Garden show delegation including Arthur Davidson.
- The Baltimore club plans a spring road race with Philadelphia, New York and Washington riders invited and a 12-hour two-man team track race, and elects Ralph Miller president and Edgar R. Boehm secretary.
- Marcel Planes, a 21-year-old Londoner, rode 332 centuries and 34,366 miles in 1911 to win English "Cycling's" Century Competition, beating Teddy Hale's eleven-year-old mark of 313 centuries; riding out-and-home for a gold medal, his daily outlay rarely passed 25 cents and he wore out seven tire covers, three pairs of knickerbockers and two pairs of shoes.
- The Boston Bicycle Club and the Newton Bicycle Club will present Abbot Bassett with a substantial testimonial at the Boston club's annual dinner on February 10 for his 25 years as L. A. W. secretary-treasurer.
- The Royal Canadian Bicycle Club of Toronto re-elects F. B. Culliton president at its January 9 annual meeting, with W. G. Gooderham honorary president and A. F. Walton vice-president.