Great news here at Wheels Through Time. Yet another rare find has made its way to the museum -- A 1926 Harley-Davidson S-model "Peashooter". Please read on.....its a great story.

It all started about a year ago, when we received a call from our good friend David. Dale and Dave have been friends for years, and over the past several decades have bought, sold, traded, and found some extremely rare vintage American motorcycles together. Dave mentioned he was on his way down to Maggie Valley, and that he was bringing something that Dale may be interested in. Calls like this always get Dale's imagination going, and by the time he was off the phone, I could already see the wheels in his head turning (pun intended).

Dave showed up just a few hours later, and within minutes, the three of us were crawling in and out of his truck bed  looking at rare parts.  "Come back to the trailer," said Dave, with a grin.

As he opened the rear door, we all went silent. Resting leaned up against the wall, was nearly an entire genuine 1926 Harley-Davidson Peashooter chassis. Covered with all its rust and glory, there it was....one of the rarest remaining Harley-Davidson machines on the planet. To this date, less than five are known.  Read more....

Last year, my friend Chris Callen called me up with an idea that he and the guys at the Limpnickie Lot had been tossing around for several months.  The idea was to drop all distractions of everyday life and head to the mountains for a long weekend of riding and relaxation.  What initially started as a small group of friends planning to make their way to our area to have come fun, quickly turned into a much anticipated event for next generation riders, builders, and manufactures.  Just like that, the Big Mountain Run was born.

Aiming to provide an opportunity for the future of custom motorcycling to share in good times and great riding, the Big Mountain Run was developed to be an informal, Gypsy Tour style of event, meeting in Statesville, NC and making a two-day run to their final destination -- the Hiawasee Outfitters Campground in Reliance, TN. 

The first Big Mountain Run was a huge success, and countless riders from across the country made their way to the mountains for an unforgettable experience.  The second run, coming up on May 19-23, holds even more promise at becoming one of the most memorable runs of the season.

As their mid-way, overnight stop for the second year in a row, Big Mountain Run riders make their way to Wheels Through Time for an afternoon and evening tour.  Demonstrations of many of the museum's rarest and most interesting motorcycles are held throughout the day and night, and the WTT pavilion and fire pit stays active until the wee hours of the morning.  Personally, its one of my favorite days of the year, and we're honored to have them as our guests.  Its not so often that you get to catch up with so many friends that you don't get to see so often.   I've been working on a 1916 Harley-Davidson "Cutdown" for this years run, and although it'll never be a road-ready machine (no headlight, taillight, horn, or speedo), I'm really looking forward to sharing the roots of custom motorcycles with a group that has made custom motorcycling their lifestyle.

The Run comes through Maggie Valley on May 19th, so don't forget to mark your calenders. 

Check out the Big Mountain Run 2010 website.

Several weeks back, Scott Harvey, who organized the 2010 reenactment, contacted me about his family's 1933 motorcycle adventure.  He was incredibly enthusiastic about his the upcoming run, and had a few questions about what sort of motorcycle his grandfather had used.  Showing me the sole surviving family photograph of the machine, we were able to identify it as a 1928 Harley-Davidson JD. 

When I mentioned that we had two of that exact model on display here at the museum, Scott was thrilled, and decided to add Wheels Through Time to the trip itinerary.  

Just a few weeks later, on their way from Ellijay, GA to Inman, SC (the 180-mile journey which their grandparents made back in 1933) they stopped at the museum for a visit.  We must have spent three hours touring the facility --- fittingly finishing up with the pair of 1928 JD's on display in the "Schaber's Cycle Shop" exhibit.  They were excited to see a real example of their granfather's machine, and we even got a few similar J-models cranked up so they could hear the sound so vital to their family history.

Here's a bit of the Creed Kirkpatrick Family story....

" Rock slides that caused detours before the trip began, soaking rain with dense fog on the third day and one broken motorcycle transmission were not enough to dampen the spirits of eight members of the Creed Kirkpatrick clan and one friend from Maryland as they reenacted the legendary motorcycle run of Creed and Virgie Kirkpatrick that happened in the spring of 1933.  183 miles, from Ellijay, GA to Inman, SC were traveled by Creed and Virgie Kirkpatrick riding on a 1928 Harley Davidson JD motorcycle with a side car.  In the side car were the Kirkpatricks’ five children ranging in age from about 3 to 12 years old.

After trying his hand at farming for a couple years in a hollow ten miles outside of Ellijay, on a farm his friend had won in a poker game, Creed Kirkpatrick headed back to the cotton mills where he found employment as a machinery mechanic once again.  The mill that hired him was probably in Liberty or Inman, SC.  Virgie and

the children stayed on the farm until Creed came back for a visit and when he was ready to head back to S.C., the adult children explain, Virgie told Creed  “If you go, we’re all going”.  Hence began their 180 plus mile journey on a motorcycle designed to deliver packages.  Although no one knows how many days the journey took, experts estimate their average speed to be twenty miles per hour given the capabilities of the motorcycle, the load and the terrain.

Creed’s grandson, Scott Harvey, of western Maryland, organized the three day event.  Scott’s father and mother, Joe and Jo Harvey of McMinnville, TN, solidified the facts as they researched old school and census records, collected vintage road maps and determined when and on what roads the Kirkpatrick family probably traveled and the stops they made along the way.

Eight family members, including Dolly Bishop, now 88 years old, the eldest daughter of Creed and Virgie, who was twelve when she made the journey with her parents, and one friend of the family reenacted the trip March 27th, 2010.  They used three motorcycles (two restored BMWs and a newer model Ducati), two cars and a van hauling a motorcycle trailer.  On the trip were two of Creed and Virgie’s daughters, two of their grandchildren, one great granddaughter and a step great grandson.  Two spouses, a friend and one dog completed the entourage.  To see them off in Ellijay was another granddaughter of Creed and Virgie, Laura Hartert, from Gainesville, GA, a grandson, Frank Bishop, still living in Russellville and a grand nephew in law, W.S. Woodward, of Guntersville.  Many other family members were with them in spirit.

A wonderful and very meaningful trip was enjoyed by all as stops were made at various cotton mills and points of interest along the way.  The trip was made more insightful because of the fervent explanations made by Johnny Whitmire, a retired millworker at Liberty Mills and John Messer of Inman Mills background and now a newspaper reporter in Inman, S.C.  

On the third day an invaluable side trip was made to “Wheels Through Time” Motorcycle Museum where the family’s photo was taken standing by an authentic 1928 JD motorcycle.www.wheelsthroughtime.com  After spending the afternoon savoring the sights (and roaring sounds as engines were started) of this exquisite collection of hundreds of beautifully maintained, restored, and displayed American motorcycles, cars and paraphernalia, the Kirkpatrick entourage said their goodbyes.  Everyone left with a richer understanding of their family’s early challenges and a greater appreciation for their family’s character and American life in the thirties.

Scott Harvey is quick to appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm, positive spirit, patience and energy that made the trip such a wonderful success."

What a fantastic story.  Thank you Scott, and the entire Creed Kirkpatrick Clan for allowing Wheels Through Time to play a part in reliving your family history.

Over the past several years, we've made it one of our top priorities to enable past and future museum visitor to have the opportunity to learn about Wheels Through Time right from their own home.  We continue to work hard at providing a unique online experience that you can only find at WheelsThroughTime.com.  From news and blogs to hundreds of videos available on demand at no cost, the Wheels Through Time Museum website is currently bigger and better than ever. 

But this is just the beginning.  Starting this spring, we've begun to develop our site to include many of the featured exhibits at Wheels Through Time.  Our goal in taking on this task is to not only show our visitors what's new at the museum, but to provide you with in-depth information on a wide range of historic and cultural aspects of America Transportation. 

As part of this mission, we have created a new section on WheelsThroughTime.com titled "Featured Exhibits".  This menu can be access on the right hand side of any page, just below the search box.  

Here at the museum, we like to say that Wheels Through Time is a "collection of collections".  Through our new "Featured Exhibits" section we will be providing a deeper glance into several of the museum's most historical collections.  This new section will showcase many of the over-300 machines that are on display, emphasizing both their historical significance and the broader cultural context of the era from which they came.

"Home-Made in America"

One of our most recent featured exhibits is "Home-made in America" -- a favorite among WTT visitors and staff alike.  This unique tribute to America ingenuity contains countless machines developed by home-engineers, each designed to make life a little easier....or more fun.

During the early parts of the 20th century, as mainstream America was just being introduced to motorized transportation, many took the newfound success of the internal combustion engine to new levels, incorporating these "highly advanced" powerplants into their everyday lives.  Motorcycle engines were a common choice among these home-inventors -- lightweight and relatively easy to maintain, they provided power and reliability, and could be obtained at a affordable cost.  Whether for business or pleasure, these engines were used in a variety of applications that would pave the way for literally hundreds of developments seen over the next 100 years.

Learn more about "Home-made In America" here.

Here at the museum, there are countless rare machines dating back to the earliest days of American motorcycling.  Quite often, I'm asked by visitors if I have a favorite.  My answer is never simple. 

For as long as I can remember, Dale has had an unparalleled passion for vintage American motorcycles.  Over the years, as I've seen the collection grow, that passion has overcome me just the same.  I love all old bikes, and each machine here in the museum is unique and special in its own way.  From bikes found in barns, to special one-of-a-kind factory race bikes, to pre-production prototypes, every bike in the museum has a unique history of who built it, who rode it, or who raced it.  Each machine holds a special place in the museum, and while some are more special than others, I have never even tried to pick a favorite. 

I've come to fall in love with not just the bike, but the story that comes with it.  How it was found, where it was built, what it was used for.......each aspect is an important part in that bikes past.

While I continue to say "there all my favorite", one bike above all sparks my interest and always seems to intensify my passion for old motorcycles as each new page unfolds.  That machine is the 1917 Traub.

The Traub's story is unlike that of any other.  Found behind a brick wall in a Chicago apartment building in 1967, the Traub was discovered during the building's renovation.  To this date, the machines origin remains a mystery.  Its builder, and its history may never be known.  At some point after its discovery, the machine was bought by a Chicago motorcycle shop owner named Torillo Tacchi.  Tacchi owned the machine for over 10 years before selling it to Bud Ekins, actor and stunt double for Steve McQueen, while he was on set for the Blues Brothers Movie in the late 1970.  Ekins later sold the machine to collector and restorer, Richard Morris, who later sold it to Dale.

Dated to 1917, the Traub is entirely unique from any other motorcycle ever produced.  Hand-crafted and well ahead of its time, the machine is an engineering marvel, featuring components and specifications not seen on two-wheeled machine for another 20 years.  The Traub's engine, which is perhaps the most developed motorcycle engine of the era, features a side-valve configuration and has a displacement of 80 cubic inches.  To give you a glimpse of how advance this size and configuration of engine was, Harley did not release their sidevalve 80" machine until 1936!  Its name cast into the motor in several places, at first glance, it becomes apparent that the Traub is a true work of art.  Every piece on the machine is hand made, and the only of its kind, from the frame and forks to the gas tank and handlebars to the luggage rack and fenders.

The machine also features a one of a kind 3-speed transmission.  This may arguably be the most advanced piece on the machine.  Back in the early 1900s, over 200 motorcycle manufacturers fought for business in a very competitive market, and by the mid 1920s, only three serious competitors were left -- Harley-Davidson, Indian and Excelsior.  Its often wondered why, in such a short period of time, so many companies went out of business.  While there is no definitive answer, we at the museum have an interesting theory.

The first motorcycles were developed to take the "work" out of bicycling, and provide an easy method of transportation.  Some of the earliest machines were built by attaching a low-horsepower motor to a bicycle frame, connecting the drive-line, and adding a gas tank -- literally a conversion from bicycle to motorcycle.  This primitive means of transportation would do for a time, but eventually the need for stronger machines became apparent.

As motorcycles continued to develop, so did their engines.  Displacement increased through the development of twin cylinder and four cylinder motorcycles.  Valve configuration and carburetion became more advanced, compression ratio increased, combustion chamber size and shape became an ever-increasingly important factor.  As a result of these developments, engines became more powerful and their capabilities were increased.

The effectiveness of those early machines relied heavily on the motorcycles ability to transfer the power from the engine to the rear wheel, much as it does today.  The earliest motorcycles transmitted this power through a belt drive or chain drive, but were limited in their capabilities due to the fact that they were single speed machines.  As engines became more and more powerful and roads improved, the need for a more effective way to get power to the rear wheel arose.  Taking on this call for action, the few motorcycle companies that had the resources, such as Harley, Indian, and Excelsior were able to develop a transmission, allowing riders to change the gearing of their machines as they rode.  This would prove to be a massive step forward for those that were able to do it.  Other companies were left in the dust, as these companies' new transmissions allowed for greater speeds and required less work from the machines engine.

When you take a look back at which companies survived and which didn't, you can see that each of the companies that developed their own transmission made it to the next level.  Those that didn't dropped off one by one, until only the Big Three (Harley, Indian, and Excelsior) were left.

This bit of history is what makes the Traub so unique in my eyes.  How did this one-of-a-kind person create a one-of-a-kind motorcycle, with a one-of-a-kind transmission, while other companies fell to the wayside left and right due to their inability to do so.  Its truly amazing, and a big part in what makes the Traub the spectacular machine that it is. 

We often say that if you look at every machine in the museum for 3 minutes, you'll be here for over 17 hours.  I'll tell you in advance that you'll need a little more time for this one.  Personally, I could (and have) stared at it for hours!

So next time you're down this way, be sure ask about the 1917 Traub.  Its a must see motorcycle, and after learning its story, it just might be your new favorite.

For more information on the Traub, click here.