1906 Curtiss V-Twin

• MANUFACTURER: The G.H. Curtiss Manufacturing Company
• MANUFACTURED: Hammondsport, NY, USA
• YEAR: 1906
• ENGINE NO: 2715
• HP: 5
• BORE & STROKE: 3 ¼”
• THROTTLE: Lever attached to left-hand side
• SEAT: H. & F. Mesinger Manufacturing Company
• COLOR: Standard black enamel paint applied in four layers
• BRIGHT METAL: Nickel-plated except aluminum

Despite becoming known as the “fastest man on earth” in 1907 for setting a land speed record of 136 mph on an experimental V8 motor­cycle he had built himself, Glenn Hammond Curtiss was not known for his bikes, but rather as an American aviation pioneer. Born in 1879 in Hammondsport, New York, he started his engineering career racing bicycles in his youth. By 1902, he had built his first motor­cycle engine with a tomato soup can as a carburetor, and his genius only expanded from there. The sixth engine he ever produced, a single-cylinder under the name “Herc­ules,” can also be found in the collection of Dick Shappy. He quickly found that “Herc­ules” was already patented, and his future endeavors would begin the Curtiss line.

In 1904, he took home the gold against even his rivals at Indian Motor­cycles and put his 9 hp V-twin engine into the first successful dirigible in the United States, the Cali­fornia Arrow. Until 1912, he and his team would go on to build, sell, and race motor­cycles out of their Hammondsport garage, but this wasn’t his only successful endeavor. In the same period, Curtiss was the chief rival of the Wright brothers, designing airplane engines, the most widely used U.S. aircraft in World War I, and the first amphibious aircraft, and joining the Aerial Experiment Association. Curtiss was one of the great engin­eers of the early 20th century, producing innovative and high-performance motor­cycles, inventing the handlebar throttle, and helping to create the U.S. aviation industry.

This 1906 Curtiss V-twin is an extremely rare specimen, considered the “Duesen­berg” of early American motor­cycles.

There are only a handful of Curtiss engines known to have survived, including the Herc­ules and Dick Shappy’s 1909 Curtiss V-twin “Roadster.” This one, Engine Number 2715, went to Dale Stoner in collaboration with the Glenn H. Curtiss Mu­seum in Hammondsport, New York, for a careful and meticulous restoration and documentation. Dale Stoner is not only the premier Curtiss historian and a master machinist but also an engineering pioneer who will one day be regarded in the history books right alongside Glenn. He is currently recreating the beautiful and historic 1907 Curtiss eight-cylinder experimental motor­cycle that set the world land speed record of 136 mph in exacting detail. It has been rumored that upon completion, this vehicle could be worth between $500,000 and $1 million.

Curtiss historian Dale Stoner notes that the 1906 frame is unique to that year. It’s close to the exhaust pipe, resembling a horseshoe, similar to the prior Herc­ules frame. This model is an early 1906, as a number of features are different in later 1906 models. Stoner cites that the drip oiler is on the left, the rocker arms have spheres on the ends, and the compression release arms’ connection points are at the center of the engine. He also notes that the rocker arm area on the crankcase is smaller than later models and is reinforced with steel plates on the timer side of the engine.

Unlike models earlier than 1905, this one was produced entirely in the Curtiss workshops, with no outsourcing for fabrication.

Check out master machinist and Curtiss historian Dale Stoner reflect on Glenn Hammond Curtiss’s motor­cycles and show off his 1907 Curtiss V-8 land-speed-record-setting replica on Jay Leno’s Garage: “The Fastest Man on Earth: 1907 Curtiss V8 Motor­cycle.”