1911 Flying Merkel Twin 05

• ENGINE: V-Twin with Bosch Magneto
• ENGINE NO: FORMWSN02223
• MANUFACTURER: Merkel Light Motor Co.
• MANUFACTURED: Pottstown, PA, USA
• FEATURES: Horn, Kickstand, Luggage Rack
• TOOL BOX: Troxel Mfg. Co., Elyria, OH, USA
• HEAD LIGHT: "Mauretania"
• TAIL LIGHT: Old Sol, Hawthorne Mfg. Co. Ltd., Bridge­port, CT, USA
• SHOWS: 2010 New­port, RI Con­cours d’Elegance

Dick Shappy, in his time collecting motor­cycles, has acquired fifteen different Merkels. He regards this 1911 Twin as his finest. Pur­chased from Mike Wolfe of “Amer­ican Pickers” in 2006, it then underwent a seven-year meticulous, no-expense-spared orig­inal restoration. Wolfe recently shared that it was one of the first motor­cycles he acquired in his early days as an Amer­ican Picker that he considered a high-end acquisition with a high resale value as an orig­inal, mostly complete Flying Merkel. As the most complete, correct, and orig­inal Merkel, this was used as a reference to aid in future restorations.

The 1911 boasts a V-Twin engine with a Bosch magneto and an orig­inal engine number. It was manufactured in Pottstown, Penn­syl­vania, while Merkel was going by the name Merkel Light Motor Com­pany. It features a horn, kickstand, luggage rack, and Troxel Manufacturing Com­pany leather toolbox made in Elyria, Ohio. The headlight reads “Mauretania,” and the Old Sol taillight from the Hawthorne Manu­fact­uring Com­pany was made in Bridge­port, Conn­ecticut. The Merkel orange paint dazzles and has graced the lawn of the New­port Con­cours d’Elegance. Will you be the one to show it next?

Joe Merkel founded the Merkel Motor Co. as a bicycle manu­facturer, but by 1903, he had built his own motor­cycle. In 1909, Merkel merged with the Light Motor Co. and relocated from Milwaukee to Pottstown, Penn­syl ­vania, where it produced motor­cycles under the name “The Merkel Light Motor Co.,” which was later shortened to “Merkel Light.” In 1911, the com­pany was acquired by the Miami Cycle and Manu­fact ­uring Com­pany of Mid­dle­town, Ohio, and the trademark was subsequently changed to “Flying Merkel.”

The Merkel had an innovative spring fork, patented by Joe as a “truss fork,” the predecessor of the telescopic front fork, which became the choice for racing, where it broke records. It had an auto­matic­ally dripping oil feeder, an invention that would go on to be copied by larger manu­facturers, such as Indian and Harley-David­son. The com­pany developed the mono-shock rear suspension system that is still in use to this day. Its iconic status was achieved through this innovation, its bright “Merkel orange” paint, and its distinctive tank shape, making the motor­cycle immediately identifiable.

Merkel attracted buyers with its high quality and slogans such as “All roads are smooth to The Flying Merkel, ” “The Most Powerful Motor­cycle in the World,” and “If it passes you, it’s a Flying Merkel.” It wasn’t enough to sustain the Flying Merkel through the onset of war, however, and production ceased in 1917, making this show-quality restored 1911 Flying Merkel Twin a relic of history.