1914 Flying Merkel
Merkel 1902-1915
The Merkel was built in three different locations. From 1902 through 1908, the Merkel was manufactured in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by the Merkel Motor Company. In October 1908, the Merkel Motor Company and the Light Manufacturing and Foundry Company of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were merged to form the Merkel-Light Motor Company at Pottstown. In May 1911, the Miami Cycle and Manufacturing Company of Middletown, Ohio, purchased Merkel-Light and moved production from Pottstown to Middletown, Ohio.
Merkel Development
The 1902 Merkel had the same general layout as a California--that is, a diamond frame with the motor clipped to the front down tube, and drive by flat belt across an idler pulley mounted behind the seat mast. The Merkel differed in having the F-head single-cylinder motor discharging exhaust into the frame front down tube.
The 1903 Merkel had a loop frame. As previously, the 1903 had the exhaust gases piped into the frame front down tube. Drive remained by flat belt across and idler pulley, which was now relocated to the lower left fork tube. The F-head engine displaced 14.2 ci (233 cc).These Merkels were built in lots of 25 to insure quick delivery.
Details are unavailable on the 1904 though 1906 Merkels. But the 1904 through 1906 specifications can be estimated by a January 1907 advertisement. The ad headlined, “All the latest improvements,” suggesting most (or all) of the features were new. The 1907 Merkel had the F-head motor vertically positioned in the loop frame. The famous Merkel telescopic front fork was introduced along with the swinging arm rear suspension. The January 1907 advertisement said, “There will be not Merkel this year with rigid frames,” implying that the 1906 models were available either with rigid or spring frames. The 1907 frame was the same in outline as the 1903 frame. The advertisement admitted the machine pictured had a rigid front fork, but stated a spring fork is,.....not illustrated this time but in later issues.”
Taken together, the factual tidbits suggest that 1904 through 1906 rigid frame Merkels were either identical or very similar to the 1903 model pictured. Also, it seems reasonable that a 1906 spring frame model with a rigid front fork was offered, still with the 1903 appearance. With the headline in mind, the conclusion is that the 1907 model was probably the first with a large cylindrical fuel tank and the oil tank relocated to the rear fender.
In October 1908, the newly formed Merkel-Light Motor Company began moving all Merkel production equipment from Milwaukee to Pottstown. The merger brought under one company belt driven Merkel motorcycles and chain driven Light motorcycles.
The 1909 models were essentially the same as the 1910 models illustrated in the catalog. Some or all of the 1909 models had the name “Merkel” on the tank, the name “Merkel-Light” may have been placed on the tank during the course of the 1909 model year. The Model A motorcycle was a carryover of the Light evolution. The 1909 Model A may have had the name “Light” on the tank. The model A used a so-called Thor single-cylinder engine, which was an Indian engine manufactured under license by the Aurora Automatic Machinery Company. The Thor engine used an automatic (suction operated) inlet valve, in contrast to Indian, which by this time had switched to a mechanical inlet valve.
The other 1909 models were Merkel derivatives, featuring Merkel-designed motors with automatic inlet valves. A chain driven Merkel-derived V-twin racer was listed, but otherwise the remaining Merkel-derived models used belt drive. During 1909, the company began to use the term “The Flying Merkel” in advertising, and this remained company practice from then on.
The 1910 sales catalog showed motorcycles with “Merkel Light” on the tanks, but the sales catalog had page banners reading “The Flying Merkel.” The 1910 models were unchanged in basic configuration.
In May 1911, the Miami Cycle and Manufacturing Company of Middletown, Ohio, purchased Merkel-Light and moved production from Pottstown to Middletown. The name “Flying Merkel” was put on the tanks of the motorcycles, and the Light-derived model was dropped. The 1911 and 1912 models continued with the basic appearance and technical features of the 1909 and 1910 models.
For 1913, the styling was updated with a new and more shapely frame, which accommodated a more attractive tank and lower saddle position. The seat mast was no longer a conventional frame tube, but instead was a large cylinder which doubled as the oil tank; previously the oil tank was a compartment within the fuel tank. Functionally, the biggest changes for 1913 was mechanically operated inlet valves, and on some models, chain drive. In appearance and general specifications, the 1913 range set the pattern for the remaining two seasons of 1914 and 1915.
The 1914 models had flexible leather boots over the front fork plungers. Pistons were changed from hour-glass shape to conventional cylindrical shape, and the surface area was increased. The piston wrist pin center was lowered and the rings were elliptically ground. The theory then, was that these slightly egg-shaped rings provided more uniform surface pressure all around the cylinder wall. Cams had ⅝ inch smaller diameter. The smaller cams reduced vibration, and the lower cam surface speed reduced wear. The clutch operation was changed to incorporate a flat bar between the hand lever and the clutch. This provided better control and added movement to the clutch operating members. One 1914 change proved a problem. On the left crankcase was a spring actuated self starter, the spring being wound by motor action on the previous ride. Warranty claims on this device force its cancellation.
The last functional changes were introduced with the 1915 models. In place of the unsuccessful self starter was a so-called Miami direct starter. The starter mounted to the right crankcase and the rearward stroke of the pedal replaced the former bicycle pedaling action for starting. All Merkels through 1914 were single-speed machines. For 1915, riders could opt for countershaft-mounted two-speed planetary transmission.
1909-1914 Merkel Racing History
As soon as production was moved from Milwaukee to Pottstown, the new company decided to spend serious money for racing. Five factory supported riders were hired. These included Stanley Kellog, who had been a star on Indians, and Charles Balke, later to become famous as Indian rider “Fearless” Balke.
In April, 1910, Merkel rider Fred Whittler defeated Indian’s top star Jake Derosier in several races over the Los Angeles Coliseum motordrome, a steeply banked ⅓ mile boardtrack. Whittler next set new professional records for seventeen through fifty miles, with a fifty mile average of over 74 mph, beating the old record by 12 mph. In late 1910, Indian’s DeRosier was again bested by a Merkel, this time in the hands of Morty Graves, who set new records for two through twenty miles. A Los Angeles track record of almost 75 mph was made in November 1910 by Whittler.
When production was moved to Middletown, the new owners, the Miami Cycle and Manufacturing Company, decided not to continue racing support. Factory employees Maldwyn Jones, Lee Taylor, and Cleo Pineau, however, got under-the-table help in building racing Merkels for the 1911 through 1914 seasons. The factory consented to pay the freight bill to some races, but otherwise the boys were on their own. Jones won the biggest race of 1913, the Savannah 300-mile road race, but this wasn’t figured out until after the official victory was given to Excelsior’s Bob Perry. The problem was lap counting, and Jones had been made to ride an extra lap. Merkel advertising claimed the win, anyway. Jones, Pineau, and Taylor entered many half-mile dirt track races in the MidWest, which was a racing hotbed. Jones grafted a Jefferson overhead-valve cylinder to his Merkel. The 1915 Merkel catalog listed victories during the year 1914; Merkels winning one or more events over twenty-mile courses, and the catalog added that many more victories could be listed in additional to those on the page and a half.