A history of modified motorcycles, part 1
Posted by: Paul D'Orleans
When motorcycles were as likely as not to catch fire and break down on every ride, not many people were thinking of how to personalize their machine with an artistic vision. It was all the average rider could do to keep the damn things going; purely technical modifications and improvements took all the owner’s attention...
At the dawn of motorcycling, say 1865-1900, basic components necessary for the function of the machine were poorly understood, although it seemed Everyone was willing to try their hand at making a new type of carburetor or drive system. Ignition was highly unreliable, with large and fragile batteries tending to shed lead plates on unsprung machines, making the ubiquitous coil ignition (and the SIZE of those coils!) a hit-or-miss proposition. The likelihood that your 4 mile ‘pleasure ride’ on a fragile, skid-prone, and board-hard machine would end with you pushing it home were about 50/50. So, in sum, nobody was thinking ‘custom’, they were thinking ‘how do we make this bloody thing work!’ All riders knew immediately the appeal of two wheels - even in those brief and bumpy rides down the muddy and rutted lanes – and the exhilarating feeling of The Ride has been handed down for over 100 years now; little has changed about that.
As motorcycle components became a bit more reliable, and the Bosch Company started making reliable magnetos, the raw struggle of keeping the Beast functional became less pressing. A few oddballs in those Pioneer days began to look at the aesthetic of their motorcycle, and found their Humber or Harley less than 100% an expression of their tastes. Accessory makers have been on the scene since the turn of the Century, offering bolt-on ‘improvements’ of dubious utility, plus a few purely cosmetic items to convey the State of Mind of the owner. Examples of early machines adorned with horns, mirrors, whistles, flapper brackets, legshields, windshields, are evidence of the early urge to Make it Mine.
But, as we all know, there’s a big difference between bolting goodies onto the handlebar, and truly shaping a motorcycle in your Image. Examples of this before the Great War are very rare, but one famous machine has survived even to this day as a treasured runner; the ‘Dreadnought’.
Harold Karslake was a great friend of George Brough, his most trusted employee and right-hand man. Where George was slim and dapper and exhibitionistic, ‘Oily’ was a shambling giant, at 6’4” tall. He had his own ideas on how to make his motorcycle better and more attractive than what was commercially available. It began life as a used BAT frame, into which a deDion 402cc engine (from an MMC tricycle) was slotted; Karlake made everything else himself, including the shapely tanks and interesting front parcel rack-cum-swivelling stand. The result was Oily’s vision of the kind of bike he wanted, a personal expression of his aesthetic bent.
A motorcycle this individual needed a name, and ‘Dreadnought’ was chosen after the first British battleships which used steel plates for armor. The ‘Dreadnought’ debuted in 1902, and proceeded to win dozens of Reliability Trials during its day, even with its outdated spec. of tall Edwardian frame and ancient motor; in fact the machine could be seen in road trials into the 1940s, still with no clutch! It became popular in the press as well, which cemented its enduring reputation, and was the first starter away, ridden by George Brough, in the very first London-Brighton run, in 1930. Yes, the London-Brighton run was an ‘old timer’s ride’ even in 1930, but here’s the crazy part: George was honored as first starter that year because he had won an ‘Old Crocks’(pre-1904) motorcycle trial from London to Brighton at an earlier date… 1914!
Such is the ‘Dreadnought’s’ fame that it has been hugely treasured by all subsequent owners, and now is the property of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club in England. And it can still be seen regularly on the London-Brighton run, ridden by an honored guest.
It’s a fine line between Home-Built and Custom, but certainly, this machine is the rootstock of the Custom family tree.
(B/W photos taken from ‘The Fourth Vintage Road Test Journal’, Titch Allen, 1977, BMS)
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