Formerly the property of the late Bud Ekins, 1913 Flying Merkel 995cc Twin Seventy-one 471

• Pioneering American marque
• Extremely rare survivor
• Highly original
• Purchased by Vic Norman from Bud Ekins in 1998
• Many-time Pioneer Run participant
• Substantial history file

Joseph Merkel founded the Merkel Motor Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1902, its first product being a bicycle powered by a 'clip on' engine attached to the front down tube. In 1908 Merkel merged with the Light Manufacturing and Foundry Company of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, which had been making motorcycles since 1901. Merkel production shifted to Pottstown and the range - marketed as 'Merkel-Light' - expanded to include chain-driven types and large v-twins. The latter were among the most advanced designs of their day, some of which featured front and rear suspension. Motive power was provided by a 996cc 45-degree v-twin with inlet-over-exhaust valve gear. In 1911 the Miami Cycle and Manufacturing Company of Middletown, Ohio purchased Merkel-Light and transferred production to Middletown.

Merkel made much of its use of ball bearings: "The celebrated Merkel Ball-Bearing Motor is our sure foundation; a motor which has never been equalled in its simplicity and durability; a motor which will develop more actual horsepower under accurate test than any other motor of its size in the world." Given the Flying Merkel's racing record, this seemingly extravagant claim may not have been too far from the truth; indeed, in its day the Flying Merkel was said to be fastest production motorcycle in the world.

The 1908 move to Pottstown had signalled a serious commitment to racing and the hiring of factory supported riders, while the slogan 'The Flying Merkel' began to appear in the company's advertising. And fly they did, winning countless races over the next few seasons before new owners Miami Cycle and Manufacturing Company pulled the plug on the factory's racing programme in 1911.

Limited support continued for employees that wanted to go racing, and the 1915 catalogue contained a list of 1914-season race wins extending to a page-and-a-half. When Miami ceased production of Merkel motorcycles in 1915, Joseph Merkel designed and patented the 'Merkel Motor Wheel'.

This incredible time-warp 1913 Flying Merkel 996cc Twin Seventy-one 471 was acquired by Vic Norman in 1998 from none other than Bud Ekins (receipts on file). Vic's work routinely took him to California for the air show season, and he and his dear friend Alain De Cadenet would often ride over to Bud Ekins' place. A consummate off-road racer, bike restorer, motorcycle dealer, occasional stunt rider, and all-American hero, Ekins was a close friend of actor Steve McQueen and performed the famous motorcycle jump (as McQueen's stunt double) in the movie The Great Escape. (Although the movie was set in WW2, Bud's bike was in fact a post-war Triumph dating from 1962).

The Great Escape was being shot in Germany in 1962 and Ekins thought it would be a good idea to combine his film work with participation in that year's ISDT, held at Garmisch Partenkirchen. Triumph agreed to supply a suitable factory-prepared machine, which was flown to Germany and first registered there. After the event, in which Bud not only gained a Gold Medal but also won the Unlimited Capacity Class, the Triumph was flown back to his home in California and registered there as 'CAL 142080'.

In his autobiography, Norman Conquest, Vic recalls: "I fell in love with his (Ekins') 1913 Flying Merkel, still in its 100-year-old original paint. It was only after my many visits over a three-year period, chatting and talking to Bud, that he finally agreed to sell me the Merkel. Plus, I think he rather liked the fact that I was an air show pilot flying 1940s Boeing Stearman aircraft with wing-walkers." No doubt the Flying Merkels' 'world's fastest' reputation was one of the many reasons Vic Norman was drawn to this particular machine; that and his passion for all things automotive and aeronautical, including a special penchant for Americana and heroes of the bygone era.

Bud told Vic that the Merkel had been bought new by a wealthy man living in New Mexico and that he used it daily on the road until 1923 when it ended up in his emerald mine, with its back wheel taken off, being used to power the electric lights. Bud bought the bike and found the back wheel. According to the 1923 State of Mexico Owner's Certificate on file, it was registered to a Walter McBaren, and later transferred to a Ronald Bonner of Sunland California in 1958.

Bud owned several Merkels throughout his life and Tiger Joe Michiels (author of the Tiger Joe Michiels website and member of the so-called 'Hollywood Gang' of classic vehicle enthusiasts) has kindly supplied a 1975 photograph of Bud on another of his Merkel's, as well as an image of the assembled gang.

According to Vic: "We rebuilt the engine and it's still in its original paint and goes like a rocket every year during the London to Brighton Pioneer Run. Merkel's advertising slogan was 'The Next Thing To Flying', and in 1913 it really was. Maybe that's what hooked me."

"It's a bloody quick bike," says Vic, and it does not have much in the way of brakes, hence Vic and his team upgraded the rear brake internals. To this day, the machine bears an old scar/badge of honour: a patch repair to the crankcase, probably done early in the engine's life, which specialist Fred Smith left intact when overhauling the engine for Vic. Vic and Fred also took the decision to change the wheels and tyres for a re-spoked set with black Coker tyres. The old white Coker tyres and wheels are offered with the machine (see image).

Vic's Flying Merkel has featured in various articles, including a vivid 'riding impressions' piece by Richard Heseltine for MOTOGEO (copy on file), and has been campaigned by Vic on countless Pioneer Runs since acquisition (see file for images). Unused in recent years due to Vic's advancing years, countless other projects and the change in the Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club's Pioneer Run 'finish' from Madeira Drive in Brighton to Shoreham airport, the machine will require careful recommissioning before returning to the road. The Merkel is dated 1913 by the Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club and was added to their Pioneer Register in 2006 (Pioneer Register Number 1734). It should be noted, that despite the V5C Registration Certificate listing a frame number, the frame is not numbered, as is correct for Flying Merkels of the period.

This wonderful machine is offered with a substantial history file containing, among other documents, various 'rare-as-hen's-teeth' Flying Merkel brochures (for 1914 and 1916) and the all-important Sunbeam MCC Pioneer Certificate.