By Elizabeth West
The motorcycle didn't spring full-blown into this world. Rather, it evolved from the earlier bicycle. Women loved bicycles for the mobility and freedom they allowed. In fact, Susan B. Anthony said, "The bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world."
In the 1880s, bicycles were a huge fad. Then, in 1885, Gottlieb Daimler made one that had an engine. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a bicycle, because it had four wheels instead of two. Two were safety wheels. This bike went a magnificent and stately 12 miles per hour.
An idea was born, and soon other motorized bicycles were invented. Perhaps the first true motorcycle was a charcoal fired two -wheeler made in 1869 by Sylvester Roper of Massachusetts.
Within two decades, motorcycles were being mass-produced. The first such bike was the Orient-Aster, which was made by the Metz Company of Waltham, Massachusetts. This state clearly loved its bikes. Another early cycle was the beloved Indian, made by the Hendee Manufacturing Company in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Later, the company changed its name to Indian Motorcycles.)
In 1902, Harley Davidson sold its first three motorcycles, and soon there were dozens of manufacturers. They had names like Marvel, Exelsior, and Henderson. The Depression killed off all but Indian and Harley, and soon only Harley remained.
Women enjoyed the motorcycles as much as they had enjoyed bikes. After all, they were economical and fun. They also didn't have the stigma that they acquired later. Early riders were seen as adventuresome, not as outlaws.
In 1915, Indian motorcycles offered front and rear shocks. Since these cushioned the ride, people began to consider long-distance travel as a real option. That year, a mother-daughter team, Avis and Effie Hotchkiss, rode from New York to San Franciso. They didn't take the direct route. Instead, they meandered about, covering 5,000 miles.
The next year, two society women in their 20s, sisters Adeline and Augusta Van Buren bought a pair of Indian Powerplus Bikes. They were the first people ever to climb up and down Pike's Peak. They, too, completed a transcontinental ride. Their 3,300-mile trip took almost two months, and they had to contend not only with many unpaved roads, but also with social mores. Once they were arrested for publicly wearing trousers.
In the 1920s, Harley published a magazine called The Enthusiast. It sponsored Vivian Wales on a 5000 mile trip to a Harley factory. Another early motorcycle heroine was Bessie Stringfield, a.k.a. the Motorcycle Queen of Miami . She made 8 solo-cross country trips and was a motorcycle dispatch rider.
Bessie had started out with two strikes against her: she was a woman and she was African-American. At first, she couldn't even get a motorcycle license in Miami, Florida. However, a police officer interceded in her behalf.
Motorcycles were also used in wartime, which gave them a lot of public exposure. About 20,000 Harleys were used during the WWI. They were ridden by couriers, soldiers, and others.
As motorcycle popularity grew, it was only natural that some people became highly skilled in its use. They showed off these skills in motordromes, which had been around since the turn of the century but grew in popularity during the 1930s. A motordrome often advertised itself as "A Wall of Death."
Essentially, it was a giant barrel with a platform on top for viewers. They could look down on motorcyclists, who sped around the inside of the walls, held in place by centrifugal force. One of these early daredevils was Margaret Gast, who billed herself as "The Mile a Minute Gal." She was not the only woman daredevil. May Williams and Jean Perry also performed on the walls.
By 1940, the United States had its first women's motorcyle club, The Motormaids. Today, there are scores of such clubs. Anyone who wants more information about the history of women and motorcycles may want to check out the book Hear Me Roar: Women, Motorcycles, and the Rapture of the Road. I haven't read it, but I've read several descriptions of it and seen the table of contents. It looks like fun.
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About the Author:Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - HISTORY OF WOMEN AND MOTORCYCLES
Hi Hazel.That WM20 IS splendid, heaps of character! And Taz is lovely too. Thanks for sharing those pictures with us, Steve.
Thought you might like to see my 1950 D1 factory Competition model. It was one of the first of the plungers and retains quite a lot of the original finish where it hasn't been blown over with some lighter green at some point in its life. The tank has a slightly adapted cream panel, which was again done by a previous owner, nicely this time with the correct mist green, but the bike is physically bog standard. It sports (ha) roller bearing front hub, decompressor head, skeleton guards, 2ins seat riser frame, skeleton chainguard, gear indicator, adjustable footrests and an upswept exhaust. The gearing is standard. The rear light is the hens tooth spun alloy Wipac which I sourced from Canada and the incorrect front half coconut headlamp the bike is wearing in the pic is soon to be replaced with my recent aquisition, an early spun alloy shell and rim headlamp with correct Wipac bowden cable operated dip system. I do have his original log book as the last owner sold his number. I am usually against this, but as I know his history (Thetford) and like his recent number so I'm a happy chap. Thats Taz (Tas) that is.
Sarge is my 1939-45 war horse WM20. He looks disgusting/splendid, but having been through the mill of war and only allowed demob in 1968 what can one expect. The front frame is actually 1944 but the rear frame is early 39 and the engine has no real number except for 499 stamped on it. Standard practice to mix and match/upgrade parts off the shelf with little or no consideration for originality. Some parts like the carb and rear stand are early too. He wears battle scars and shows drab green beneath the sand paint (date unknown possibly 60's even). I rebuilt the gearbox which had sand plugging every screwhole and the bushes were so badly worn, that the bike would change from 1st to 4th (think it was) with one prod plus some crunching. The box had sand inside too and under load the whole shaft was lifting. Sarge runs like a top now on +60 though he balked a bit when I offered him an Italian piston and even though he is filthy due to the oil covered paint, it is how he will stay with me until its time to pass it on to the next Custodian. I think he is a real character and he takes great pleasure in kicking me in the leg when possible, as nothing is rounded or soft about him. I remind him, whilst rubbing the bruise, that I too wore 3 stripes once, but he mutters somthing about desert and flies and younger people today as he turns over in his charpoy. Hope the pictures are of interest. My apology for any spelling errors but the brain fog you possibly remember with ME/CFS doesn't help with creativity. The bikes don't get out these days so it would be nice for them to be noted as existing. I have other machines too you see. They keep me going.
Regards. Steve
