# Ca. 1919 Flying Merkel



## Freqman1 (Jun 26, 2016)

So many of you are familiar with this bike and have seen it posted here as well as Dave's site, www.nostalgic.net. Dave was contacted in Dec 2013 by a retired plumber in Hanover, PA who had found this bike while doing a house call to an elderly lady in the late 1990's. He said he did a little research but didn't think too much about it and stored it in his daughter's barn until late 2013 when he saw a program that featured a Flying Merkel motorcycle and though the bike may have some interest. In his interwebs search he ran across Dave's site and contacted him. Well obviously a deal was struck and in the Spring of 2014 Dave took possession of the Merkel. He did a light cleaning while leaving most of the 'character' of the bike intact.

I'm a motorcycle guy so I appreciate the connection to the famous Flying Merkel racing motorcycles. When I first saw this bike I was struck by how preserved it was. Additionally I prefer the badge and "F" chainring to the earlier bikes which had a decal for a head badge which rarely survives very well. It is thought this is either a 1919 or 1920 bike. If anyone has literature or catalogs from these two years I would appreciate seeing them. I plan on leaving the bike pretty much as-is with the exception of trying to upgrade the tires. I would be interested in a mate to the Chicago Motorcycle Supply tire or a decent set of white single tubes to display on this bike--see my wanted post.

I reached out to Dave late last year and expressed interest in the bike but he wanted to hold onto it for a little longer. We were recently exchanging email regarding the restoration of my Donald Duck bike and he asked if I was still interested in the Merkel--was that a rhetorical question? I want to thank Dave for a super packing job and allowing me to be the next care taker of this incredible piece of history. Oh and Patric said I could join the S.O.T.F.M. Club! V/r Shawn





























Guts of Musselman "armless" coaster brake


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## cyclingday (Jun 26, 2016)

Magnificent!


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## DonChristie (Jun 26, 2016)

Wow! You never cease to amaze me, Shawn! That FM has to be the nicest original known! Congrats!


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## Goldenindian (Jun 26, 2016)

Only catalog I see with the "F" ring. Thanks for sharing. So cool.


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## barracuda (Jun 26, 2016)

You acquired a '19 Merkel and a '35 Bluebird on the same weekend? That's some pretty aggressive collecting, man! How do you top that?


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## Awhipple (Jun 26, 2016)

Do you ever ride this?


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## Freqman1 (Jun 26, 2016)

Awhipple said:


> Do you ever ride this?





I will. I plan on using a different seat and pedals for riding and think I can get some 630s on the flat clincher rims or I'll get a set of Robert Deans. I've already tested the armless coaster and it seems to be working good. For now I'm happy to just have it in the collection though. V/r Shawn


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## 66TigerCat (Jun 27, 2016)

Awesome bike ! Congrats.


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## thehugheseum (Jun 27, 2016)

i want those tires when you change em out!


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## Freqman1 (Jun 27, 2016)

thehugheseum said:


> i want those tires when you change em out!




See my wanted ad--I would like another Chicago Motorcycle Supply tire to match the front. I will keep these to display the bike and buy others to ride on. V/r Shawn


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## thehugheseum (Jun 27, 2016)

got it,i have seen the bike in person.......its the one u want all right,congrats


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## Freqman1 (Jun 27, 2016)

Thanks--didn't mean to come off wrong on that one. I plan on showing the bike and for that will use the vintage rubber. I do ride all of my bikes though and can't wait to take this down the road. Who knows when the last time someone actually rode it! V/r Shawn


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