The Vintage Motorcycle Museum is cleverly hidden on the second floor of the old Washington Hotel in Chehalis, Washington. This was a private museum and the owner has been in the process of selling off many of the motorcycles and bicycles which had been on display. By the time that I visited, more than half of the collection had been sold. Shown below are photographs of some of the collection.
Reading Standard:
From 1903 until 1922, Reading Standing built motorcycles in Pennsylvania. Its advertising slogan was “Tested in the Hills.”
Shown above is a 1914 Reading Standard.
Smith:
Auto Ped:
The Autoped Company of Long Island City, New York manufactured motor scooters from 1914 to 1921.
Shown above is a 1916 Auto Ped.
Thor:
Thor Moto Cycle and Bicycle Company was founded in 1903 by the Aurora Machine and Tool Company which had been manufacturing engines for the Indian motorcycle.
Shown above is a 1914 Thor.
Neracar:
Shown above is a 1922 Neracar. With a 3 horsepower engine, it goes 35 miles per hour and gets 85 miles per gallon of gas. This vehicle was manufactured from 1921 to 1926. With its step-through design and low seat, it promises:
“Instead of making the customary mount when riding astride, you step into the NERACAR as into an automobile. The low seat position gives a feeling of security as in a chair—you are not perched up in the air.”
According to the advertising promotion:
“The pleasure, the comfort and cleanliness of riding in an automobile are well known. But often the excess of machine and energy is called into play simply to transport one person. Automobile owners, with their sense of the fitness of things, will welcome the NERACAR as the last word in convenience for business or pleasure trips, leaving the big cars free for the family.”
The promotional piece goes on to say:
“And for people who have deferred their automobile ownership, the NERACAR is the happy answer to the motoring lure, a real utility and practical solution of the transportation problem. With its operating cost only a fraction of a cent to the mile, the NERACAR is the most economical form of clean and comfortable travel. It carries its rider from his own door on his own schedule.”
Whizzer:
Shown above is a 1950 Whizzer. Whizzer, made from 1939 to 1965, was a bicycle engine kit which could be assembled and attached to the consumer’s bicycle.
Flying Merkel:
Shown above is a 1913 Flying Merkel. This motorcycle was produced from 1902 until 1922.
Excelsior:
Shown above is a 1913 Excelsior. This motorcycle was made from 1908 until 1931.
Monark:
Monark, a Swedish company, began making motorcycles in 1908.
Shown above is a 1949 Monark.
Thomas:
Shown above is a 1900 Thomas made by E.R. Thomas Motor Company of Buffalo, New York. The bike has wooden wheels.
Triumph:
British bicycle maker Triumph introduced its first motorcycle in 1902.
Bicycles:
The George N. Pierce Company began producing bicycles in 1896. George Pierce sold all of his rights to the company in 1907 and organized the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company.
Shown above is an unlabled tricycle.
Shown above is an 1898 Pierce bicycle.
Shown above is a 1902 Pierce bicycle.
Shown above is a 1928 Pierce Velocipedes.