Motorcycling Pioneers

by John Stumpner

Winter is coming. This is the time of the year some bikers are putting their motorcycles away for the winter. While prepping their bikes for storage, these bikers can’t help but think back on the wonderful memories of the past year of riding. This might be a good time to look back and remember some of the pioneers and personalities associated with motorcycles and motorcycling.

Since the 1880’s, various companies have tried to build and sell motorcycles or motorcycle type vehicles. However, the first company to successfully build and sell motorcycles was the Excelsior Company in England. Excelsior was not the first production motorcycle, that would be the Hildebrand & Wolfmuller of Germany. But the German company only made about 2000 motorcycles and closed after a few years. The Excelsior motorcycle was much more successful, making many different types of motorcycles for different types of riders, including racers, until the company closed in 1964.

Although not a biker, a pioneer in motorcycling was Chief August Vollmer of the Berkeley, California police department. While in his late teens, he had helped organize the North Berkeley Volunteer Fire Department and was a partner in a grain and coal supply store. He joined the Marines in 1898 and fought in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. In 1905, as a result of risking his life to keep a runaway freight car from hitting a passenger car, August was elected town marshal in Berkeley. Later, in 1909, when the city formed a police department, August was named its chief. Police science and criminal justice fields were unknown at this time, which Chief Vollmer set out to change. He convinced colleges to offer courses in criminal justice (some of which he taught) and encouraged the hiring of minorities including the first African American officer in 1919 and the first female officer in 1925. Of interest to us as bikers, to make his officers more efficient, Chief Vollmer started the first motorcycle patrol in 1911.

One of the more colorful people associated with motorcycling was Robert C. Knievel, better known as Evel Knievel. Evel Knievel was a motorcycle stunt performer, known for jumping over a variety of cars, buses and other obstacles with his motorcycle. As often as not, the jumps were not completely successful, resulting in many serious injuries and broken bones. This only added to his notoriety and made him more popular. He ended up with many endorsement deals and, for a short time, had a roller coaster named after him at Six Flags – St. Louis.

Although more recent, ABATE of Wisconsin is a pioneer in supporting and defending bikers and the freedom of the road. As the Junior Patriots of ABATE, someday someone will be telling about your contributions to bikers’ rights and freedom of the road.
John