Though it was mainly four-cylinder machines that the Pierce Motorcycle Company built, they made some quality singles too, as exemplified by this fabulous example. Simon Robinson reports…
The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was established in 1901, but the motorcycle business was born from the earlier Pierce Cycle concern in 1908 when Percy Pierce took over from his father. Manufactured at the company’s factory in Buffalo, New York, the four-cylinder Pierce motorcycle was launched in 1909 and has the distinction of being the first such engine configuration built in the US.
In 1908, Percy Pierce travelled to Europe on a fact-finding mission and returned with a Belgian FN four. Upon his return to the United States, his engineers studied this machine and, although inspired by the Belgian FN machine, the resultant Pierce Four differed in detailed design. FN used ‘atmospheric’ inlet valves, whereas Pierce favoured mechanical side-valves in a ‘T-head’ configuration, an arrangement FN itself would later adopt. Pierce machines also featured an unusual frame. Manufactured from 18-gauge, 3½in tube, the main frame was not only strong, but it also contained the fuel and oil. Seven quarts of fuel were held in the top and seat tubes combined, and five pints of oil in the front tube. The Pierce Co wasn’t shy about pushing this feature in period adverts, with lines such as, “Pierce frames are at least three times as strong as any small tube frames” and “A Pierce frame has never been known to break (something no other manufacturer can say)”. And so it was that Pierce was very much aimed at the upper end of the market.
The 5HP single-cylinder model joined the range for 1910 in an attempt to appeal to a broader market, as all wasn’t well for Pierce’s motorcycle manufacturing arm, with excessively high manufacturing costs of the Four narrowing any profits. The receivers were called in at the end of 1910, as the motorcycle concern was costing too much for the thriving cycle arm of the business to support. Reorganisation, manufacturing improvements and a drive to take their slice of the new export market saw stability return.
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By 1912, Pierce was offering the Four plus three versions of the Single. The latter carried a hefty price tag of $285, which was almost $100 more than most other single-cylinder machines being offered by other manufacturers in the era. An Indian V-twin TT model was only a touch more than the single-cylinder Pierce at $300, so it was a tough market. Pierce was keen to push the reliability and build quality of its machines. At the end of 1911, a durability competition was run in San Francisco over five days and five nights, with five ‘events’ in that time. Stints were in relays of 18 or 30 hours and, of the 37 machines entered, the only machine to finish was a Pierce four-cylinder ridden by L.W. Connor, who covered an astounding 1779 miles in those five days. In the small print of Pierce’s typically enthusiastic advert, they mention that the Pierce Single was the 33rd machine ‘eliminated’. Pierce’s attempt to tap into the export market worked too, with period adverts quoting happy riders from overseas, such as Donald B. Larke from Stoke Holy Cross in Norfolk, UK, who was so delighted with his 1911 Pierce that his friends were also in the process of ordering their own. Eleven four-cylinder machines were also delivered to Manila for the government of the Philippines in 1912.
The Pierce concern was eventually sold to William Shack (owner of the Emblem brand) in 1918, with all the machinery and tooling moved from Buffalo, New York, to Angola, also in New York. Emblem continued to manufacture Pierce bicycles, but chose not to reintroduce Pierce motorcycles.
The machine shown here is a 1912 Single whose original owner was Roy Walter Glaser. Born in August 1893 in the Hartwell/Wyoming area of Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, Mr Glaser worked for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as a signalman until his retirement. A resident of Lockland, Ohio, he never married and had no children, so upon his passing in November 1984 the estate was split among his sister and her children. The Pierce was offered for sale at a Las Vegas motorcycle auction in January 2013, at which point this remarkable machine had been in the family’s possession for more than 100 years. Outstandingly original and unmolested, the Pierce retains its original Mesinger cavalry saddle, and other factory options include the pillion seat and passenger footrests ($18), while also installed is an Old Sol Brand acetylene headlamp with beautiful red side-jewels and tail lamp ($5). A Seiss hand-cranked horn (manufactured in 1914) is attached to the handlebars. This Pierce was also the subject of the US TV series What’s in the Barn? in which the late Dale Walksler of the Wheels Through Time Museum ‘discovers’ the machine with the original owner’s family.
Photographs: YESTERDAYS.NL
The original article appeared in The Classic Motorcycle Magazine.
