Thread: Traub Motorcycle Mystery

This may be of interest.

Traub History

John

Originally Posted by Saitch

Mystery of the Traub Motorcycle
By Matt Williams
In 1967, a plumber doing renovations of an apartment building outside Chicago tore down a brick wall and found what would prove to be a baffling mystery to vintage motorcycle enthusiasts - a one-of-a-kind motorcycle bearing 1917 plates and the name "Traub". The building’s elderly owner admitted that his son had stolen the bike before going off to WWI, never to return. But where the bike came from and who made it remains a unknown to this day

Currently residing in the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, the Traub is considered by many to not only be the rarest motorcycle in their collection, but in the world.

The Traub was sold to Torillo Tacchi, a bicycle shop owner in Chicago after its discovery who later sold it to Bud Ekins - famous as Steve McQueen’s stuntman - while Ekins was on set of the Blues Brothers movie in the late 1970s. The Traub was later sold to collector and restorer, Richard Morris, who then sold it to Wheels Through Time Museum curator, Dale Walksler, in 1990. It has been on permanent display in the museum collection ever since.

Don't think this unique motorcycle is merely a museum piece though. Walksler rides the Traub fairly regularly. When asked about the engine components, he enthusiastically replied, “Everything inside the engine is just magnificent. The pistons are handmade, and have gap-less cast iron rings, the engineering and machining being simply years ahead of their time.”



"When comparing other top motorcycle makes and models of the era, the Traub has no equal. Comprised of a sand-cast, hand-built, 80 cubic-inch "side valve" engine, the machine has the ability to reach speeds in excess of 85 mph with ease," says Walksler.

Aside from its few off-the-shelf components, the Traub has many unique handmade features. The three-speed transmission is thought to be one of the first of its kind and the rear brake, a dual-acting system that employs a single cam that is responsible for pushing an internal set of shoes, while pulling an external set, has never been seen on any other American motorcycle.


"For a machine to have such advanced features, unparalleled by other motorcycles of the same era, is truly outstanding," said Walksler. "It's my opinion that The Traub was an attempt at a new breed of motorcycle. But how on earth could a machine have been produced in such great form, with capabilities that far exceed that of any comparable machine, without the knowledge of the rest of the motorcycle industry during that time."

The hunt for the Traub's elusive origin hasn't stopped. "While we may never know why the machine was placed behind that wall, we do hope to one day find out more about its history and the genius that created it," said Walksler.

Harley-Davidsons of the mid - late 1920's had an internal-external rear brake so unless the Traub/Traut has a unique system of operation this is nothing out of the ordinary.

For those who think thatt exceptional skills were needed to build the bike, it may be worth remembering that more than ten years earlier, the Wright Brothers not only designed and built the first successful heavier than air plane, but also designed and built the first engine with sufficient power to weight ratio to make it fly - and they were bicycle mechanics, not engineers or even motor mechanics!

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

For those who think thatt exceptional skills were needed to build the bike, it may be worth remembering that more than ten years earlier, the Wright Brothers not only designed and built the first successful heavier than air plane, but also designed and built the first engine with sufficient power to weight ratio to make it fly - and they were bicycle mechanics, not engineers or even motor mechanics!

John

Most early motor-cycles came from bicycle makers. Veteran cars were made by blacksmiths, hand fitters, steam fitters, cabinet makers, coach builders, moulders until Leland and Ford.

People talk about the "difficult"' restorations they performed on vintage and veteran vehicles quite forgetting that the vehicle was made with hand tools and basic machinery in smithys and bicycle shops.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Most early motor-cycles came from bicycle makers. Veteran cars were made by blacksmiths, hand fitters, steam fitters, cabinet makers, coach builders, moulders until Leland and Ford.

People talk about the "difficult"' restorations they performed on vintage and veteran vehicles quite forgetting that the vehicle was made with hand tools and basic machinery in smithys and bicycle shops.

Yes, that is my point. There were a few cars made in the very early days by people who were real engineers, Royce and Lancaster are a couple that come to mind, and a few of the car makers had started to employ engineers by the end of the Edwardian period, including Ford, but as you say, they were mostly made by hand using few power tools except a lathe and a forge, usually with a foundry doing castings, and often a lot of off the shelf bits by 1914.

The industry was just starting, and nobody had any experience or qualifications. Some as you say came from a steam background, but probably the most common was bicycles - including Rover! And like many of these bicycle manufacturers, before bicycles, Rover (then Starley & Sutton) made sewing machines before bicycles.

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Yes, that is my point. There were a few cars made in the very early days by people who were real engineers, Royce and Lancaster are a couple that come to mind, and a few of the car makers had started to employ engineers by the end of the Edwardian period, including Ford, but as you say, they were mostly made by hand using few power tools except a lathe and a forge, usually with a foundry doing castings, and often a lot of off the shelf bits by 1914.

The industry was just starting, and nobody had any experience or qualifications. Some as you say came from a steam background, but probably the most common was bicycles - including Rover! And like many of these bicycle manufacturers, before bicycles, Rover (then Starley & Sutton) made sewing machines before bicycles.

John

White made rifle parts, sewing machines, bicycles before they made steam cars, and petrol cars and trucks. Henry Leland learned his engineering in the arsenals of the civil war and introduced interchangability of parts thus making mass production possible. Some of Lanchester's ideas are still in use. Chrysler came from the railroad shops and favoured tradesmen from the railroads. There was not really a profession of engineering until the 20th. Century and they had to fight hard to get that recognition. The traditional professions regarded engineers as greasy fitters and the meaning of the word engineer was someone who made, repaired, operated engines. A locomotive driver in the US is still called an engineer, a holdover from the days of steam.