We were fortunate to stumble across two very rare Vintage Yale Motorcycles recently. One was a 1910 original paint single, one of three known to exist. The other is this sexy 1914 Yale twin. We decided after a heated debate to feature the ’14 because of its stylish art-deco appearance, detail and fit and finish. For this era, this was an amazingly stylish manufactured motorcycle. This make was also the first motorcycle to survive a cross-country run.
Yale, like many manufacturers of the era, kicked off 45-degree twin production in 1910 with a 61-inch version or 1000 cc. I’ll back up a tad to 1902 when the Consolidated Manufacturing Company of Toledo, Ohio bought the rights to the California motorcycle company and kicked off production of Yale-Californias.
The initial history runs deeper. According to Steven Wright’s book, The History of the American Motorcycle, Kirk Manufacturing and Snell Cycle Fittings didn’t buy California Motor Company until 1903, when they acquired the producers of the California Motorcycle. Kirk and Snell were both in the bicycle business and closely associated. Kirk’s company produced Yale bicycles and automobiles, while Snell sold bicycles and components. The new combined companies became Consolidated Manufacturing. The former president of California Motorcycle continued to be involved as their west coast agent.
Samuel Snell emigrated to the U.S. from England in 1892. He was enamored with the opportunities in the American cycle industry. In an 1893 interview, Bearings magazine reported, “Mr. Snell says he expects to remain in the business as long as the cycle trade lasts or until the grim reaper, Death, interferes. Mr. Snell is confident that this gentleman will be the one who will first interfere with his business.”
The first Consolidated model was produced in Toledo in 1904 as a Yale-California. Improvements to the motor increased the power output from 1.5 to 2 horsepower. During that era, a 25 percent increase was major news. They increased the fuel capacity to afford each model a 100-mile range, coupled to a drip feed oil supply for 200-mile capacity without more lubrication. The speed could vary from 3 to 40 mph by adjusting the ignition. Incredible times.
This model stuck out of the pack with factory machined turned cases, and timing cover, a frame contoured and sleek gas tank. The shapely arched and sheathed springer front end added style, and at the time, seats were everything. Suspension during a tough-as-nails, rutted road era relied on front-end geometry and mechanical engineering and the bounce of the sprung seat. This model used the standard unpadded sprung leather seat, with an additional set of long cylindrical springs mounted to the frame.
I don’t want to give up all the glorious Yale history in the first feature, but Yale was a major player in the first decade of American Motorcycling, according to Tom Rafferty, the author of the American Motorcycle Encyclopedia. In 1909, the first three riders who made it home during a Chicago Motorcycle Club 600-mile endurance run were aboard Yale models.
We were introduced to these fine rare examples of American motorcycle history when Don Whalen discovered them in an undisclosed location, and carefully shielded and transported them to his home in the hills behind Pasadena, California. They were then sold to Mike Bahnmaier, who once owned Mid Continental Harley-Davidson and Salina H-D in Kansas. Mike also has an amazing history with Harley-Davidson drag racing and antique motorcycle collections. He has every personal bike he’s ever owned except his first, a 1961 XLCH he bought in 1969 and started drag racing in 1970.
“A car ran over my leg in 1971,” Mike said. He sold that Sporty, but never again, as he still owns the ’59 Sporty he bought next, then his ’73 Super Glide. “I’m a pack rat. I just don’t have the heart to sell them.”
He ultimately did sell the dealerships. He started Salina, Kansas H-D in 1978.
“I was the youngest person to ever sign a franchise contract at the time,” Mike said. He was 25 when he opened the doors with three employees in May, and over the years, one employee stayed with him and learned the business. In 1992 he penciled a 5-year buyout deal with Tim Lindfors, who was an employee from ’78-’92. Tim has been a champion flat track racer and held the #1 plate in Kansas for a year. Now, his son, Aaron, races flat track.
Mike also bought Hugo’s Harley-Davidson in Wichita, Kansas, in 1987 and changed the name to Mid Continent H-D, then started the Mid Continent Drag Racing Team. He sold the Wichita-based dealer after 18 years, but kept racing under the name Mike Bahnmaier Racing with three riders: Tommy Grimes, Chuck Jones, and Rick Moore, Moore held the Pro Dragster Championship title from 2006 throught 2008, and Jones won the title in 2009.
Mike held the Pro Fuel title in 1999, and Steve Lundstrom snatched second place. The following year, Mike blew up an engine and missed a race, so he traded title spots with Steve in 2000. In 1992, when he was partially retired, his mother and girlfriend cornered him.
“They wanted me to stop racing drag bikes,” Mike said. Under extreme feminine pressure, he promised, based on reaching the goal of riding a quarter mile over 200 mph. “I had been 199.48 already.” In 2005 in Las Vegas, Mike hit 203.89 and his mother called him on the promise.
He continues to support motorcycle drag racing and collecting rare antique motorcycles, like this running 1914 Twin. He also offers his motorcycles to the Kansas City Motorcycle Museum, and he hopes to have a bike on display in the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum in the near future.
1914 Yale Twin
Displacement: 998cc
Transmission: One year only, 2-speed
Horse Power: 6.5-8 hp
Wheelbase: 57.5 inches
Top speed: 55 mph claimed
Weight: 325 pounds
Price: $325
