Simplex Senior Sportsman

SIMPLEX SENIOR SPORTSMAN

Road Impression;

A TRUE PIONEER in the manufacture of American made motorbikes is Simplex Manufacturing Company in New Orleans, Louisiana. They have been at it since a time shortly after World War II when the boom for transportation first began and not one of the several American two-wheel makers was producing a true lightweight motorbike. In the spirit of good old American initiative the Simplex company was founded to make a machine that was neither motor scooter, nor motorcycle, but was simple to operate, inexpensive, and would perform well enough to handle most transportation chores.

This was the famous Servi-Cycle, a quiet, reliable two-stroke powered machine that started many ardent motorcyclists on their two-wheeled careers. Paul Treen, head of Simplex, had to make nearly every part of each machine himself but he followed an uncomplicated design and when the first belt-drive Servi-Cycles were finished they were gobbled up by transportation-hungry customers across the nation.

Things went well until 1948, August of the year according to Treen, when for reasons claimed to be unknown (though this hardly seems likely), nearly every motorcyle and scooter manufacturer in this country suffered a 75% drop in business. These were hard times, but Simplex survived and the Servi-Cycle continued as the mainstay of the company, though it has long since disappeared from the scene. Simplex today is a modern manufacturing complex making a line of lightweights in two sizes: a Sportsman Compact and Senior. The latter machine is our road impression vehicle for this issue.

Some observers of the Senior feel that aesthetically it is lacking; certainly it is not much of an example of contemporary engineering. But it most certainly is an efficient and simple machine. The power train has been reduced, through both economic necessity and convenience, to a variable ratio belt drive system, running through a centrifugal clutch. This means simply that one twists the throttle to start, and unwinds it to stop, along with a deft use of the two-wheel brakes of course.

Both wheels are suspended: the front on telescopic, spring dampened forks that seem sturdy in the excess; the rear via bearing-supported swing arms with coil springs. Both seem a bit crude in this day, but both do an above average job and it is comfortable to ride. Things get a bit bouncy off of the road, an area in which the Sportsman is equally at home, but the cost of hydraulically dampened shock absorbers would add considerably to the price, and thereby defeat a unique purpose; that of making and selling an American transportation machine with 175cc engine displacement for under $400.00.

Simplex makes almost every bit of the machine, including the 12-inch wheels that mount 20-inch outer diameter tires, probably the most important detail of all. The seating position is identical to many large machines, not coincidentally since the measurements were made off of a wellknown machine. A 41-inch wheelbase, the large wheels, and the seating position contribute to a very stable, and quite good handling cycle. Brakes are by Bendix, and though their action is stiff they do their assigned task respectably.

Briggs & Stratton makes the four-cycle, side valve engine, not the most fashionable of power plants but one that is sturdy, dependable and simple to operate. We would like to have heard less from the engine; its muffler is the most minimal possible. A discreet 7 hp is claimed for the 175cc engine, which is started by the familiar kick starter.

Details of construction are excellent, and the workmanship is above criticism. Its 175-pound weight permits light handling, an easier to ride machine would be difficult to find. Steering is quick, perhaps a bit too quick, but since its design was dictated by city transportation needs it is probably the best solution.

All American, excepting the throttle and brake controls. Simplex will undoubtedly satisfy an audience demanding certain elements in a motorbike. They are not easy to achieve, and like all goals in design, are reached after only extensive engineering. Simplex has done an admirable job, it is certain to be appreciated by many. •