Brick Bike

BRICK BIKE

American FLYERS

Is this mystery machine the original American Flyer?

IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT a Traub is, you can be forgiven. Nobody knows! Okay, so we have this single brown-and-yellow example as our guide, but as current owner Dale Walksler admits, “Not one clue to its origin has ever surfaced.”

Adding to the enigma, the bike was found bricked up in the wall of a Chicago-area residence, circa 1967. Famed stuntman, racer, bike dealer and collector Bud Ekins bought the mystery machine in ’72 and later sold it to collector Richard Morris.

“Morris is wild man from California with a vast collection of very rare bikes,” says Walksler. “About 20 years ago I spent a day looking at the Traub, just falling in love with it. Years later, Richard called me and told me he was going to sell the Traub, so I kept him on the phone until I bought it!” Walksler now has it on display at his Wheels Through Time Museum (www.wheelsthroughtime.com) in Maggie Valley,

North Carolina.

Since its discovery, each owner has tried to trace the Traub’s history, but none have had success.

Even with years of essentially public display and hopes that someone would know somethinganything-about the bike, Walksler knows nothing beyond what he has learned from the mechanical parts.

And what mechanical parts they are. Walksler’s takes pride in the fact that he can call his collection of more than 250 American motorcycles “the museum that runs.” Some 90 percent of the bikes start first or second kick! The Traub is no different. Walksler was particularly impressed with the quality of craftsmanship that went into of this oneoff machine. The original paint and nickel-plating

are in remarkable condition, which is, no doubt, partially attributable to the fact that it was entombed for so long, but the engineering is what really sets the bike apart. Walksler bills the Traub as “far more refined than any of its contemporaries,” and says it was years ahead of its time.

Aside from the Bosch magneto, Schebler carburetor and Troxel Jumbo seat, which were off-the-shelf pieces that helped him date the bike to around 1916, every part on this machinefrom sand-cast engine cases to crankshaft to frame to bodywork-was made by (we presume) Mr. Traub specifically for this project. The 80cubic-inch V-Twin features sidevalves, a three-speed transmission and a unique dual-action rear brake.

The original owner/builder’s thoroughness extended

to the contents of one of the three toolboxes: a custom wrench that fits the removable valve pockets and has “Traub” cast into the handle!

“It is built as a factory unit would have been,” says Walksler, “but there is no factory, and no magazine at the time had any information or ever mentions the Traub. I have a vast collection of period literature, and me and all of my buddies have been looking for years, but we never have found any mention of it.”

Was it a prototype? Is it the ultimate custom machine, built to suit one man’s taste, engineering skill and style at a time when the motorcycle industry was just getting started? It remains a mystery. But if you heard stories while you were growing up of a crazy great uncle who made his own motorcycle and your last name happens to be Traub, Walksler wants to hear from you.

-Mark Hoyer