Kim & Pete Young San Francisco California

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The United States are the land of Choppers and flat trackers of course, but not only.
Apparently, there are many communities of old motorcycles fans.
San Francisco is a very good spot.

Pete Young and his wife Kim are very active. Pete despite a busy schedule between job family life, engineering, and blogging, kindly respond to our invitation.
Pete started riding bikes at age 10, Kim at 24. They Only own and ride pre WWII era bikes, with a focus on pre 1916 bikes lately.They enjoy Velocettes.
Kim rides her 1930 KSS 350 OHC, Pete on 1938 MSS, now with a sidecar They Try to use the bikes as often as possible, the way that they were made to be used. No bikes are collected for display purposes, only to be ridden.

Their kids started riding at 9 months of age in the sidecar K&P organize some rides every year: the Rigid Ride for pre WWII bikes and the SF 49 Mile ride for pre 1975 bikes.



"49 Mile" is 10th anniversary this year, expecting around 200-250 bikes.
Pete have previously been president of the Velo club of N. America, and organized the 2006 Rally.
They Attend the Velo club rallies every July, with the kids. Rallies are 1000 miles in 5 days, in a different US state or Canadian Province each year.
They are volunteer and judge at bike events like the BSA Clubman’s show, Legends, etc.



K&P restored Kim’s 1936 Ariel Red Hunter after riding it for 10 years, in time for the 2008 Legend Show.
The bike was built in 1998 from a very incomplete basket case, with 75% of the bike missing.

Pete’s 1913 Premier is ridden pretty often at Pre16 events, and won best pre1930 at legends 2007. Peter will be riding the Premier on the Cannonball Rally, 3300 miles across the USA in September.
He's currently restoring the 1916 Excelsior.they do almost all of the work on the bikes themselves, except magneto windings, chrome and some painting.Pete spend about 3 hours in the shop for every one hour on the road.


They attend about 10-15 organized rides/rallies each year, plus rides with the family around town, to coffee on Sundays, etc.

Where does the passion for old bikes come from? Hmm. The beauty and the engineering of
the early bikes is very nice, and also interesting. The simplicity, and conversely,
the complexity of some parts keeps his attention. Shop repairs and restorations are done together, as are organizing rides and attending rides, rallies, shows, etc.

Thanks to ©Craig Howell "El Caganer" for the photos.

As you can see riding, is a big part of their time thus far...

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Frank Lloyd Wright & The Excelsior

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No, Frank Lloyd Wright did not design the Excelsior, although he is said to have had a hand in designing his personal automobile, a Stoddard Dayton. However, the famous architect did have an interesting connection to Excelsior.
The son of a German immigrant, George T. Robie started the Excelsior Supply Company in Chicago in 1876. The company was a distributor, specializing in sewing machine parts. During the 1880s, as the popularity of the bicycle grew, the company branched out into cycle parts, supplies, and accessories. Excelsior became a major supplier of bicycle equipment and bicycles in the United States and was one of the earliest importers of the safety bicycle.



When automobiles came on the scene, Excelsior again expanded its business to include automotive and machinery supplies. By 1905 it was one of the largest distributors of automobile supplies in the United States, advertising that they handled everything but the motor.



George Robie had one son, Frederick Carleton. In 1895 Frederick attended Purdue but, by the turn of the century, returned home to Chicago to join Excelsior. Frederick met Lora Hieronymous at a University of Chicago dance. Lora was the daughter of the president of the Illinois National Bank. They were married in 1902.



Frederick was interested in manufacturing complete vehicles, motorcycles and cars, but his father did not want the headaches of manufacturing, preferring to remain a distributor. However, Excelsior did become involved in the motorcycle vehicles, an easy extension of their bicycle business. They started selling some built-up machines, then debuted their newly designed single cylinder motorcycle in late 1907. The new motorcycle sold so well, the company had trouble keeping up with the orders.



With the business going well, Excelsior motorcycles were making their mark. The younger Robies had been living in an apartment in a residential hotel, but with a new family member on the way, decided to build a house. Lora wanted to live near the University of Chicago for the cultural events, so they purchased a lot in Hyde Park. Frederick contacted Frank Lloyd Wright to design the house that he had in mind. Lora Robie might have been the impetus for choosing Wright, as he had designed the library at the school where she taught before the Robies were married.



The architect and the manufacturer seemed to hit it off immediately. Robie had a clear idea of what he wanted. Among other requirements for the house were a walled yard for safety and privacy, overhangs to provide shade, and a three-car garage with a built-in car wash and a pit for working on his vehicles. Construction began in 1909 and the house was completed in 1910. By the time the Robies moved in, Wright had already left to study in Europe, with the wife of another client, leaving his family behind.

Although the Robies only lived in the house for about two years, it is still known as the Robie House. Today it is considered the epitome of Wright's Prairie House style and is ranked as one of his most important designs. The manufacture and sale of Excelsior motorcycles helped to make possible this masterpiece of American architecture.

text by Robert Turek


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