1902 Hercules #126

• MANU­FACTURER: The G. H. Curtiss Manu­fact­uring Com­pany
• MANUFACTURED: Hammondsport, New York, USA
• YEAR: 1902
• MODEL: Herc­ules
• ENGINE: Single Cylinder
• WHEELBASE: 56”
• WEIGHT: 125 lbs.
• HP: 2.5
• SEAT: Mesinger Cavalry No. 2
• ENGINE NO: 126

Despite becoming known as the “fastest man on earth” in 1907 for setting a land speed record of 136 mph on an experimental V-8 motor­cycle he built himself, Glenn Hammond Curtiss was known not just for his bikes but as an American aviation pioneer. Born in 1878 in Hammondsport, New York, he started his engineering career racing bicycles in his youth. By 1902, he built his first motor­cycle engine with a tomato soup can as a carburetor, and his genius only expanded from there.

The sixth engine he ever produced, a single-cylinder 2.5 hp with a leather belt drive under the name “Herc­ules,” can be found here, according to premier Curtiss historian Dale Axelrod. The G. H. Curtiss Manu­fact­uring Com­pany engraved “126”; the “1” is reported to represent the first and earliest run of the Herc­ules engines. The “2” is for the year of manufacture: 1902. Axelrod shares that the “6” makes this the sixth motor­cycle engine Curtiss produced. The Audrain Auto Mu­seum notes that this is the earliest known example of this extremely rare, unrestored motor­cycle.

In 1904, he found that “Herc­ules” was already patented and began the “Curtiss” line as he was taking home the gold against even rival Indian motor­cycles. He even put his 9 hp V-twin engine into the first successful dirigible in the United States, the Cali­fornia Arrow. Until 1912, he and his team would go on to build, sell, and race motor­cycles out of their Hammondsport garage, but this wasn’t his only successful endeavor. In the same period, Curtiss was the chief rival of the Wright brothers, designing airplane engines, creating the most widely used U.S. aircraft in WWI, and developing the first amphibious aircraft while joining the Aerial Experiment Association. Curtiss was one of the great engin­eers of the early 20th century, producing innovative and high-performance motor­cycles, including inventing the handlebar throttle, and helping to create the U.S. aviation industry.