Eastward...Ho! Day 1 - The Saint Francis Motorcycle Museum

 We left the Metro Denver area just before 9AM, Martha and I, towing the Samurai and with Yagi on the VRRV's front rack.  We'll be taking our time and planning on attending a Suzuki Samurai Rally in Kentucky, take in a set of Whiskey Distillery Tours with friends Jane and Larry and then drive on to Virginia for a bit to visit with them at their home.

By noon we were in the small town of Saint Francis, KS and touring the motorcycle museum Martha had found via Google.

It's not a very big museum but it was neatly arranged and had many vintage marques I'd not been aware of and some which names rang a bell but I'd not seen many examples of.  Here's a few for your viewing pleasure:

I didn't know that Harley-Davidson once produced a scooter: 1963 Topper

The smallest H-D made apparently: 1966 M50, only 14,700 produced.

1922 Ace, built by one of the founders of Henderson Motorcycles

1928 Cleveland

1914 Flying Merkel in its signature orange paint

1913 Jefferson

made by Kenzler-Waverly Motorcycle Co. of Cambridge, WI

Only known surviving example apparently

1915 Emblem

Each motorcyle was ridden in excess of 70 mph before being

shipped to a dealer.

1912 Iver Johnson

made by famed firearms manufacturer Iver Johnson Arms and Cycle Works

of Fitchburg, MA

1914 Yale V-Twin

made by Consolidated Manufacturing Co. of Toledo, OH

1945 H-D UL with sidecar, apparently a "barn find"

Martha in front of a Ford Model T

The motorcycle is an Excelsior Model which once held the 

title of World's fastest motorcycle.

Replicas of the two motorcycles from the iconic movie: Easy Rider.

Honda's historic contribution to the world of Scooters:

1965 Honda Super Cub CA102

Over 100 million built!

Cushman Motor Works' Model 53 Airborne made for WWII Paratroopers

After the museum, we drove another 40 miles or so to the Soldiers Memorial Park Wildlife Management Area where we found a nice spot to dry camp for $5/night.  There was also a small campground (6 sites) with water and electricity for $20/night which we skipped.

photo by Martha