One of the rarest American motorcycles ever assembled, the Cyclone powered, OHC Reading Standard factory works racer photographed with legend Ray Creviston on the company dock in 1921.
A Cyclone by a Different Name:
The amalgam of two innovative, yet ultimately defunct American motorcycle manufacturers, this rare, overhead-cam Reading Standard racing motorcycle simultaneously represented the height of early engineering and the death rattle of the first golden age of motorcycling. The early American motorcycle industry exploded with an abundance of options, with early enthusiasts having their choice from dozens of brands. Still, by 1920, the industry had dwindled to a small handful of marques as WWI marked the end of the line for any brand to have survived that first explosive decade. Commonly known as the "Big Three," Harley-Davidson, Indian, and Excelsior had scaled their companies beyond measure in the industry, parlaying a focus on manufacturing and dominance on the track into expansive distribution networks and record sales. As a result, the smaller marquees still standing after WWI, names like Thor, Ace, and Reading-Standard, began struggling to remain competitive without the ever-deepening pockets of their rivals. Moreover, following the war, the relaunch of professional racing in America demanded participation from any brands vying for market share.
Based in Pennsylvania, Reading Standard was no stranger to American motorcycle racing. The company was prominent in the early days, helping to form the sport and support some of its first champions like Paul Derkum, Morty Graves, and Ray Seymour. Production began in 1903, and R-S was one of the country's first to offer road-going V-twin machines. Head engineer Charles Gustafson pioneered side-valve or "flathead" engine design at R-S in 1907 before being recruited by fellow Swede and Indian co-founder Oscar Hedstrom. It was Gustafson who took over the engineering duties at Indian once Hedstrom retired, and Gustafson who brought the side-valve Powerplus platform to the Springfield company in 1916. Reading Standard continued to produce high-quality motorcycles throughout the teens, marking up record sales years during America's involvement with WWI as its Big Three Competitors focused on profitable war production. Still, they grew intensely competitive after the war, with industry leaders Harley-Davidson and Indian engaged in a heated and expensive factory war on the country's dirt tracks and timber speedways. Riding enthusiasm from the highest production in the company's history, Reading Standard attempted to revitalize their brand by going toe-to-toe with the Big Three, developing a new breed of works racer for 1921.
Unlike any other machine produced by the company at the time, the new racer centered around an engine with a unique overhead-cam configuration. The departure from their standard flathead engine design, though a novelty for the company, wasn't a new design outright. The engineers at Reading Standard were privileged to pick the bones of a racing icon after the company bought out the remnants of the Minneapolis-based Joerns Manufacturing Company, makers of the mighty Cyclone motorcycle. The brainchild of engineer Andrew Strand, the Cyclone's unique, bevel-and-shaft driven overhead cam engine represented the bleeding edge of technology when it debuted in 1913. Though overhead-valve racing machines had already made their case for competition superiority, the industry still heavily favored the IOE F-head platform and had yet to see something as radical as the bevel-driven OHC. Strand's 61 cubic inch engine would challenge the status quo, distilling concepts from the auto industry into a powerful 42-degree V-twin motorcycle. Each cylinder featured a hemispherical combustion chamber with an overhead camshaft to actuate each of the two valves. Shafts and bevel gears drove each cam along with a similar assembly to drive the magneto.
Finished in a striking canary yellow, the Cyclone proved fast both on and off the track, especially in the talented hands of racers like Don Johns and J.A. McNeil. Still, for all of its innovation, the Cyclone was not without its flaws. The frame was under-built for the power resulting in several riders opting to fit the engine into a modified Indian frame and rigid fork. Perhaps more critical, though, was the fact that oiling such a complex engine with the limitation imposed by early-teens know-how became a significant disadvantage for Cyclone. Perhaps in the heyday of the short-distance, sprint races of the famed American motordrome, the Cyclone would have faired better, but by 1913 the board track saucers had begun to fade in favor of more grueling long-distance GP and speedway competitions. Finally, unable to convert their mastery of engineering and high-quality production into a profitable business, Cyclone ceased operations in 1916 with only around 300 motorcycles ever rolling off of the line. Starting in 1916, the rights, tooling, and remaining parts for Cyclone motorcycles were bought and sold three times over the years before ultimately being acquired by Reading Standard.
By 1920, the resurgence of professional racing after WWI brought an increased ferocity to the industry resulting in some of the most iconic factory racing motorcycles in history rolling out of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Springfield. Engineers at Excelsior had toyed around with its own take on the old Cyclone OHC approach, developing a single-overhead-cam racer of its own in 1919, which Bob Perry jockeyed with disastrous results. However, as one of the last remaining motorcycle manufacturers outside of the Big Three, Reading Standard lacked the same resources as Ignaz Schwinn's manufacturing empire yet was determined to find a way to compete. The answer came by way of the company's acquisition of the old Cyclone stock, which the Pennsylvania brand leveraged to create its own powerful new works racer. Fuzzy records and legends point to three of the Cyclone/R-S racers being assembled for 1921; however, these engines were not simply surplus bolt-ons. The Cyclone engine was used as a foundation. The cylinders were new castings, a bit taller and wider than the originals, with more cooling fins, square instead of round bases, and larger diameter ports. Subtle changes are evident to those with discerning eyes, but the new motor's essence was notably Cyclone in nature. The engine was set into a sturdier, short-coupled loop frame and an in-house rigid fork in much the same style as the famed Merkel forks of the era.
To race the new machine, Reading Standard tapped a veteran of the sport, Indiana's Ray Creviston. Like many of his contemporaries, Creviston started racing motorcycles young around his local dirt tracks before graduating to the board track motordromes by the early teens. He raced mainly for Indian in his early career, often going elbow to elbow against Don Johns, J.A. McNeil, and Dave Kinnie onboard their bright yellow Cyclones. Occasionally, Creviston rode for Excelsior as well, having most recently competed with the Chicago brand at the M&ATA's 200-Mile International Motorcycle Road Championship in Marion, Indiana, alongside Bob Perry, Joe Wolters, and Wells Bennett. Shortly thereafter, he was recruited by Reading Standard and worked with Cyclone veteran Dave Kinnie on the new OHC project. In January 1921, Creviston shipped out to Los Angeles in hopes of riding the new motorcycle to victory. For Reading Standard, the new OHC racer and Ray Creviston were its best shot at re-establishing the company as a significant player in the US market.
A great deal of interest and speculation surrounded the new R-S. Memories of the Cyclone's speed and performance capabilities, mixed with Reading Standard's reputation for high-quality refinement, created quite the stir at the beginning of the 1921 season. Adding to the intrigue was that Creviston and Kinnie kept information about its capabilities quiet, wanting to let the anticipation build until people and journalists could witness it for themselves. His first stop on the west coast tour was set for the mile-long board track Speedway in Fresno, where early reports clocked him at over 100 mph. Unfortunately, the machine's debut began a sequence of heartbreak for Creviston and Reading Standard as the new hopeful heavyweight fell short due to technical issues with the motor. And as if to add insult to injury, Otto Walker, Captain of the legendary Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew, decimated the competition that day in Fresno, becoming the first man to officially claim a race victory at an average speed of over 100 mph on board his "banjo" 2-cam, 8-valve Harley.
Creviston and R-S continued to try and sort the mechanical issues with the new racer, but the machine could not shake the bad luck. The wave of hype that preceded Creviston and his wonderful Reading Standard "Eight" crested and broke as the machine consistently limped into the pits with the same mechanical issues that plagued Cyclone engineers in the teens. Despite a great effort by Creviston and the R-S crew, the 1921 season came to a close without a single win. Sadly, the effort that was meant to bolster a struggling company, in turn, drained the limited coffers of the Pennsylvania-based Reading Standard, and by 1922, the company was preparing to close its doors. Creviston continued racing into the 1920s, once again signing a contract with Indian before returning to a quiet rural life in Indiana. As was often the case with these rare, early thoroughbreds, the three OHC Reading Standard racers slipped into obscurity, with only rumors of their discovery has surfaced in the past century. In February of 1923, it was announced that the Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Company had acquired Reading Standard, putting an end to America's fourth longest-running motorcycle manufacturer.
Beyond its rarity and unique construction, the machine itself oozes style. The already mechanical sex appeal of the Cyclone engine was elevated further with jewel-like finishing, nickel plating, polishing, and machine-turned components. The machine sits damn-near perfect when installed into the short, loop R-S chassis, with its Merkel-inspired in-house rigid fork and large teardrop tank. Tight and intentional, balanced and intimidating, this machine has grown to be an object of desire for countless over the years.
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