Feilbach Limited

1,130cc V-twin | Bonhams auction | Arthur Oscar Feilbach | "Vibrationless Motorcycle"

Story snapshot:

"Forgotten" American motorcycle marque resurfaces for sale

Bonhams auction at Las Vegas, January 2017

Bonhams is to auction a rare and little known Feilbach Limited V-twin. The sale will happen on 26th January 2017 at the Rio Hotel, Las Vegas, USA. Currently, there's no other information from Bonhams except that it's part of the Larry Bowman Collection, which is unknown to us.

But we have got some information on the motorcycle and the company if any of you Sumpsters are interested.

The Feilbach Motor Company was a short-lived motorcycle marque founded in 1907 by Arthur Otto Feilbach. The firm was based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That made it something of a local challenger to Harley-Davidson which had formally established itself in 1903, two years after the Springfield, Massachusetts-based Indian Motocycle Company was created (correct spelling of "Motocycle").

▲ That's not a gear lever on the side of the fuel tank. It's a clutch lever. You start this motorcycle with the pedals, clutch out. Then you let the clutch in, gently roll the bike off the stand and feather the clutch out to get rolling. After that it's all torque via the final chain drive.

A O Feilbach had actually been building bikes since around 1904. Among his early creations was a single cylinder belt-driven machine with a capacity of possibly 350cc (no details are available at present). The price was $250, which was around $30 - $40 dollars more than that being charged by Harley or Indian for an equivalent model.

Nevertheless, these were high quality motorcycles, and Feilbach sold a handful or so each year up until around 1912 when 75 motorcycles were manufactured. The company was then located at 1148 Holton Street and was backed by numerous businessmen looking to invest in a new and growing market sector. Within twelve months, an 1130cc V-twin was also on the books. That same year, a new plant was established at Keefe Avenue, Milwaukee. By 1914, production was ramped up. According to some estimates, roughly 1,000 bikes were produced.

▲ The name "Limited", for obvious reasons, is more commonly recognised than the company name of Feilbach. The word "Limited" was chosen because, as we understand it, it was in fairly common use in the railroad world and denoted speed, power and comfort. Note the interesting Sportster-style timing chest that predated the Model K Harley Davidson architecture by around half a century. The cams and Berling magneto are gear-driven. The cam cover is easily removable for adjustment or repair, and removal in itself won't affect the gear train.

▲ There are no gears on this bike, and we can't see much evidence of brakes. Except that that looks suspiciously like a rear coaster hub-brake. Check the torque arm and the second drive chain. Beyond that, stopping was down to engine braking, shoe leather and willpower.

The Limited featured an inlet-over-exhaust engine of approximately 10hp. The bore is 3-5/16-inches. The stroke is 4-inches. Advertised as "The Vibrationless Motorcycle", this bike weighed 350lbs and was capable of approximately 60 miles per hour. It retailed for $250. A short-lived, and problematic, shaft-drive model was also produced.

The story goes that it was rival Harley-Davidson that pushed Arthur Oscar Feilbach out of the motorcycle business. We've heard numerous tales detailing these kinds of shenanigans, some of which are probably true. In this instance, it's said that Feilbach faced numerous problems relating to cash-flow and capital funding, and H-D helped put the block on it. Certainly, there doesn't appear to have been anything technically wrong with the hardware. The Milwaukee Police certainly liked the bikes and bought many of them.

▲ Images courtesy of Bonhams

Suffice to say that by 1914 it was all over. Arthur Oscar Feilbach shut the factory, laid off the staff, paid off his creditors (as far as we know) and all but vanished into history. But we have heard that he subsequently designed an engine valve-lifter tool that sold for between $7.50 and $10, and for a while he managed a garage that sold and repaired Dodge automobiles.

He died in 1956 at the age of 72 and was survived by his wife, his son and two daughters.