Motorcycle Man

My grandfather never owned an automobile.
He graduated early on from a bicycle to his first motorcycle, called a Ner-a-Car.
The single cylinder engine required mixing the oil and gasoline together.

In 1927 my grandfather started working for the Indian Motorcycle Dealer at 68th St. and Superior St. in Cleveland.
From this point on all his motorcycles were Indian.
For six days a week he rode his own Indian cycle to work, a round trip from Medina of over 60 miles.
He usually rode to work even in the worst weather.

Violet and Martin on an Indian.

The boys enjoyed riding on the Indian.

He joined a local motorcycle club that had annual picnics with up to a hundred bikers participating and races being held.

To transport the family, my grandfather added a sidecar to his first Indian cycle in 1924 and a more elaborate sidecar in 1930.

The pièce de résistance was his three-wheel motorcycle car, using the frame of a Model A Ford and its real wheels.
The inspiration for this car was a necessary trip to New York City so my grandfather could obtain his birth certificate to apply for Social Security.
The family saved money for a year in order to make this remarkable trip to New York, where they stayed with Uncle Pete, is described by my father.