1909 Pierce Four

FROM THE DICK SHAPPY COLLECTION: The 1909 Pierce Four

In 1865, Heinz, Pierce, and Munschauer were established to sell household items, including gilded bird cages and refrigerators, in Buffalo, NY. Seven years later, Pierce would buy out his partners, form the George N. Pierce Company, and in the 1890s, pivot to selling bicycles with the soon-to-be-famed arrow logo. In 1900, he sent three board members to Europe to study technology, and they returned with a DeDion engine. Forming the Pierce-Arrow Automobile Company in 1901, they would become known for producing some of the finest, most expensive luxury cars, on par with Rolls-Royce, from the 1910s into the 1930s, which Georges son, Percy, raced competitively.

In 1907, Percy was appointed President of the newly formed Pierce Cycle Company, thereby separating the bicycle business from the automobile business. Following tradition, he went to Europe to study motorcycles and acquired a Fabrique National Four, the worlds first production four-cylinder bike, in 1908. With FNs inspiration, the Pierce Cycle Co. would produce the first American four-cylinder motorcycle, the meticulously hand-built Pierce Four, with the finest quality components. It debuted in 1909 at an expensive $325 as vibrationless and complete with many high-end features at the very top of the market. Radically different than any other motorcycle on the market, it was also far more expensive. It had a strong, large-diameter copper-lined steel frame that hid gasoline, oil, and control cables. Unlike the FN, the Pierce had a T-head sidevalve engine and cam-driven intakes. It also featured a shaft drive and a sprung front fork - a significant improvement over the FN Four. Capable of reaching speeds over 60 MPH, they were used for long-distance endurance events, often won by Percy Pierce himself.

The 1910 Four would improve even further with the addition of a clutch and two-speed transmission. A November 12, 1910 Pierce advertisement describes: The Four Cylinder, we scarcely need to point out, is the worlds leading motorcycle. The rider who wants the best will always buy the Pierce Four. There is no motorcycle which approaches it in smooth running qualities, in hill climbing qualities, and road touring capability. This machine is built for the severest kind of usage. It will give service and satisfaction everywhere and under all conditions. In September, 1911, their advertisements boasted that a Pierce motorcycle was the only motorcycle known to have climbed Simplon pass (One of the highest peaks in the Alps.) and the Only American machine that holds a Grand Prize award. (Won at Buenos Aires International Centennial Exposition. Pierce sole winner against European competition.

Costly to produce, the price increased to $400 in 1913, making the innovative motorcycle the selection of more prosperous sportsmen. The market expanded to include 14 countries outside of the United States, from Japan to Argentina, and Pierce boasted of a few hundred US dealers. However, it was said that the motorcycle cost more to produce than even that high price tag. By 1914, they were bankrupt, having produced fewer than 500 motorcycles. Pierce-Arrow would continue manufacturing automobiles until the Great Depression caused its decline in 1938, but Pierce motorcycles became a chapter of history.

Pierces are now considered a classic, having been included in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame's Classic Bikes. Due to their high cost and low demand, fewer than 500 Pierce motorcycles were ever built, and surviving examples are rare. Of the remaining examples, most known bikes are still functioning today.

This 1909 Pierce Four, engine number 147, is offered with period-correct accessories. Formerly of the E. J. Cole Collection, under the supervision of Dick Shappy, the engine has been meticulously restored. Motorcycle Specialist Colby Brodkin spent many hours making this motorcycle mechanically perfect. It is currently one of the best running machines in the extensive collection to date. It is believed to be one of only approximately a dozen Pierce four-cylinder bikes still surviving after more than 100 years, most of which reside in museums. Pierce Fours turning up on the open market, despite being highly sought after, is very rare.

ENGINE: 707 CC Inline 4-Cylinder T-head with the Inlet and Exhaust Valves on opposite sides of the Combustion Chamber

ENGINE NO.: 147

MANUFACTURED: Buffalo, NY, USA

FRAME: 4 in. diameter Copper-lined Steel hiding Fluids & Control Cables

TRANSMISSION: Single-speed Drive Shaft

SUSPENSION: Sprung Front Fork

TOP SPEED: 60 MPH

CARBURETOR: Breeze

DISTRIBUTOR: Delco-Remy

MAGNETO: Bosch, Type FN08

WEIGHT: 275 LB.

HISTORY: Formerly of the E. J. Cole Collection. Under the supervision of Dick Shappy, motorcycle Specialist Colby Brodkin spent many hours making this motorcycle mechanically perfect. It is currently one of the best running machines in the extensive collection to date.


THE STORY
From Mecum:

"George N. Pierce expanded his business making refrigerators and bird cages in 1892 to include bicycles, made famous for their quality by champion riders on Pierce machines with the arrow logo on their racing togs. In 1900 the Board of the GN Pierce Co. decided to enter the automobile business, and experimented with a steam car, which proved troublesome. A trip to Europe by three Pierce executives convinced them the DeDion model was the future, and remarkably, they had a gasoline-powered prototype running that same year. Prototypes in 1901 began winning endurance races, and the company grew prosperous quickly selling very high-end autos.

Percy Pierce, the son of the companys founder, was an active competition driver for Pierce, and his mother described him as a very careful, exacting driver, who saw that everything about his car was shipshape. So when he started out, he usually won. This competitive spirit motivated him to take the helm of the Pierce Cycle Co. in 1907, with the intention of adding motorcycles to the companys roster. He followed the lead of his father, and traveled to Europe in 1908 to find the cutting edge of two-wheeled practice. No American company was producing a four-cylinder motorcycle, so Percy imported a 1908 FN 4 to Buffalo, New York the FN was among the most advanced motorcycles in the world at the time, and its four-cylinder engine with shaft drive surely resonated with the son of an automobile scion.

Percy became president of The Pierce Motorcycle Company in 1909, created as a subsidiary of the renamed Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Co., as that FN had been disassembled and deeply studied by the companys engineering team. While the FN provided the model for the engine, shaft drive, and forks (a patented FN design, copied in the U.S. by many, including Sager, whose design H-D copied). From there, the Pierce motorcycle was all innovation, using large-diameter tubing as both the frame and gas/oil tanks, with all control cables hidden internally as well. The engine was used as a stressed member of the frame, and the large diameter tubing (3.5 inches) both increased the frame strength, and made manufacture of the frame far simpler, with fewer fussy parts to braze up. Pierce redesigned the FN engine as a 43 cu-in. (707cc) capacity, a bore/stroke (2.5x2.5 inches), and a T-head sidevalve topend, which meant intake and exhaust valves were positively operated a big improvement over the FN, with its automatic inlet valves. The first models of 1909 had no clutch and a single speed, but the next year a two-speed transmission and clutch were added. The 275-pound machine was good for 60 MPH, which was excellent performance at that date. The Pierce 4 was Americas first four-cylinder motorcycle, and a very advanced machine. Unfortunately, it cost more to build than it was sold for, which eventually bankrupted the Pierce Motorcycle Company, which ceased production in 1914. Less than 500 Pierce 4s were built.

The 1909 E.J. Cole Pierce 4 is an older restoration of this rare early version of the first American four-cylinder luxury motorcycle. It was purchased at the Harrahs Steve McQueen auction, although it did not belong to McQueen."