Finger Lakes history · regional story
Developing historyCurtiss’s motorcycle and the engine work behind it
Before the familiar flying-machine story, Curtiss was building engines and taking a very unusual motorcycle to a Florida speed trial.
Research status
This history is still developing.
Parts of this account remain unresolved. Here is what the sources support, what is uncertain, and what we are looking for next.
About this review. Written and source-checked with AI assistance under an owner-authorized editorial process. This is not a personal review by Riley or an independent historian. Sources and unresolved questions are listed below; corrections are welcome.
- What the records establish
- The museum’s account distinguishes a timed demonstration from a race entry. It also puts the motorcycle alongside an existing interest in engines for flight.
- What remains uncertain
- We have not inspected the timing sheet or the event rules. The often-repeated world-record superlative needs a separate comparison of contemporary records; it is not the claim this story makes.
- What we are researching next
- Find the official 1907 timing record and a contemporary description of the machine. Compare those with Hammondsport engine catalogs rather than assuming that every V8 had the same configuration.
The unusual motorcycle was part of a larger engine business. The Curtiss Museum describes new factory buildings in Hammondsport in 1905 and 1906 and engines displayed for aeronautical use at a January 1906 automotive show. Who Was Glenn Curtiss?.
A year later, Curtiss brought motorcycles to the time trials at Ormond Beach. According to the museum, officials would not enter his V8 machine in a race because it was not standard, but they allowed a timed run. Its account gives26.25 seconds for the mile, or136.4 mph. Who Was Glenn Curtiss?.
Sources
- Who Was Glenn Curtiss? — Glenn H. Curtiss Museum; Not stated. Locator: A Growing Business;The First Aeronautical Exhibition;The Fastest Man on Earth. Accessed October 22, 2026.