The Emblem
Little giant
That Angola, a small village in upstate New York in Erie County, not far from Buffalo, should have such a motorcycle making facility is unusual in itself, because at the time of the formation of the Emblem concern, the town’s population was less than 800. Nevertheless, the Emblem factory was an awesome structure, designed and built expressly for bicycle and motorcycle production, “one of the most complete and up-to-date plants in existence, enabling us to produce Motorcycles and Bicycles of Class, Power, Speed and Satisfaction.” The company began in 1907, initially producing bicycles but soon motorcycles appeared, powered by Thor engines (with pedal assistance), and bearing a marked resemblance to Indians of the time. A feature of all Emblem models was a tubular seamless steel frame (plus steel forgings) with what the company referred to as ‘Triangular Reinforcement” – an internal bracing that Emblem claimed to be “as strong as a bar of steel of the same diameter”. Fuel and oil tanks were made from heavy duty cold rolled copper, which did not rust or corrode. The Emblem front fork, introduced in 1912, boasted 2.5 inches of travel, with a spring enclosed in a tubular sheath, with a lower bearing in tool steel. Four rockers, two on each side, provided the support between the spring and the main fork. Emblem also produced their own handlebars in one-inch specially tempered steel, “which will not bend or twist under the most severe strain.” By 1909 Emblem was making its own single cylinder engines with overhead inlet and side exhaust valves, in 3.5 hp and 4hp, fitted into a loop frame, with a sprung front fork and belt final drive. From 1910, vee twins were made in several sizes, the largest being the 76.6 cubic inch (1254cc) version, which was at that time the largest capacity motorcycle available, and usually finished in a deep blue. However at $250.00, the big twin was expensive, and sales were sluggish. The Emblem clutch was the subject of more praise in company literature. “The Free Engine Clutch – The best device that has been invented for Motorcycle use, will be standard equipment on all 1912 Emblem Motorcycles.” Emblem also made much of the fact that both single and twin cylinder engines used double row ball bearing to support the bottom ends, in an age when plain bronze bearings were more commonly used. When lighting was fitted it was generally of the “solid fuel system”, with drops of water reaching pieces of carbide, giving off a gas that is conducted by a rubber tube to the lamp with a twin burner inside. The light was activated by a match – a process that sometimes literally backfired for the rider.