From this blog.
http://art-of-motorcycles.onsugar.com/?
The name ‘Curtiss’ somewhat vaguely interprets in my mind as something to do with aeroplanes and something of having a tussle or an association with the Wright Brothers for some issues I can’t recall what I might have read years ago. Well, hence forth from now on, at certain age of my life, even if I forget the name of the Wright brothers, I will not forget the name of ‘Curtiss’. Of course I never knew that he was also given the name of “The Fastest Man on Earth”.
So, Glenn Hammond Curtiss was a pioneer in aeronautics and we will get to a brief history about that, but before venturing into aeronautics, Glenn H. Curtiss began his career by working with motorcycles. In fact, it was due to his innovative ways in creating motorcycles, light and powerful due to which his expertise was sought in the field of aeronautics. But the reason this man is featured here is because in the field of aeronautics, he had built a light and powerful V8 engine and later he converted the engine to a motorcycle engine. And we know which age we are talking about if we are taking about the Wright Brothers, right!. Yes, that was the 1900s. Think about it, a V8 in early 19th century. Exactly, Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss built a Boss Hoss in 1906.
The engine was there, so basically Curtiss and his team needed a chassis to holster the massive powerplant. They ultimately built a product that weighed 275 pounds and, was almost 8 feet long. Curtiss took the motorcycle to the Florida Speed Carnival in 1907 and recorded a speed of 136.3 mph (218 kmph, yes, in 1907) which gave him the title of ‘The Fastest Man on Earth’. And mark this, the record stood for any, repeat any land speed record and not just for 2 wheelers. The black and white pictures with the man are from that speed run and that was also the man’s attire. A gentleman wearing a leather cap and a trimmed moustache could do that, well I could have never imagined or believed had I not read about that. It was January 24, 1907 to be precise at the Ormond Beach (now called Daytona Beach) in Florida when the record was set and it was after 11 years another land speed vehicle broke the record and 23 years till another 2 wheeler broke the record.
