Check out Pete's Garage test riding a reproduction 1896 Sylvester Roper's steam motorcycle at [www.youtube.com].

Roper was no hobbyist,,It is thought he had a work crew of about 60 men at the time he was prudicing a hot air engine in Ny,,,,,,The firebox was pressurized,,,wow,,
This bike was one of [ several] ? [4] projecs in progress when he died,,
Tandem 2 place,,naptha burner,,3 wheel log hauler for A,O,Lobard,, and something I cant recall,,,
My good friend Fred Hartung visited his shop with T,W,Gleason in 1895,,Fred was a teenager at the time,,!!! This shop was shared with Geo Whitney, in east Boston,,
Charles river track was in Cambridge Ma,,,overlooking the river,,,,Now MIT property,,
The Stanley museum is in possession of much of the Roper archives as arranged by myself and Constance Hansen the grand daughter of Roper
George Roper has also devoted MUCH time to local reserch on this,,,they are related,,,BUT,,goes back before the bloody revolution,,,,you see they were loyalists and retuurned to Ireland till this thing blew over,,,,,Donch'a think,,,,he lives in Darchesta Ma,,,only a mile or two from S,R,Ropers old address,,,Is this a coincidence or what,,,,,,and constance lived three miles from the old farm I grew up on,,,old,,well,,,,
1685,,,yes it was drafty,,,,just cut more wood,,,no real problem,,All for now,,,Ben

Which Roper steam bike will be sold in the Las Vegas Auction, and will it still run or is it just a static display? I have heard rumblings that it will set a new record price for a motorcycle auction price.

Having the bike in tact as it was on that day in June I think is very important,,
The bike is not deteriorated,,
The boiler shell is ,062" ,,Well stayed by tiny stay bolts,,
The whole machine wheighs about 100#,,,,dry,, [+- 2 # ]
The water tank is dented where it hit the ground,,,no dammage,,
The boiler is a wet leg,,rivited construction,,flue gas around cylender,,,,NO superheat,needed,,
Cheers,,Ben

If there are any questions,,best to ask now,,,we don't know what access will be later on,,and someone we may know will be there, to look,,,
Its really a fasenating old piece,,,and largely unknown til I brought it out,into the steam group,,
mutch fun,,,Ben

Can someone put a link to R-M site for the sat Auction,,,Should be an event,,,Ben

Coburn,....Bonham's is having their Las Vegas motorcycle auction this coming week end in Las Vegas. Find it at: [www.bonhams.com] I have not found the Roper steam bike in their auction catalog yet. It this the correct auction? Has it been withdrawn from the auction? More information on the Roper in the auction is to be found at: [www.gizmag.com]

R-M is having their Car Auction on January 19th in Phoenix, Arizona



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2012 03:25PM by SSsssteamer.

R-M acting as AUCTION AMERICA,,,the US part of RM,,,is having an auction in Las Vegas,,,,Yessss,,,same weekend,,,different times,,i think,,
RM is a Canadian company,,
And yes this is the real deal,,,not the replica,,Hope itn stays in this country,,
It is a unique piece of history,,,Ben

Found the Catalog for the RM Auction in Las Vegas this week end. Read the catalog at [www.auctionsamerica.com]

[www.auctionsamerica.com]

The above link should get you there,,,,Page 19,,,Lot 703,,,,Half way down,,,Ben



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2012 11:07PM by Ben.

A high bid of $425,000 is reported on the RM Auction site for this item.