valves broke on a regular basis from
overheating, it was imperative to keep
them cool. Yet with lubrication technol-
ogy also in its infancy, the accepted way
to cool the top end was to leave the
valve stems out in the breeze — which
meant that oil mist liberally coated the
rider’s pants. Additionally, the intake
valve on early inlet over exhaust top
ends was usually atmospheric and oper-
ated via vacuum pressure alone, pulling
open against mild spring tension as the
piston descended. Among other prob-
lems, it tended to get gummed shut.
Following his trip to Europe, Gustafson
came back with news of a new top end configuration: the flat-
head. Also known as a sidevalve owing to the placement of the
valves side by side in a pocket next to the cylinder, flathead top
ends were a major advance over the inlet over exhaust engines
of the day. Using the technology of the early 20th century, it was
possible to build a flathead engine that was at least as power-
ful, more reliable and much cleaner than an inlet over exhaust
engine. Most parts on a sidevalve engine could be enclosed,
stopping the oil spray and smothering mechanical chatter.
Starting in 1906, Reading Standard began to produce sidevalve
singles, and in July of that year three Reading Standards made it
to the top of Pike’s Peak in Colorado — a first for motorcycles.
Reading Standard continued to improve the product. The first
twin appeared in 1908, and models with parallelogram front forks
and a loop frame were in showrooms in 1909. A 2-speed rear
hub was installed in 1911. Indian hired
Charles Gustafson away from its smaller
rival in 1914, but Reading Standard kept
chugging along.Making them better
A 3-speed transmission appeared in
1915, and a double rear brake was an
option in 1916, probably a result of the
English requirement that motorcycles
have two independently operated brakes as Reading Standard
sold a lot of bikes overseas, including Norway, Sweden and
Australia. By 1918 the company was building twins with improved
parallelogram forks, and optional electric lights were powered by
a Splitdorf generator run off a belt around an engine sprocket.
World War I was probably the high point of Reading Standard
production. Most of Indian’s motorcycles and quite a few of
Harley-Davidson’s were going to support the military effort, and
riders who wanted new bikes were forced to look to other brands.
Meanwhile, Indian had switched from inlet over exhaust
engines to sidevalves, finding that sidevalves were not only
cleaner and more reliable, they were also cheaper to build. In
1920, the Reading Standard twin was redesigned to look more
like Indian’s Powerplus sidevalve, with fins around the top, larger
valves and fully valenced fenders. The gas tank was now rounder,Caps on the cylinder head (far left)
give access to the valves. To prime
the engine, the cup on the right cap
is filled with fuel, then opened to
drain the fuel into the cylinder.