made it through many challenges in the preceding 10 years,
Reading Standard wasn’t performing well enough to survive this
downturn. The last blow may have been Indian’s introduction
of the wildly popular Scout. Reading Standard went bankrupt
in 1922, and the remains were purchased by Cleveland, another
smaller motorcycle manufacturer, in February 1923. Cleveland
sold Reading Standards for the 1923 and 1924 seasons before
ending production to concentrate on building an innovative
4-cylinder machine.
Reading Standard motorcycles faded into obscurity until
the post-World War II era, when enthusiasts interested in early
American motorcycles started searching the barns and garages
where old bikes had been stored and forgotten. One of those
early collectors, Harry Buck, found this bike. When he died,
Steve Geiger inherited Buck’s collection and sold both this R-S
and a 1918 model to Mike Terry. Mike was not content to admire
his new acquisition. He wanted to ride it.Mike Terry’s R-S
Mike is not the first person to decide that a Reading Standard
can be an enjoyable bike on a country road. Other restorers
and collectors of vintage iron have discovered that R-S twins
are reliable and relatively quiet; they’ll even idle nicely if you
set up the Schebler carburetor correctly. Reading Standards are
relatively rare, but not so unique as to cause friends to wonder
about you if you take one out and ride it.
The first step to restoring this bike was to locate a correct
engine for the 1921 frame. The engine that came with the bike
(Mike says it was in boxes) was from 1917. Lonnie Isam Jr., part
of the family that puts on the epic Cannonball coast-to-coast
run, located a correct engine that was being sold from another
collection. “It looked good, but had a bad main bearing,” Mike
says, noting that Reading Standard crankshafts ran on plainbearings, unlike other manufacturers’ offerings that used ball
or roller bearings. Well-known restorer Mike Lange did the
machine work and the bottom end assembly, leaving Mike to do
the final assembly and installation in the frame.
The headlight was missing, and the correct headlight, a Victor
Doughboy, is a very rare item, yet Mike managed to find one. “I
was looking at eBay and there it was,” Mike recalls. Excited at
his luck finding the correct unit, Mike executed his best bidding
strategy and ended up with the light, complete with a working
bulb and all needed parts. A restorable taillight came with the
bike, as did the Corbin speedometer and the Splitdorf genera-
tor. One feature of the R-S was its extensive (for the time) set of
instruments, including an ammeter. Mike happens to be good
working with sheet metal and made the toolboxes himself.
With all necessary parts located and restored, Mike put the
bike together, painting it himself in his backyard under a tree.
Glenn Weisgerber did the intricate pinstriping. Finally, this great
piece of American history was ready for some fun. 1921 R-S’s
had a kickstarter, and Mike claims it starts first kick if you fol-
low the Starting Ritual, which involves tickling the carburetor,
retarding the spark, and tightening the choke.
Out on the road, the Reading Standard surprises. “It handles
really well, and if you hit a bump it will straighten right out,”
Mike claims, although he notes that the brakes are, not sur-
prisingly, not up to today’s standards. “It has a lot more power
than most bikes of its time,” Mike adds. “I really enjoy riding it,
not because it is this old, rare bike, but because it is just fun
to ride. I also like how the bike is laid out. I like the old-style
streamline design with the tank supported between the rails.
It’s pleasing to the eye.”
Indeed it is. Beautiful when new and still today, Mike’s 1921
Reading Standard is a reminder of the quality and uniqueness
of American motorcycles “back in the day.” MC30 MOTORCYCLE CLASSICS September/October 2017