Given its spartan appearance and hefty construction, one would be forgiven for dismissing this exceptionally rare 1903 Mitchell as one of the world’s first racing motorcycles. Still, at the dawn of the 20th Century, the “Mile a Minute” Mitchell was just that, an early champion of two-wheeled competition, to which countless newspaper clippings and magazine scorecards from the earliest days will attest. The bicycle had taken the country by storm in the late-1800s, creating a booming industry rife with competition and innovation. With the advent of the internal combustion engine, combining the two cutting-edge technologies was a near-instant success. On the popular bicycle racing tracks, tandem motorized pacing machines proved the concept and provided the spectacle; all that was needed were a few daring entrepreneurs to bring the first consumer motor-bicycles to the masses. Among the very first to answer the call was the Wisconsin Wheel Works out of Racine. In 1899, William Mitchell Lewis, co-founder of the firm, began the development of a production motorcycle as grumblings of interest bubbled throughout the bicycling industry. Between July 1900 and January 1901, 11 manufacturers announced their motor-bicycle production plans. The cumbersome Orient had set the stage, and in February 1901, E.R. Thomas’s Auto-Bi hit the market. The Mitchell was the third to roll onto American streets in April 1901 with its first machine, a 2 HP, 4-stroke single named the “Automobike.” Initial production hit 20 machines per week by 1902, becoming the country’s best-selling motorcycle and setting up agents from London to Tokyo. Solid and capable, the first Mitchell was a stout machine and quickly became favored among enthusiasts and the sporting alike. Adding to their popularity were endurance runs like the former cycling star A.A. Hansen, who rode a Mitchell 1,000 miles in just over 72 hours without issue, aside from tires. Still, the marketplace was exploding, and to stay relevant, an engineer at the Wheel Works named John Bate was tasked to redesign the Mitchell for 1903. Like the model offered here, the new 1903 Mitchell featured a long-wheelbase loop-frame design made of heavy 10-gauge tubing. The engine was increased to a 38.48/4 HP version, achieving higher speeds of 60 MPH and earning its “Mile a Minute” status. The Mitchell incorporated several unique features like its stacked, flanged copper cooling fins, a removable cylinder head, and the spark-advance speed control inlace of the not-yet popularized twist-grip throttle. Though the Mitchell performed well in the marketplace and on the track, even beating the likes of Indian and Harley-Davidson, William Mitchell’s father and business partner had his eyes set on automobile production. In 1903, their first 7 HP runabout was introduced, and the Mitchell Motor Car Company was incorporated in December 1904. The last Mitchell motor-bicycle rolled off the line in 1905 as the company focused on automobiles, which remained on the American market until 1924. This exquisite 1903 Mitchell is a true American treasure and an elegant mechanical snapshot from the birth of an entire culture.
