A rare and remarkable piece of American pioneer motorcycle history, this 1912 Flanders 4 has been recently restored to its correct condition. The Flanders 4, for its 4 HP (495cc) single-cylinder engine capacity, was the work of Walter E. Flanders’ engineering company, which, prior to producing motorcycles, did contract work for Henry Ford. In 1907, Ford brought Flanders to Detroit, where he helped develop Ford’s radical mass-production techniques and was paid very well, along with bonuses. Perhaps too well, as Flanders left Ford to start his own automobile company, E-M-F, with Bernard Everitt and William Metzger, creating a factory in Pontiac, Michigan, to build a Flanders car—one that first rolled out in 1910. In October 1910, Flanders also founded the Pontiac Motorcycle Company to use mass-production methods for two-wheel manufacturing. Both car and motorcycle companies were combined that year as the Flanders Manufacturing Company. The first Flanders motorbike arrived in 1911, featuring a 4 HP (485cc) single-cylinder motor with an automatic inlet valve, a magneto ignition and a simple belt drive with no clutch. The front fork featured compression and rebound springing and sold for $165, with a one-year guarantee on workmanship—surely unique in the industry. The Flanders “4” was intended, like the Ford Model T, as an “everyman” motorcycle, affordable to “any man making $3 a day,” their advertising adding, “the only cheaper transportation is a sailboat”. The factory, located in a suburb of Chelsea, Michigan, was large and spacious, and Flanders ads claimed it was the largest motorcycle factory in the world, also featuring a test track on the property. Two years later, Studebaker purchased the automotive side of the Flanders Manufacturing Co., and motorcycle production moved to Detroit in 1913 under the Motor Products Company, which planned to sell its bikes via mail order. This 1912 Flanders 4 is from the second year of Flanders production and is a very rare machine indeed. Built on a dream, but a well- founded one, it was intended to become the Ford of motorcycles, with super-efficient production methods and a very low price. It is well designed, light (270 pounds) and had a 45 MPH top speed. It’s an excellent restoration and features an accessory crankshaft clutch for more civilized riding habits and a leather tank-mounted toolbox. It’s an amazing piece of American manufacturing history. 1912 FLANDERS 4 HP SINGLE S248
