Silent Gray Fellow?

[Randall K. Wilson]

Seems to be some disagreement where the term came from.

"The "Silent Gray Fellow" was the 1912 8a aka the silent gray fellow. This bike had one cylinder (35 cu inch (494.28cc)) and had 4.3 horsepower. The total weight of the bike was 111 kg and had a top speed of 50MPH. There were 545 of them built and the price of the bike in 1912 was $225. The bike looked more like a bicycle with a small motor then any bike we know today."

Trivia

From an internet inflation calculator:

What cost $225.00 in 1912 would cost $4958.28 in 2008.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2008 and 1912,
they would cost you $225.00 and $10.23 respectively.

Now this is exactly why none of my ancestors ever road a Silent Gray Fellow or any other kind of motorized machine. Those dudes would have been an expensive extra for most of society at the time.
As late as 1941 my Grandfather was making a whopping 45 cents an hour (an tickled to death to have the job). You do the math.

 

[Redfish-Joe]

There is a link to some pics.

VintageBike.co.uk - Picture of 1912 Harley Davidson Silent Gray Fellow

 

[alto]

:nosad

Somebody has to buck the trend and stay mostly stock. :nosad

+1. I'm with you jaceddie. I've had loud and quiet. I prefer the throaty quiet now. At 60, I've heard too much noise to want more.