This 1917 Cleveland A2 US Army dispatch motorcycle was used during WWI, then abandoned in France after the war. It was discovered just outside Paris and restored back to original over 3 decades, then sent to Holland, now it's for auction.
The Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Company was founded by George N. Adams and Charles A. Mueller in 1915, near the beginning of the WWI, in Cleveland, Ohio. The United States was rapidly adapting to the automobile and motorcycle, and as a result demand for inexpensive motorized transportation was exploding from coast to coast. Also demand was high for simple, fuel-efficient motorcycles that could be used by the war effort, and so that was exactly what the company built.
The Cleveland A2 was one of the more popular American dispatch and courier motorcycles during the war, thanks in large part to its reliability and how easy it was to work on. The example you see in this article is currently for sale and it comes with an extensive history file.
Fast Facts – The Cleveland A2 Motorcycle
The Cleveland A2 was designed with a 221cc single-cylinder, air-cooled, two-stroke engine with an unusual longitudinal crankshaft orientation rather than the more common transverse layout. It was fitted with a two-speed transmission and a chain final drive, and it developed a reputation for reliability.
The US armed forces bought many Cleveland motorcycles for use in WWI as dispatch and courier bikes, as well as motorcycles from rival American motorcycle manufacturers Harley-Davidson, Indian, and Henderson.
Sadly, Cleveland would become one of many victims of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 which led to the Great Depression. It was almost bought out by Harley-Davidson who had their eye on the company’s 598cc T-head four-cylinder engine, however the deal never went through.
The auction was 6.23.2023
https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1917-cleveland-a2-ww1-dispatch-bike-rec12493-1-shuttle-0723
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