Everyone knows that Tonight’s Show host Jay Leno is an avid car and motorcycle enthusiast. Recently, Dennis Gage visited with Jay and got to see another one of Jay’s great bikes: a 1918 Pope.

In the early 1900s, automotive pioneer Albert Pope basically mounted an engine on a bicycle and the Pope motorcycle was born. Jay began telling Dennis about this particular motorcycle, pointing out that it was a bike far ahead of its time. For instance, there is front and rear suspension, and the bike is chain-drive rather than the belt-drive system that most of the other motorcycle manufacturers were using at the time. The 1918 Pope was also equipped a twist throttle and featured extended hand-grips that were not directly connected to the bars. Jay told Dennis that the grips were made in this manner so that riders could utilize them on rough roads for they helped to absorb many of the bumps and a lot of the vibration; consequently, that helped to reduce rider fatigue. Powered by a 1,000 cc, overhead valve, V-Twin engine, and connected to a three-speed transmission equipped with both a hand and foot clutch, this motorcycle was state-of-the-art for its time. In fact Jay went on to comment that it was a sophisticated motorcycle and was very fast and expensive. Finally, Jay asked Dennis if he would like to “fire it up” and we all knew what the answer would be; however, there was some work to be done before kicking the starter.

The preparation in starting the Pope was an interesting process indeed. First, Jay manually oiled the valves that are exposed on the top of the cylinder heads. Next, he opened the fuel line and then opened the oil so that the engine would remain lubricated. After those tasks were completed, Jay was ready to start the bike and as he primed the kick-starter he mentioned that the bike hadn’t been started for about six months; however, it started on the very first kick! The sound of the engine was smooth and rhythmic and the open valves were really a sight to behold! As Jay climbed aboard the bike, he mentioned, “Nothing looks dumber than wearing a full-face helmet while riding this bike.” Then, as Jay took to the streets he said that this was “scarier than the jet bike” featured last season. The constant hum of the Pope engine showed that this bike has endured and prevailed as Jay guided it flawlessly through the streets.

As always, it was a great time with plenty of vintage bikes to see and plenty of laughs supplied by Jay. Thanks Jay and we hope to see you again soon.

Back to Episode CRN8004