110th Anniversary Look Back

110th Anniversary Look Back - Day 5

Here's a little known Kegel fact: Grandpa Joe and his brother Julius (who at one time also worked at the shop in Freeport) were not only motorcycle enthusiasts but also big into racing so it only made sense that the boys would race motorcycles!

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From the article:

Motorcycle racing was big in those days: all the manufacturers sponsoring the best riders they could find. The Kegel brothers were right in the thick of it, following the county fair circuit, as well as the one hundred milers on the State Fair tracks at Milwaukee and Springfield. Joe rode Harley-Davidson, Julius rode Excelsior.

Once they were in Milwaukee in a 100-miler (the equivalent of the San Jose race in the Camel Pro Series of today). All the big boys were there: Ralph Hepburn, Jim Davis and the Gaudy brothers. At the 89-mile mark - while running fifth - Julius sheared a key in the drive sprocket. Joe went on to finish third. 

In 1917 Julius felt obligated to serve his country. He enlisted at Camp Grant in Rockford and was assigned to Brigade Headquarters as a motorcycle rider and personal driver for Major Ames. After basic training he was shipped to England where he was assigned an English Rover with the sidecar on the left side.

After the war Julius returned to Freeport and the cycle shop. As a sideline he started hauling mail-in sidecars to the small towns around Freeport. This business grew, and Julius contracted to haul the newspapers through mud, rain and hail in the summer, and ice and snow in the winter. At one time he had as many as twelve sidecar units and drivers in operation.

In order to save fuel and equipment, Julius put restrictors between the carb and manifold. It didn't take his employees long to figure that out and open them up so they could race each other back to Freeport. Finally, in 1935, Julius gave up and sold the sidecar delivery units to the drivers, so they could haul the papers and tune the engines as they pleased.