1924 ACE

It was 1924. The Roaring ’20s were in full swing, the American Motorcyclist Association had just been formed, and the princely sum of $400 would buy you a powerful, lightweight Ace.

Ace was the brainchild of AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer William Henderson, who found himself at creative odds with his employer, the Excelsior Motor Manufacturing and Supply Co. While Excelsior was focusing on beefy, heavyweight motorcycles, Henderson preferred to build lighter and sportier machines, so he left to form his own company in 1919.

Henderson and Max Sladkin of Haverford Cycle Co. joined forces and founded the Ace Motor Corp. in Philadelphia. Henderson was chief engineer, and he again turned to the four-cylinder concept he had used so successfully.

When the Ace was introduced in 1920, it was met with favorable reviews. By 1922 the factory was going strong, and Ace was on stable footing. The company even made a name for itself in then-popular long-distance and cross-country contests. Future Hall of Famer Erwin “Cannonball” Baker set a transcontinental motorcycle record on an Ace in 1922.

The Ace Motor Corp. didn’t survive long. Henderson was tragically killed in 1922, when a speeding car came out of a side street and hit him while he was testing an Ace Sporting Solo. The company produced its last machine in 1924 and was eventually sold to Indian in 1927.

This 1924 Ace is one of the last machines built by the company. It features a 78-cubic-inch (1,278cc) four-cylinder motor, a three-speed transmission, 27-inch wheels and a 59-inch wheelbase. The standard model featured iron pistons, while another $20 got you the Sporting Solo model, with aluminum pistons.

It is just one of the many historic machines owned by the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum at AMA headquarters in Pickerington, Ohio.