Simplex Manufacturing Corporation was an American manufacturer that made motorcycles from 1935 to 1975. Between 1935 and 1960, Simplex made variations of the Simplex Servi-Cycle including the 1953–1960 Simplex Automatic. Simplex was the only motorcycle manufacturer located in the
Deep South
The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...
for many years, until
Confederate Motorcycles began production.
History
Simplex was founded by Paul Treen (father of United States Congressman and Louisiana Governor
David Conner Treen) in
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
in the late 1920s with an initial investment of $25.
Treen had been a dealer in
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with i ...
motorcycles and had
pitched them the idea of making a lightweight motorcycle for young riders. When Harley-Davidson rejected the idea, Treen decided to enter the market himself and designed his Servi-Cycle.
[ The design was originally created in Baton Rouge before Treen moved the operation to New Orleans. ] The Simplex Servi-Cycle was introduced in 1935.
Although Simplex Manufacturing Corporation produced motorcycles for over 20 years, the last Simplex Automatics looked almost the same as the company's original 1935 Simplex Servi-Cycle motorcycle. Paul Treen would often visit the factory's tool shop and work with the engineers on new ideas himself, resulting in continuous improvements to Simplex products instead of annual new model introductions.
Western Auto
Western Auto Supply Company—known more widely as Western Auto—was a Chain store, specialty retail chain of stores that supplied auto part, automobile parts and accessories operating approximately 1,200 stores across the United States ...
sold Simplex motorcycles under the Wizard brand in the mid-1950s.
Simplex's minimalist philosophy was maintained throughout the company's history, whose designs changed little after 1935. By the 1950s Simplex's designs were primitive, leading to the end of Servi-Cycle and Automatic production in 1960.
Simplex continued to make
minibike
A minibike is a two-wheeled, motorized, off-highway recreational vehicle popularized in the 1960s and 1970s, but available continuously from a wide variety of manufacturers since 1959. Their off-highway nature and (in many countries) typically ent ...
s and karts using proprietary small engines
until 1975, when Simplex went out of business.
Treen had sold the company three years earlier, in 1972.
Simplex was the only motorcycle manufacturer located in the
American South
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...
.
A 1935 Simplex Servi-Cycle motorcycle is currently on display in the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
's America on the Move exhibit.
Engine
The two-stroke engine had a rotary valve
and an "
overhung" crankshaft with only one main bearing.
A kick-starter was added by 1953.
The Servi-Cycle was claimed to have a fuel economy of .
How Stuff Works: 1956 Simplex Automatic
/ref>
The Servi-Cycle used a magneto
A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...
of Simplex's own design, providing 6 volt electricity for the dual ignition
Dual Ignition is a system for spark-ignition engines, whereby critical ignition components, such as spark plugs and magnetos, are duplicated. Dual ignition is most commonly employed on aero engines,Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, ...
and for the headlight, taillight and stoplight. The engine had dual spark plug
A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air ...
s in its cylinder head.
Transmission
The original Servi-Cycle design had the engine drive the rear wheel by belt, with no transmission or clutch, requiring the engine to be shut off while the cycle is at rest.
Simplex Automatic scooter
In 1956, Simplex began manufacturing a scooter based on the Simplex Automatic drivetrain. The scooter was not made in large numbers and was discontinued in 1960 along with the Servi-Cycle.
References
External links
HowStuffWorks ''1956 Simplex Automatic'' ''1957 Simplex Automatic'' article from American Motorcyclist, July 1994 ''You Can Ride the Simplex Automatic'' article as printed in Cycle magazine copyright February 1956 ''Motorbiking the Simplex Way'' article from Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader, October 1995
{{Authority control
Defunct motorcycle manufacturers of the United States
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1935
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1960
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Louisiana