During the blossoming of American motorcycle manufacturing in the early 1900s, some 300 different companies tried their hand at attaching engines to what were essentially bicycle frames. The Wagner was the first motorcycle built in Minnesota, and while George Wagner was the person behind the name, it was his daughter Clara who brought the company fame. In 1910, at the age of 18 and already a Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) member, she was a highly successful racer and the first documented female motorcycle rider.

The Wagner benefited from George’s bicycle-design savvy; he recognized the quality of the diamond frame but also realized a loop frame improved weight distribution and increased strength. Accordingly, he designed a hybrid frame by grafting a forward loop onto a modified diamond frame, and engine exhaust was routed through the frame’s front down-tube and exited the frame behind the engine. The stout frame cradled a 442-cc single-cylinder engine, and the bike was capable of reaching 40 mph. Choices of battery or magneto ignition, as well as V-belt or flat-belt drive, were available.

For the astute collector of American belt-drive machines, the 1911 Wagner offered here, richly finished in its factory-correct red paint, would make a superb acquisition. Equipped with V-belt drive and complemented by white tires, red handlebar grips, and a handsomely tooled Troxel Mfg. Co. saddle, it is a very fine and highly desirable example of Wagner’s advanced and remarkably user-friendly designs, marking the development of the motorcycle as we know it in its pre-WWI days.