“Wild Bill” Eggers Recreates A Roper

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

“Wild Bill” Eggers of Goshen, CT has done it again. After replicating an 1886 Daimler motorcycle – and building five of them, one of which sits in the Motorcyclepedia museum in Newburgh, NY – he’s now recreating what might have been the first motorcycle. It’s an 1867 steam-powered Roper.

RIDE-CT stopped by Eggers’ hilltop home Sunday and went into his spacious basement workshop where he’s now in the process of  building five Ropers. Three will go to museums, one he’s keeping for himself and the fifth will be sold.

The bike runs on coal and the seat contains a reserve tank of water. There’s a friction brake atop the front wheel and wood foot pegs attached to the front axle. Quite fascinating. More in a future post.

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BMW is offering $500 in brand apparel to recent graduates of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s Basic Rider Course if they buy a new BMW motorcycle. Riders/buyers must have completed the course within the previous 90 days. The offer is good through Dec. 31. Not a bad deal, but as much as I love my old Beemer, I recall the advice from instructors for new riders when I took the BRC was to “buy used, buy small.” Newbies always make mistakes – how many times have you dropped a bike? – and it goes down easier if the bike isn’t new or too big to handle with beginner skills.