Fellow Americans, you don’t know how lucky you are. I live in England at the moment, and I’m aware that there’s a perception that motorcycling is more dynamic in the UK and Europe. That may be somewhat true in the variety of motorcycle types that get ridden here but I can assure you: American classified ads are way more fun.
Click through Facebook Marketplace in Britain and it’s just an endless selection of very old Suzuki Bandits being offered up by hilariously optimistic sellers. I never see cool stuff like this old Simplex.
Simplex was founded in New Orleans in the 1930s by a Harley-Davidson salesman who took agin the MoCo when it dismissed his suggestion for a lightweight motorcycle aimed at young riders. Harley still doesn’t like that sort of thing, but possibly they’re the winners in this argument because Simplex folded in the mid-70s.
The company’s original bread and butter was the popular Servi-Cycle, but those largely disappeared from the scene in the 1950s. By the 60s, Simplex was focused on the Sportsman Compact and the Sportsman Senior, the latter powered by a 175cc single-cylinder Briggs & Stratton engine producing about 7 horsepower.
In a 1964 review of the bike, Cycle World commented that it was “not much of an example of contemporary engineering” and that “we would like to have heard less from the engine; its muffler is the most minimal possible.”
But, it also observed that “details of construction are excellent, and the workmanship is above criticism.” The magazine concluded that “Simplex has done an admirable job, it is certain to be appreciated by many.”
This particular example appears to be in excellent condition, its seller claiming it to have been “restored to museum condition.”
You can find this Sportsman Senior for sale in Odon, Indiana, here on Facebook Marketplace.
This bike-uriousity brought to you by Rod M!