Roadog
Roadog is a motorcycle built by engineer and motorcycle enthusiast Wild Bill Gelbke between 1962 and 1965. A total of two were built. Gelbke, who had attended engineering school in Wisconsin and at University of Southern California, had worked for McDonnell Douglas and also owned two motorcycle shops in Chicago and Hammond, Indiana. He wanted to create a motorcycle that was dependable and was able to cruise at highway speeds comfortably for long periods. Gelbe constructed and welded the frame himself using 4130 chrome-molybdenum tubing, and equipped the machine with a Chevrolet 153 engine and GM powerglide transmission. The shaft drive was constructed from a Chevrolet 1-ton truck differential that was cut in half. The complete bike is long and weighs . Its great size and weight make the bike impossible for most people to steer until it is moving at a speed of at least , and when at rest it is held up by hydraulic rams that are deployed by the driver.

Gelbke was known for riding the bike up and down Cicero Avenue and Addison Street in Chicago in the 1960s, and he made regular cross-country trips on it from 1966 through 1978, logging over 20,000 miles in one year. When Gelbe died in 1978, the bikes were put into storage. Posters depicting Gelbke on a Roadog were a popular item among classic motorcycle enthusiasts; in the mid 1980s, motorcycle enthusiast and swap meet organizer Buzz Walneck began searching for the motorcycle, finally placing an ad in his monthly magazine Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader, receiving a tip and discovering a bike at the home of Gelbke's mother. He purchased it and has displayed it at his swap meets and motorcycle shows. Walnek later sold his bike to the National Motorcycle Museum, where it is on display. The other Roadog is privately owned by a Wisconsin man named Anthony Shablak, who "bought it to ride it" but has been unable to find an insurer to cover it.

Roadog introduced several firsts to motorcycle design, including dual headlights, automatic transmission with reverse gear, the hydraulic stands, and front and rear disc brakes. In 2001, Roadog was displayed in a special exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Q23855427
Wild Bill Gelbke
PER
Q4614
University of Southern California
LOC
Q201815
McDonnell Douglas
ORG
Q1297
Chicago
LOC
Q856860
Hammond, Indiana
LOC
Q5094373
Chevrolet 153
MISC
Q7236706
powerglide
MISC
Q661
hydraulic ram
Concept
Q5119361
Cicero Avenue
LOC
Q4681281
Addison Street
LOC
Q24435833
Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader
MEDIA
Q6974399
National Motorcycle Museum
LOC
Q1414079
Museum of Science and Industry
LOC
Q7339615
Roadog
MISC
Q7339615
Roadog
MISC
Q7339615
Roadog
MISC
Q7339615
Roadog
MISC
Q7339615
Roadog
MISC
1962-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1962
DATE
1965-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1965
DATE
4130-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
4130
DATE
1960-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1960
DATE
1966-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1966
DATE
1978-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1978
DATE
1978-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1978
DATE
1980-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1980
DATE
2001-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2001
DATE
+1^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1
NUMBER
manufacturer
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