Clara Wagner: The First Woman to Race Motorcycles?

The Clara Wagner Story

Clara Wagner is often lauded as the first woman to race a motorcycle—or at least the first documented woman to do so, as captured by many newspapers in 1910. Through my research, I’ve found that Muriel Hind, a British Woman born in 1882, participated in competitions in 1907. After going through many years of newspaper archives, it appears Clara was the first American woman and Muriel was the first British woman to go racing on two wheels with a motor.

Nevertheless, Clara Marian Wagner was an imposing woman… especially for her time. Clara was born in Minnesota on November 11th, 1891, to the motorcycle manufacturer George Wagner of Wagner Motorcycle Co. They must have had an extraordinary relationship because, in that era, it was almost unheard of for a girl to work alongside her father, let alone ride motorcycles! George had two daughters, and from all insights, he and Clara connected on motorbikes the most.

At 15 years old in the spring of 1907, she was granted her Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) membership card… the first female to receive one. Three years later, when Clara was 18, she signed up for the first annual FAM Western District Endurance Run. The race took place over two days, starting in Chicago and ending in Indianapolis. Across the more than 365 miles of treacherous “roadways” that were not paved, Clara was frequently challenged with loads of sand and mud. Deep potholes and mud pits caused her to come off her motorcycle, but she just brushed herself off and continued. Her father, George, paced her throughout the event, and they both finished with perfect scores. Massive news at the time, she was the first woman to participate in (and win) an FAM event and the first woman to win a competitive motorcycle event in the USA.

Despite her perfect score, which outperformed many male competitors in the run, she did not receive official recognition from FAM for her achievement. The reason for this isn’t perfectly clear. The Indianapolis Star reported that “the rules bar women from motorcycle contests.” However, The Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal stated she was allowed to participate in the run and even sign her name at checkpoints, but she had never officially registered. Considering her father’s involvement in the endurance run alongside Clara, I find the latter hard to believe. Left hanging without any award for her perfect score, 50 men from the run banded together to present her with a gold pendant for her accomplishment.

The stunning performance of a lady on a Wagner Motorcycle was exciting news in many papers and helped bring the brand name to fame. The following year, in 1911, the Eclipse Machine Co. sponsored Clara and featured her in a postcard ad series. The front of the postcard states, “Miss Clara Wagner with her motorcycle at Coenties Slip, New York, using the Eclipse Coaster Brake.” On one such postcard, handwriting on the back reads, “Dear Boys: Miss Clara Wagner the most successful and experienced lady motorcyclist always uses the Eclipse Coaster Brake. Miss Wagner states that ‘The perfect security I felt in my brake equipment contributed largely to the pleasure.’ As she had numerous occasions to test it and it was not found wanting. That’s good evidence.” It’s signed Eclipse Machine Co.

Clara Wanger Eclipse Machine Co postcard advertisement

Who were the ‘boys’ they were speaking to? Was this postcard sent directly to a motorcycle racer they were courting for sponsorship, or was this part of a public marketing plan? Was it a “Hey boys, this girl can do it, so you should have no problem” statement? We’ll likely never know. Recorded achievements of hers are hard to come by after the big 1910 event, but her daughters and other newspapers make mention of many wins atop a motorcycle over the coming years.

Clara married a young lawyer named Walter Henry Jacke in September 1916, and they had four children over the next 12 years. By 1925, they moved west to California, where she spent much of her life. Her eldest daughter Dorothy Sippy told tales of her upbringing and her mom’s adventurous spirit in Cristine Sommer Simmons’ book “The American motorcycle girls, 1900-1950.” She talked about how her mom always encouraged the kids to ride horses, play tennis, and get outside. Clara planned a month-long camping trip to the Sierra Mountains each summer, and since Walter wasn’t into camping, he stayed home. Dorothy reminisces, “We always pitched a tent near a stream, built a campfire site and enjoyed the outdoors alone. We learned how to survive and entertain ourselves in the wilds and as I look back over my 90 years, those were perhaps my most special experiences.”

Clara Wagner passed away as Clara Marian Jacke on December 31st, 1961, one year after her husband. She was just over 70 years old and had seen an amazing evolution in technology across the world. She witnessed telephones becoming normal in homes and the uprising of the bicycle, motorcycle, and automobile. She saw women gaining the right to vote in 1920, lived through the Great Depression, and experienced two world wars. During WWII at 48 years old she is listed in the US Census as a Stenographer. Clara watched Russians send a chimp into space and heard John F. Kennedy promise we’d land on the moon. She lived an incredible life, one that was well lived through her adventurous spirit.

: The back of the Eclipse Machine Co Clara Wagner postcard

: Clara Wagner portrait

: Clara Wagner's husband Walter Henry Jacke

: Clara and father George Wagner get perfect scores in the FAM Endurance run

: Clara Wagner October 1910 newspaper clipping

: This photo claims to be of Clara Wagner, but the original source cannot be confirmed. If you have more info, please let us know.

: Clara Wagner family photo

: Clara Wagner circa 1910

: Clara Wagner on the ladies drop-frame Wagner Motorcycle

: Wagner Motorcycle Co postcard advertisement

Bonus Wagner History

George Wagner founded Wagner Motorcycle Co. in 1901, a motorcycle manufacturer based in St. Paul, Minnesota. There are whispers that Wagner Motorcycle Co. started as a bicycle company, but available documentation is slim. It’s said to be an offshoot of Wagner Bicycle Co. Approximately 8,500 motorcycles were manufactured between 1901 and 1914. At the time, most motorcycle companies were creating Indian clones with engines mounted up high, while George positioned the engine low on a “loop frame.” Wagner motorcycles had many innovations that were rare or missing from competitors’ machines at the time. Prices ranged from $175 to $210.

One of George’s most notable innovations was a motorcycle designed specifically for a lady rider in 1909—the first of its kind in America. The Ladies’ Drop-Frame Model was precisely what it sounds like. The center of the frame dropped down for skirt-clad women (because they did not wear pants at the time), the seat and handlebars were lowered, and metal guards over the chain and belt to keep the lady rider clean. The bike also came with optional fabric skirts that would lay over the fenders to cover up the top third of the wheels. Supposedly, only one of these bikes still exists today, though no photos or other documentation are available.

The Ladies’ Drop-Frame Wagner motorcycle is not the bike Clara rode in her 1910 endurance run, though it’s said her father designed it for such events. The 4-11 Wagners she and George rode through the FAM event were a more powerful four-horsepower model.

This Wagner 4″-11″ motorcycle, above, was seen in the History Channel’s American Restoration Episode 2 of Season 6. Cris Sommer Simmons and partner brought the bike in for light restoration and “found out” it was actually Clara Wagner’s, based on a CW stamping inside the points. What an amazing piece of history to have in your collection!