The Auto Four is a motorcycle designed and built by engineer and motorcycle enthusiast

Wild Bill Gelbke William "Wild Bill" Gelbke (1936-1978, born in Green Bay, Wisconsin) was an American engineer and motorcycle designer. He is noted for having designed and constructed large motorcycles powered by automobile engines, particularly the Roadog and t ...

during the early 1970s. Approximately seven examples were built. Gelbke, who had attended engineering school in Wisconsin and at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, had worked for

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...

and also owned two motorcycle shops in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

. After building his

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 fo ...

bike during the 1960s, he wanted to create a more practical large motorcycle for touring and police needs that could go into regular production. As with Roadog, Gelbe constructed and welded the frame himself using 4130 chrome-molybdenum tubing. The bikes were equipped with a BMC A-Series engine and

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

4-speed automatic transmission. While the frame and body were custom built by Gelbke, electrical parts, such as headlights and taillights, were sourced from General Motors vehicles, for example the taillights from a 1959 Cadillac. Suspension was sourced from

Harley Davidson Harley may refer to: People * Harley (given name) * Harley (surname) Places * Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada * Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada * Harley, Shropshire, England * Harley, South Yorkshire, England * Harley Street, in Lo ...

, particularly hydraglide front forks. When the first prototype was completed in 1972, it was referred to as the "Gelbke Special", and reviewed in Cycle News East.They reported the bike to be comfortable, relatively easy to ride despite its size, and able to cruise easily and quietly at . Boss Hoss 02

Since the 1990s,

Boss Hoss Cycles Boss Hoss Cycles is a US motorcycle manufacturer founded by Monte Warne in 1990 and based in Dyersburg, Tennessee. Overview The company manufactures extraordinarily large displacement motorcycles and motorized tricycles with Chevrolet V8 ...

sells similar V8-powered motorcycles.

References

{{reflist Motorcycles introduced in the 1970s Motorcycles designed by Wild Bill Gelbke