COPAKE, N.Y. — “Before tossing one, hard-earned Simoleon of yours at this Wright-Brothers/Davis contraption…” warns a cycling forum contributor at www.thecabe.com. His subject: the 1915 Dayton Motorbike, an “as-found” example of which was the top lot in Copake’s March 29 auction. The motorbike zoomed from an $800-$1,200 estimate to sell for $24,000, including buyer’s premium. Mike Fallon said there were five people on the phone vying for it, then it was winnowed down to three; finally, there were two phone bidders duking it out, with one in the Midwest, the other a well-known but unidentified television celebrity, who prevailed. Catalog notes said simply “sold as found with no title.” More information on the motorized bicycle can be found at the Dayton History website — www.daytonhistory.org — “With the advent of the automobile, the bicycle’s popularity began to decline. Innovations in combustible engine manufacturing meant that…engines could be used just about anywhere, including on a two-wheeled bicycle. Inventors in Europe had been experimenting with early motorcycles since the 1880s, and in 1901, America’s first motorcycle company, the Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company, was founded. Dayton’s Davis Sewing Machine Company had been a leading manufacturer in bicycles for more than two decades when they introduced and patented the Dayton Motorwheel in 1915. This motorbike combined a light-weight frame with both foot pedals and a small engine, manufactured by the American Magneto Company. The cycle could be ridden either as a regular bicycle or as a motorcycle.” The overall sale was “highly successful,” according to Mike Fallon, and an extended review of its highlights will follow.