A little over a year ago Eric Maciejewski, Harald’s son, contacted me. He had found a large quantity of papers was buried in his mom’s storage room . He graciously offered to get them all together and send to me for retention. That was over a year ago and I apologize for taking so long to carefully go through every piece of paper. Some health issues intervened, but there was also a dose of procrastination involved! There was obviously a fair amount of information missing, as most of the documentation consisted of Harald’s letter copies to others. Many were directly to David Gordon Wilson (hereafter referred to as DGW) to keep him advised and engaged. A small amount of correspondence was initiated by DGW and almost no record of Richard Forrestall (hereafter referred to as RJF) writing letters, etc. Richard was the machinist and partial designer. Harald (hereafter referred to as HVM) was the marketing and administrative guy as well as handling the final assembly of bikes in his own basement.
Unfortunately, not a lot of new information was gleaned from the seven-inch pile of documents, at least to those of us that had followed the development / marketing of the Avatar back in the early 80’s. I will list some facts that may not have been mentioned in the past.
– 3/77 The earliest correspondence from these papers were from David Gordon Wilson and they involved his preliminary efforts to satisfy the Consumer Safety Commission regarding safety requirements / testing. Final design still not decided on and they were still experimenting as of 2/78. This included the early short wheelbase design known as the Wilson-Wilke.
– During 1978, probably later in the year, they pretty much had finalized design work and settled on the long wheelbase.
– 2/79 RJF’s garage was renovated. Vertical milling machine, lathe, and other smaller required jigs, tools etc. were acquired. No doubt heat and insulation installed for those New England winters. HVM’s basement also fitted-out for assembly and parts storage.
– It is generally known that RJF & HVM owned and operated two bike stores up to this point. To pursue their passion to produce a recumbent design, financial reality dictated the need to sell the stores and refinance their respective homes. DGW was not a financial partner from the get-go. He did help in some ways – more on that later.
3/79 – Sale of the Wilmington, Ma. store finalized.
12/3/79 – Originally planned to use the name ‘Pegasus’ but extensive trademark research indicated the name was quite prevalent and may cause them infringement issues later. Avatar 2000 chosen but exact reason not known.
1/80 – Sale of the Bedford store.
1/80 – First batch of materials ordered for 50 bikes. Brochures printed, financing, trademark search, patent filing completed.
1/3/80 – Patent for steering applied for.
6/80 – Bicycling Magazine provides initial review. Demonstration sites chosen in Ma.,RI.,NY., & NH.
4/81 – 1st batch of 20 bikes sold to individuals. (Probably from late 1980 thru 4/81)
8/11/81 – Formal grant of patent #4,283,070. (Patent was for the adjustable steering design only, not the recumbent bike itself.)
Still pursuing international patent apps, etc.
2/82 – DGW attended a conference in Bremen, Germany, taking an Avatar along. Well received.
2/82 – Price upped to $2,127.
10/15/82 – Formal news release from International Human Power competition that Tim Gartside set a record of 51.19 mph.
Tim Gartside & Derek Hendon formed the ‘ Nosey Ferret Racing Team’. (Later on, the modified a second bike (serial #127) to compete in further competition. Supposedly named the Bluebell II with a more modified frame. That bike currently sits in Australia in quite neglected condition. This per Doug Adamson in a communication to me back in October of 2022. Doug was originally going to be the rider in competition)
12/82 – Orders not coming in.
’82 – The DeFelice long wheelbase was considered as the closest copy of the Avatar.
10/83 – With orders drying up and unsuccessful efforts to interest a larger company to invest, the decision was made to face reality and plan to cease operations as of 2/29/83.
6/3/84 – Abandoned foreign patent matters.
6/84 – HVM leaves for Carlisle, Pa. where he obtained employment with Carlisle Tire & Rubber – one of the last, if not the last USA mfg. of bicycle tires.
Some of my general thoughts after reviewing everything:
I had the privilege back in 1984 to meet Harald when I drove to Wilmington to pick up my Avatar # 136. I met Richard in late 1988 or early 1989 to purchase some spare parts and again shortly thereafter I accompanied an older gentleman friend who lived in Peekskill NY. to Richard’s house to pick up what may have been the last complete bike. (#137?)
Based on my impression meeting them and having gone through all the various documents, one thing was clear. Most important to them was honesty and quality in everything they did and said. I never had the opportunity or privilege to meet David Wilson, but no doubt the same could be said about him.
While DGW had no direct financial interest in the venture, he did help indirectly. He had many possible contacts in various industries and the IHPVA (International Human Powered Vehicle Association) as a source of marketing efforts.
Richard Forrestall appears to have been the quiet, but most essential asset. I know from having experience in machine shop work that he would have had a role in design as well. So often, academic design doesn’t either work well in the real world or needs a minor or major change to function as intended or to be more efficiently produced. Sometimes the experienced machinist inherently knows the best method /design.
The business was, as many start-ups, perpetually short of cash. In more than one instance payment of debt was satisfied by providing a complete bike or some parts. For example, the small group of friends that did the frame soldering, grinding, sewing of the leather seats were repaid in this manner.
In the near future, I hope to put my thoughts together about the recumbent in general as to why it never has, and probably never will, become more popular. A topic for the ‘Musings’ link!
11/26/2023