105 years old , original and unrestored and still starts and runs probably as well as it did in 1911. What a wonderful thing . Hats off to ol' Bob for not treating it like an ornament , hopefully someone will still be riding it in the year 2111 to celebrate its 200th .

A classy guy riding a genuine classic - ya gotta be impressed ....

Great to see Bob still doing well. I met him back in '87 when I bought a crate transmission from him. It needed the mainshaft changed out to a dry clutch shaft. He said it was a bear to do and it took him and his lead mechanic all day to change it properly but still only charged me $75 for labor. What ever he did to that transmission was dead on because 30 years and 300k miles later, the inside still looks new.

Its amazing how great this motorcycle runs after all this years.

Somebody was cruising around on this hog the year before the Titanic sank. How's that for some history?!

That is so cool. I just finished watching Harley and the Davidson on discovery channel and now watch your grandpa cruising around on that. Thats just awesome.

Out of all those bikes in that show room I would be drawn to this one.

I love this. It sounds fantastic. There is nothing better than an unrestored original.

Dad is riding around a million-plus dollar motorcycle gangnam style like it ain't nothing.

What a treasure of a bike. Thank you for showing the world a real fine antique motorcycle and showing how it works.

What amazes me is over 100 years and this bike still works. That shows you that how good the engineers were.

How could someone give this thumbs down ---hats off to you sir

That is beautiful! I have a 1913 single and also the the oldest most complete police bike in existence. A 1928 with the first one way police radio made. I have almost every document known for it. None all original paint though!

The fact he took that to the drag strip!!! Awesome.

This is just about the best antique motor video I've seen; it's got it all. What a great background talk and demo from Mr. Laidlaw.

Wow thats awesome,just think that the Titanic hadn't yet sunk and WW1 was still 3 years off.I wonder how many of todays bikes will still be alive and kicking after 100 years plus change.Bob seems such a nice chap,more power to your elbow fella.

At first, when I see him riding this, just an old man. But, I also see in his face reflections of his youth...he transforms into a 20 something kid again. You are lucky to have your Grandpa, Matt. Learn as much as you can from him while he's here. Cheers to you and him.

Pure magic. Wish i could turn the clock back and see the motorcycle being bought brand new and see the envy on peoples faces as the owner rode by. Thank you for sharing. ps. Videos like this make u-tube a good place to be.

I went to MMI and old school was my favorite part by far, a friend of mine has a roached 1910 roller but you sir are on a different level. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and treasure, priceless sir. If you can't like that, then your just not Merican.

Riding keeps you young !

Sexyy harley! Greatest grandpa ever! Long live old motorcycles! :)

I'm a Honda guy but this man has my respect.

When the title said "the Oldest Operating Harley" I was figuring it was a 1990 or so 😁🤣😁🤣 Pretty sweet though.

That is what I like to call a treat!! Thank you so mutch for sharing Bob!!That was very nice to here how bikes sounded back then!!

Thank you sir for sharing your wonderful stories,and your beautiful,beautiful Harley with us. It was a treat.

I love the license plate. This bike is great!

What a gem. Priceless

that bike is over 100 years old remember...........wow.............

This is more precious then any gemstone, this gentleman knows all the functions of the bike, its such an honour to get to see an old Harley Davidson still preserved, hope its survives another century so others will know how it started

There’s something particularly special about having the passion to pilot something as rare as that. We all know how much it depreciates with every stroke of the motor and yet he still lets it rip. That’s some pride about as rare as the bike itself. Gotta respect that.

Manually activated belt drive, coaster break, and the oil/gas mix on the fly. Outstanding.Thanks for posting this.

What a treat to watch! Thank you for making and sharing this video of a true piece of American history.

Wow, that was just amazingly cool. Well done, gentlemen!

Matt...your a chip of the Old Block. I can see where your passion came from. Very cool!

What a beauuuuutiful time machine! 🤩 That thump totally took my breath away!

What a ingeniuty was put into this machine and at that time which was way ahead of its period... Hats off to the vision of having the option to control the exhaust note for city and country riding...that was way way ahead of its time... Seriously this amazed me !

Just came across this , I figured Senior would just tell us about the Good old Days , then he tells u all to open the Doors , im like Holy God! Laidlaw just Earned my Respects for Life !!!!! Laidlaws One of the most epic Vids of all time on ur Tube !😎

Love the video on your Harley Davidson Sir. Thanks Mr Laidlaw :)

I just did watched "Harley and the Davidsons" lastnight! That motorcycle is so cool!

What a great man. You can tell that he is very passionate about this bike, and he loves to have it, even if it's just for esthetics. God bless him.I'm not a Harley man, by any means, but that is one of the nicest purest examples of a Harley I've ever seen. It's absolutely wonderful!!!!

What a time machine, thanks for sharing this historic piece. Trying to imagine what it must have been like riding that bike on country road back then.

This was the best of all your videos so far. Really great of you both to do this. Hats of to you both and your family.

Hello. I love how mr Laidlaw kept it so original and also use it for what it was intended and keep it around for us to enjoy. I am not a particular big harley fan, i just respect what the brand did for motorcyclists and culture across the world. The fact that this bike runs as it did 116 years ago is testament to simple, decent, well tought out engineering. Thank you mr Laidlaw for sharing !

Wow that bike runs great. Mr. Laidlaw you sure know your way around it. Thanks for the showcase !

Great to see old bikes like these still in totally original condition and still running..where I live in Australia in the town of Gawler in South Aust there's a older couple who own a completely original 1929 Indian Chief with sidecar that they still ride and use as much as they can..they bought it a few years ago off the second owner who was in his 90's and had owned it for over 50 years...just a gorgeous old bike thats totally unrestored apart from normal maintenance needed to keep it running.

I could listen to the history of this all day long

Thanks Bob! I remember back in the early 90's at your old place you fixed my 90 FXR that had a bad crank pin! The bike ran better than it ever did after you and Danny fixed it!

That motorbike is priceless. Starts up like a champ. Such a great video that it feels like I saw it in person. Thanks Mr. Laidlaw. Greetings from Laconia, NH

The best presentation of anything I've ever seen. I feel great after watching this. Thank you. I needed an uplifting video.

That is so neat to see this bike run ! Thanks for the video!

I find the older the Harley Davidson the more fascinating they are. This is pretty amazing to see this early Harley model still operating after so many years

Hi I am Anston Fernandes from India GOA . I really felt so much happy seeing nd listening to Harley & Davidson's motor bicycle they have invented . And really it's z a working model one of the one Thank you you tube to share this amazing history of Harley Davidson motor bike clip 👍

Wow... That bike is nothing short of amazing. All of the thought and engineering that must've went into that thing way back when is incredible to consider, and then there's the fact it's survived decade after decade and still runs perfectly. Things like this just make me happy

Thanks for sharing Bob! It was an incredible video of such an old treasure and such an experienced rider!

Thank you for sharing this history with us. GREAT video!

Needs Stage 1 and ape hangers, ha ha! Thank you for sharing this with us, it was fabulous.

I really appreciated seeing this clip. I grew up in Monterey Park (next door to Ed Kretz Sr) from 1956-1975. This brings back huge memories of your shop on Garvey and hanging out at (uncle) Ed's shop. Thanks for sharing.

It’s crazy to think about all the history this bike survived through. Very cool, thanks for sharing!

Absolutely beautiful bike. I love the history behind it. Plus that man did a pretty good job of being a host.

Thoroughly enjoyed this.

Matt, this is one of your best videos yet. What an awesome experience to hear from Mr. Laidlaw himself. Thanks for sharing...

What a true gentleman. Not many people like these left

As of today this Harley Davidson is 112 years old and still runs great. Wrap your head around that number for a moment. OMG

It is incredible how you can see some design details on new HD from this one.

It starts faster than my Honda.. Without any cold start problems... Really awesome

How incredible to see it work, more than 100 years later! Thank you very much for the video!

Wow the celebrity BIG BROTHER HARLEY DAVIDSON , in the same video with the breakout . I'd go for a spin around the block next to that machine . It's an honor for that gentleman to share his machine with us in this video 👍

This is the best condition sample I have seen. Excellent. Thanks!

Very cool video. Thank you both for sharing with us.

Thanks to Harley Laid law Just like Premount H-D in Quebec you people are very generous to share and show the nostagie feeling and force of a divine motor cyle!!! Atip of the hat to H-D founders!! God bless!!!!

Glad that you have retained such antique bikes. I think it would be a pleasure to ride such bikes atleast once in a while. Keep it up.

that grandpa has a daring driving style...admirable.

Super! I like this bike! Thank Mr Laidlaw to share this vidéo.

i have to say your bike has been out done by your modern, clean, beautiful show room outstanding bike thank you for sharing

Great video ! Bob’s passion shows through,it’s easy to see where you get it from!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Much Respect to Bob. He's been blessed to see so much evolution! I guess ill keep my RG and pass it down.

Very cool Matt you are blessed to have that man in your life thanks for all your videos

I was expecting it to take an hour to start up..cause It's so old, but it works perfect. It's an awsome piece of history

There's someone very very lucky in his family going to inherit that beauty 😁

Only original once. So glad to see the trend, though ever so slight in not restoring everything. A very special bike. What a thrill. Thanks for showing.

I'm thinking this bike is worth around $250K. Maybe more. I think it's AWESOME!!!!

That’s awesome! I have a picture of my great grandpa on his Harley.

That sound of the piston from the past is awesome. What a gem.

This shows that the genesis of motorcycles is the bicycle. That is how they started. Just bicycle designs that were motorized. And they went about as fast too. Which is why the coaster brake was considered sufficient. Just imagine a motorized bicycle today, and that was where motorcycles were back then.

Moments to remember rite there. Reminds me of my dad, I lost him in February of this year. (2020) Memories are Forever!

I bet that old beauty wouldn't go far on a hot day. I still would love to ride one. I would also 100% buy a remake

all I want is to listen to him talk old Harley models, incredibly interesting

Thanks for sharing that Matt, that was awesome seeing it in action and not sitting in some museum

Wow incredibly well kept motorcycle, thanks for sharing Bob, keep riding mate it’ll keep you young!!!

Great Video, thanks for sharing, greetings from the UK

And “that’s the way it was” is my favorite quote in this video.

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😎😎😎 thanks fer the show . Awesome - How many folks get ta see that . From a guy who has 3 HD’s. Who could not like this video ??? Old silent gray fellow - Very durable and one the endurance race.

Two wheels is the best way to travel. A Harley is the best thing on two wheels. I love that bike.

This proves that at one time in history, Harley Davidson actually manufactured bikes that were meant to last a lifetime, rather than bikes that were meant to last five years.

There should be a Bob Laidlaw exhibit in the Harley Davidson museum :)

That looks amazing I would absolutely love to see that in person

I have seen many pictures and articles on belt driven bikes but in very few words you explained all the details I was missing such as engagement of the belt and the way the valves work. I could imagine the anxiety and excitement I would feel taking a bike like this for a ride but I don't think I would ride it as swift and confident as the fellow in this video.

I had a chance to buy a 1912 bike like this from an old guy in Deadwood about 1971. He wanted $3500 for it, which I couldn’t afford. It had a big brass acetylene headlight on it. Also had original paint and decals. The bear fat they used for belt dressing really worked, the drive belt was still pliable and strong.

Lovely guy owning a beautiful piece of art.

My father-in-law owned one exactly like this back in the 1920’s. My husband remembers it. Same color, too.