Talk:Steam tricycle/Virtual Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Museum

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Virtual Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Museum

Introduction

Motorcycles have been in existence for 130 years. As we motorcyclists all rush headlong into the new millenium, let's stop a minute, step backwards and take a stroll through the Virtual Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Museum. While the real museum at Brantford, Ontario Canada currently exhibits motorcycles from 1905 to the 1990's, the Virtual Museum, being merely a collection of images, has none of the conventional limitations of a museum. When it comes to very early motorcycles, there are so few of them, and they are so scattered amongst the world's museums, that it would be very costly for any person to visit and see all the early machines. However, in each description in the virtual museum, the location of an example of the type is given, together with a reference to the source of the illustration and technical information. We encourage enthusiasts and historians to read the original references, and where possible visit the particular museum collection.

Motorcycles Before 1885

Here we can see motorcycles as they were before the year 1900, when designers and engineers were struggling with concepts which they did not fully understand, with materials quite unsuited for the required purpose, and with those two banes of all progress, preconceived ideas and conventional wisdom.

"Velocipedraisiavaporianna"

Germany and France, 1818

This French print from the collection of the Science Museum in London England, shows the testing of a steam powered "hobby horse" or "Drasiane" as bicycles of the day (normally propelled by pushing with the feet) were known. The interesting factor is that the steam engine used in this design is that of a steam turbine in each wheel rather than the then available, but still primitive and heavy, reciprocating steam engine. The caption indicates that the pictured vehicle was tested in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris on April 5, 1818, but that the device was invented in Germany. (Ref 1)

The Michaux-Perreaux Steam Velocipede

France, 1868-1869

Based on a Michaux "bone-shaker" bicycle, this machine was fitted with a small Perraux steam engine. The pedal gear of the normal bicycle was retained. This vehicle still exists and is in the Musee de l'Ile de France. It was recently seen at the "Art of the Motorcycle" exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. A tricycle version of the Michaux-Perraux was also built. (Ref 1)

The Roper Steam Velocipede

United States, 1869

Contemporary with the Michaux-Perraux in France, came the American steam velocipede of Sylvester H. Roper. In this design the steam engine/boiler unit is part of a specially built chassis rather than an add-on and no pedal gear is fitted as a back-up to the power unit. Roper also built a four wheeled "steam carriage" and exhibited both the carriage and the steam velocipede at fairs and circuses for a number of years. The Steam Velocipede was run on a special circular wooden track and it was claimed to be faster than a horse. In 1896, Roper was demonstrating another steam bicycle on the Charles River track at Cambridge, Massachusetts. when he suffered a fatal heart attack. His machine is preserved in the Smithsonian Museum in Wasshington, D.C. (Refs 2,3)

The Long Steam Tricycle

United States, 1880

This steam tricycle, which is currently in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., was built by George A. Long around 1880 and patented in 1882-83. After some years of use, it was dismantled and the parts scattered. In 1946, John H. Bacon contacted Mr. Long, then 96 years old, and obtained some of the parts from him and the possible whereabouts of other parts of the tricycle. Mr. Bacon rebuilt the Long tricycle and put it into operating condition. It, along with the Roper Steam velocipede, were donated to the Smithsonian in 1956. (Refs 2,3)

The Parkyns-Bateman Steam Tricycle

England, 1881

This steam tricycle, which was in the Science Museum in London, England from 1912 to 1922, was made by installing a small, two cylinder double-acting steam engine in a contemporary Cheylesmore pedal tricycle. The boiler was fired by petroleum, making it the first petroleum fueled vehicle. While many orders were placed for this design after its appearance at the annual Stanley Bicycle show in London, England, British law made it virtually illegal for such self-powered vehicles to use public roads in that country.(Refs 1,5)

The Butler Petrol-Cycle

England, 1884 - 1896

Edward Butler first exhibited plans of his patented petrol-fueled two stroke twin tricycle at the Stanley Bicycle Show in 1884. Over the next 12 years he made various design changes and improvements, converting to a four-stroke cycle water-cooled engine and using a geared drive to allow the engine to run at about 600 rpm. In his various design and patenting efforts he invented or developed to practicality the spark plug, magneto and coil electric ignition and the spray jet carburettor or fuel atomizer, as well as coining the term "petrol" for what the rest of the Engish-speaking world now knows as "gasoline". He was hampered by the same restrictive British laws that had made the Parkyns-Bateman tricycle uneconomic and received little financial reward for his efforts. His "Petrol-cycle" was broken up for scrap in 1896; the few remaining pictures and drawings of the first British motorcycle are in the Science Museum in London, England.(Ref 4)

References:

Research, text and pictures for this Virtual Gallery motorcycles were prepared by Allan Johnson who can be contacted at cvmg@cvmg.ca. The following references were used to provide the illustrations and any use or reproduction of these should be done with proper accreditation to the original sources.

  1. C.F. Caunter. Motor Cycles - a technical history. Science Museum, London. HMSO, 1970.
  2. S.M. Oliver & D.H. Berkebile. Wheels and Wheeling. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1974.
  3. S.M. Oliver & D. H. Berkebile. The Smithsonian Collection of Automobiles and Motorcycles.
     Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1968.
  4. E. W. Walford. Early Days in the British Motorcycle Industry, 1931, (2nd Edition 1966).
  5. C.F. Caunter. Handbook of the collection illustrating Motorcycles, Part II. Science Museum, London, 1958.
  6. J. Sheldon. Veteran and Vintage Motor Cycles. B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1961.
  7. V.W. Page'. Motorcycles, Sidecars and Cyclecars. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1919.

Motorcycles From 1885 To 1895

The Copeland Steam Motorcycle

United States,1885

Lucius D. Copeland adapted a steam engine to a Star "reversed ordinary" or "farthing-penny" bicycle in 1885. he later (1888) built a steam tricycle using a similar engine. The engine and boiler of the Copeland steamer are in the Arizona Museum at Phoenix. An operating replica of the Copeland engine has recently been fitted to an 1896 Geneva safety bicycle by Canadian enthusiast and motorcycle collector Peter Gagan. (Refs 2,3)

The Daimler "Einspur"

Germany, 1885 - 1886

Gottlieb Daimler, having previously worked for Otto on stationary internal combustion engines using gaseous fuels, patented, in 1884-85, a lighter-weight, medium speed, internal combustion engine using hot-tube ignition and a surface vapourizing carburettor for liquid fuel. The first working engine was of such low power output that it would not drive even a light carriage, so Daimler constructed a lighter-weight single-tracked vehicle with permanent outrigger balance wheels. He called it the "Einspur". The first concept had direct belt drive but so low was the power that a geared intermediary system was added. It was this modified machine which Whilhelm Maybach rode first on a journey in November, 1886. After that first journey to prove the concept, Daimler went on to four wheeled designs of higher horsepower. The original Einspur was destroyed in a fire in 1902. The picture shows the original machine. A number of replica Einspurs were built for the 1986 Daimler centennial. (Refs 4,7)

The Hildebrand Brothers Steam bicycle

Germany, 1889 - 1896

In 1889, Heinrich and Wilhelm Hildebrand of Munich made a prototype motorcycle fitted with a small steam engine. Sometime in the early 1890's they turned to an internal combustion design (see Exhibit 10) and abandoned the steam design. This prototype steam motorcycle next appeared in 1896 in the first London to Brighton Emancipation Run whe it was entered as Number 18 "a French Steam motorcycle" by a M. Lormont who had worked for the Hildebrand brothers before 1894. this machine at one time was called the "Dalifol" and considered to be French in origin. However, the name seems to have been merely a pet name (Dalifol = daffodil) bestowed on it by its rider. The Hidebrand apparently failed to make it all the way to Brighton in 1896 and spent the next 44 years in the sheds at the Newhaven depot of the Southern Railway, waiting for M. Lormont to claim it. It was given to the Science Museum of London in 1940 and was exhibited there as "the Brighton Steamer" until 1956 when Heinrich L. Hildebrand (son of Heinrich Hildebrand) identified it as the prototype built in 1889 by his father and uncle. It is still on display there. The tank forming the rear fender is the water reservoir. (Ref 1,5)

The Hildebrand and Wolfmuller Motorad

Germany and France, 1894-1897

After their prototype steam motorcycle (see Exhibit 9) the Hildebrand brothers joined with Alois Wolfmuller to manufacture a design patented by Wolfmuller and Hans Geisenhoff in 1894. this machine must be considered the first production motorcycle, being made in both Germany and France until 1896. The engine is a twin cylinder four stroke type with bore of 90 mm and stroke of 117 mm. The pistons travel in unison (firing alternately) and their connecting rods bear directly on cranks on the rear wheel, steam engine fashion. The rear wheel acts, in effect, as both drive wheel and flywheel and with the great deal of friction with the road, requires substantial rubber strap-like sprinngs to aid the pistons in returning to the top of their strokes. A surface carburettor and hot tube ignition (heated by an alcohol burner) are fitted. Lubricating oil is kept in the frame tubes. There are many examples of the Hildebrand & Wolfmuller "Motorad" in existance in such locations as the Deutsches Zweirad-Museum, Neckarsulm, Germany, the Science Museum in London, England and the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Motorad pictured is being ridden by Maurice J. Schulte, in 1895 a prominent Coventry bicycle maker and later partner in the Triumph motorcycle company. (Refs 4,5,7)

The Pennington.

United States and England, 1895-1896

The brainchild of E.J. Pennington, an American promoter, the Pennington motorcycle was apparently first conceived of in the United States, but by 1896 Pennington had moved on to England where he had the two examples pictured below built for him by the Humber Works in Ford Street, Coventry. They bear considerable similarity to the H & W (Exhibit 10) but were much simplified, using a simple needle valve for a carburettor and a wiping contact dry battery electric ignition. They were heavily promoted, but never commercially produced, although Pennington is said to have been given $500,000 for the rights to his designs. (Ref 4)

References:

Research, text and pictures for this Virtual Gallery motorcycles were prepared by Allan Johnson who can be contacted at cvmg@cvmg.ca. The following references were used to provide the illustrations and any use or reproduction of these should be done with proper accreditation to the original sources.

  1. C.F. Caunter. Motor Cycles - a technical history. Science Museum, London. HMSO, 1970.
  2. S.M. Oliver & D.H. Berkebile. Wheels and Wheeling. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1974.
  3. S.M. Oliver & D. H. Berkebile. The Smithsonian Collection of Automobiles and Motorcycles.
     Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1968.
  4. E. W. Walford. Early Days in the British Motorcycle Industry, 1931, (2nd Edition 1966).
  5. C.F. Caunter. Handbook of the collection illustrating Motorcycles, Part II. Science Museum, London, 1958.
  6. J. Sheldon. Veteran and Vintage Motor Cycles. B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1961.
  7. V.W. Page'. Motorcycles, Sidecars and Cyclecars. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1919.

Motorcycles From 1895 To 1900

NOTE - as at Feb 2009, images were available for this section here

The De Dion-Bouton Tricycle

France, 1895-1902

Count De Dion, while long a steam vehicle enthusiast, made the switch to internal combustion with a modified Daimler-type engine of 50 x 60 mm (1220 cc) developing 0.5 hp. This machine is illustrated below. The De Dion tricycle was widely copied in Britain and America and was rapidly developed with more powerful engines until 1902 when it gave way to the bicycle type of motorcycle. From a 0.5 hp engine in December, 1895 the larger De Dion engine reached 4.5 hp by October, 1900. In its final April, 1903 twin cylinder form it produced 12 hp. The De Dion Bouton type of tricycle is found in many museums and some examples are still in use by veteran motorcycle enthusiasts.(Ref 4,6,7)

The Holden Motor Bicycle

England, 1896 - 1902

Brig. Gen. Sir H.C.L. Holden patented a four cylinder design in 1896 and versions of it were made up until 1902. It suffered as did the Butler, the H & W and the Pennington from the use of connecting rods directly driving the rear wheel. While this system works with steam engines, which have immense torque at very low rpm, the internal combustion engine develops acceptable torque only with considerable speed. Gearing is therefore critical. The Holden developed 3 hp at 430 rpm, equivalent to 25 mph on the road, but little power at lower rpm. The Holden 4 pictured is that donated by Holden himself to the Science Museum in London. (Ref 1,5)

Ariel Motor Tricycle

England, 1898 - 1902

Built by one of the pioneer firms in the British bicycle industry the Ariel tricycle was the forrunner of the famous line of Ariel motorcycles made up until the 1960's. This tricycle differed from the conventional De Dion - Bouton type by having the engine mounted ahead of the rear axle, therefore giving a machine with better balance and handling. (Ref 1)

Beeston Motor Bicycle

England, 1898

This bicycle was built by the Beeston Cycle Co., one of H.J Lawson's speculative companies housed in the Coventry Cotton Mills. It was demonstrated to be capable of 27 mph, had a 1.75 hp engine and weighed 130 lb. It used electric ignition, but retained a surface carburettor within the fuel tank. (ref 4)

Front-Drive Werner Motorcycle

France, 1898 -1902

Early motorcycle engines obviously required frequent attention to keep them running. The Werner brothers, Michael and Eugene, decided after experiments with a rear drive machine to put the engine where it could be adjusted and to use a belt drive to the front wheel. Unfortunately, early versions still used the hot tube ignition and surface carburettor. This combination of open flame and gasoline vapour meant that if the Werner "motorcyclette" suffered what was then called a "side-slip" and fell over, it was almost certain to set itself on fire. Most of the surviving Werner front-drive motorcycles are the later versions made with a spark plug and electric ignition.(Ref 1)

References:

Research, text and pictures for this Virtual Gallery motorcycles were prepared by Allan Johnson who can be contacted at cvmg@cvmg.ca. The following references were used to provide the illustrations and any use or reproduction of these should be done with proper accreditation to the original sources.

  1. C.F. Caunter. Motor Cycles - a technical history. Science Museum, London. HMSO, 1970.
  2. S.M. Oliver & D.H. Berkebile. Wheels and Wheeling. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1974.
  3. S.M. Oliver & D. H. Berkebile. The Smithsonian Collection of Automobiles and Motorcycles.
     Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1968.
  4. E. W. Walford. Early Days in the British Motorcycle Industry, 1931, (2nd Edition 1966).
  5. C.F. Caunter. Handbook of the collection illustrating Motorcycles, Part II. Science Museum, London, 1958.
  6. J. Sheldon. Veteran and Vintage Motor Cycles. B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1961.
  7. V.W. Page'. Motorcycles, Sidecars and Cyclecars. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1919.