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Daimler Einspur MotorCycle
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
The first motorbike was built in 1868. It was not powered by a gasoline engine, but by a steam engine. Its builder was Sylvester Howard Roper. His steam-powered bike was demonstrated at fairs and circuses in the eastern US in 1867 and did not catch on, but it anticipated many modern motorbike features, including the twisting-handgrip throttle control. There is an existing example of a Roper machine, dated 1869. It's powered by a charcoal-fired two-cylinder engine, whose connecting rods directly drive a crank on the rear wheel. This machine predates the invention of the safety bicycle by many years, so its chassis is also based on the "bone-crusher" bike.
Gottlieb Daimler (who later teamed up with Karl Benz to form the Daimler-Benz Corporation) is often credited with building the first motorcycle in 1885, one wheel in the front and one in the back, although it had a smaller spring-loaded outrigger wheel on each side. It was constructed mostly of wood, with the wheels being of the iron-banded wooden-spoked wagon-type, definitely a "bone-crusher" chassis. It was indeed powered by a single-cylinder Otto-cycle engine, and may have had a spray-type carburetor. (Daimler's assistant, Wilhelm Maybach was working on the invention of the spray carburetor at the time). Daimler was an an assistant to Nicholaus Otto (who invented the Otto cycle, a kind of engine). In 1885, Daimler added a gasoline motor to a wooden bicycle, replacing the pedals. Daimler's motorbike was propelled by an engine, but it was not the first motor-driven cycle as was previously thought
Information from: © 2000 - 2004 The Little Shack That Could
Cropped and sized for the web
PS: How would you like to ride 50 miles on this? |
sway, muffled, SandPiper has marked this note useful
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![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 89 W: 2 N: 26]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-n-s.gif)
(347) - [2005-07-14 2:20]
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If I rode 50 miles on this I don't think my bottom would be alive after ;)
Great photo. I would like to see a little more of the engine and handle bars which are very dark due the the flash on the center of the bike.
TFS.
This is totally awesome, Jim. No wonder you had such a good time at the show. I love the colors you caught of the wood and the grain and the sharpness makes me feel I can reach out and touch it. Beautiful composition and most interesting note AND bike....:O)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 53 W: 1 N: 152]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-n-g.gif){kind=small}
![Silver Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 40 W: 0 N: 52]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/s-n-g.gif)
(248)
Nope, I woudl not like to ride this one very far! The shock absorbers look ineffective! Hmmm.... I wonder if it also "wooden" run! A very intersting and detailed post. Thanks for your informative and entertaining posts.