Motor Cycling - A History of the Early Motorcycle

John H. Wyatt

• Publisher: Read & Co. Books
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781406797503, 9781443736220
• eBook ISBN: 9781447486541
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Technology & Engineering Research & Skills
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Originally published in 1925, this book is a fascinating history of the early motorcycle. This book is a detailed guide, packed with photos and diagrams, and of much interest to any motorcycle enthusiast. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents include Historical and Introductory: Early Aspirations: Engine Position, Pedalling Gear, Quads. The Choice of a Mount: Speed, Weight, Price, New or Second Hand, Single or Twin. The Prime Mover: The Four-Stroke Engine, The Four Stroke Valve and Ignition etc. Carburetion and Ignition Engine Suction, Automatic or Two Lever Carburettors, Reliability of Magnetos. Frame-Design and Cycle Parts: Diamond and Loop Frames, Spring Frames and Forks etc. Variable Gears and Transmission: Two, Three or Four Speeds, Gear Boxes etc. Passenger Machines: Trailer, Four Car, Tri Car, Side Car etc. Accessories, Spares and Tools: Lamps, Dynamo, Lighting Outfits, Speedometers etc. Driving and Up Keep: Starting the Engine, Gear Changing etc Troubles on the Road: Refusal to Start, Choked Petrol Pipe or Jet etc. Touring and Reliability Trials: Motor Cycling Club Trials, Stock Machine Trial, Scottish Six Days, Ascent of Snowdon. Motor Cycle Racing Notable Motor Cycles Motor Cycle Records.

CHAPTER I

HISTORICAL AND INTRODUCTORY

THE history of the motor cycle does not go back far. At the beginning of the present century these machines were very scarce, and needless to say very crude.

Even in the early days, however, the pioneers had ideas of the wonderful possibilities of mechanically propelled bicycles; they were then considered extravagant, but have since been realized in part. For instance, an old print shows a man on a motor cycle flying across a river; at the present time long jumping on motor bicycles is a recognized feature of gymkhanas, and by the use of a suitable platform a distance of about sixty feet has been cleared, the machine and rider rising to a height of five or six feet at mid-distance. This sort of jumping is, of course, in a sense artificial, but a machine will often leave the ground for a few feet when crossing a hump-backed bridge at speed. A beginner is not advised to try these stunts because the machine will sometimes wobble sharply when it meets the ground again, and if not in skilful hands this may lead to disaster.

The application of power to a bicycle or tricycle was made possible by the invention of the internal combustion engine, which, as its name implies, burns its fuel inside the cyclinder and not, as in the case of a steam engine, outside a separate boiler for the generation of steam. The pressure on the piston is provided by the exploded gas, and the engine depends for its power to a large extent upon the speed at which it rotates. Naturally an engine must be small in size and light in weight if it is to be suitable for propelling a cycle; for this reason a steam engine, with its separate boiler and a burner with which to heat it, has never been successful commercially as a power unit for a bicycle, though the mechanical difficulties of fitting it can be overcome.

How an internal combustion engine works will be explained later. It is sufficient to state here that it combines considerable power with relatively light weight, and uses a fuel which can be conveniently carried in sufficient quantity for a run of nearly two hundred miles.

The motor cycle followed naturally upon the invention of the motor-car, and some very quaint motor tricycles, with the engines attached to the rear axle, were among the earliest examples. These were extraordinarily noisy and could be heard approaching when miles away, the noise getting louder and louder till they passed with a rattle and a roar only equalled by a traction engine.

At first a motor cycle was not designed throughout by an engineer; it was merely a bicycle of rather stouter build than usual with an engine attached—one might almost say stuck on, for it was fixed in any position that seemed convenient, rather than as a part of a complete and symmetrical whole. The Minerva engine was clipped low down on the tube from the head to the bottom bracket, where the pedals were situated, and drove the rear wheel through a twisted leather belt. The Wernher was attached high up in front and drove the front wheel by means of a friction wheel on the tyre. The Singer had its engine placed within the wheel, mounted on a fixed axle and driving through gears; sometimes the front wheel was equipped in this way and sometimes the rear, and wide aluminium spokes were used instead of the usual wire spokes. Oil the later models the wheel had spokes at one side only, and the engine drove forward to the countershaft and then back to the rear hub on the other side of the wheel.

These few examples show the different positions tried for the engine before it began to be built into the frame in a central position and rigidly attached as it is to-day, and would have been from the first if the problem had been approached more scientifically and motor cycles designed instead of evolved.

At first no one dreamt of supplying a motor cycle without pedalling gear, and no attempt was made to provide more than one gear ratio between the engine and the road wheel; moreover, the engines used were small and low-powered, consequently failure on hills was common and l.p.a. (which, being interpreted, meant light pedalling assistance), was commoner still. The older quadricycles, which carried two passengers and were commonly known as ‘quads,’ were also fitted with, engines developing no more than two and a half horse-power. Nowadays an engine rated at 2 1/2 h.p. will give an actual horsepower of perhaps four times as much, and a change-speed gear will enable the power to be maintained; but then it was not so, and when the speed fell away on a hill the available power decreased very rapidly just when it was most wanted, and the machine stopped.

Early in the present century engines began to be built into the frames instead of being clipped on. Generally engine plates and cradles were used, which were brazed into the frame, and to these the engines were bolted, the crank-case forming part of the frame. In the Bradbury motor cycles this principle was carried farther, for the frame tubes were built into the engine and met at the main-shaft axle. This gave a sound and rigid construction, but it was inconvenient when an engine needed to be taken out of the frame. On the early Humber machines the engine was enclosed in four light tubes running down the sides of the cylinder, through the sides of the crank case, and meeting in lugs above and below. This then took the place of the down tube from the bottom of the head to the crank bracket; it provided a rigid fixing, could be taken out without much difficulty, and survives to-day in the P. & M. machine, being the invention of Mr Phelon of that company (Phelon & Moore).

About this time change-speed gears began to be used, but only by a few firms. The first machine owned by the writer had two speeds. This was accomplished by having a chain on either side of the rear wheel from the countershaft to the hub. Either of these could be engaged by a dog-clutch mechanism in the hub, and thus two ratios could be obtained as required. A primary chain from the engine drove the countershaft, and the change was made by twisting the right handle grip. The thing was crude, and there was no friction clutch to take up the drive, but it worked quite well. This machine had no pedalling gear, and in many other ways it was before its time. The engine was governed on the exhaust as well as through the throttle, a method of control that was superseded by a somewhat similar governor on the inlet valve, but both have now disappeared. This was a Raleigh, and early in the present century it held the record between the Land’s End and John o’ Groats, driven by G. P. Mills (now Lt.-Col.).

CHAPTER II

THE CHOICE OF A MOUNT

WHILE motor cyclists are agreed on many points concerning the choice of a machine for a novice, on others the question is a very debatable one. Obviously the choice must depend very largely upon the uses to which the machine will be put; the age, sex, and strength of the rider will each have its influence, and the funds at the purchaser’s disposal must also be taken into consideration.

Only in exceptional cases will it be advisable for a novice’s first motor cycle to be very fast, though it is natural for a young man to desire a fast mount. A boy, girl, or elderly person, or indeed anyone not possessed of much strength, will be best suited by a light-weight machine of low, or quite moderate, power, because it will be so much easier to handle at home; it can, too, be managed more confidently on the road, for the knowledge that one has a heavy and powerful engine to look after may in itself induce a certain nervousness, especially in a rider of small physique.

It is well that every one who attempts to ride a motor cycle should have first become accustomed to the balance and steering of a two wheeler by bicycle riding. This will also have the advantage of instilling some of that desirable quality called ‘road sense,’ which enables one to realize quickly whether there will be plenty of time to cross in front of another vehicle, or if it will be better to decrease speed and pass behind it. The art of balancing having been previously acquired, it will be easy to pick up the driving very quickly to a sufficient extent to feel quite comfortable and at home on a motor cycle. Some soon become good drivers; others never do, because they have not the necessary feeling for things mechanical, nor the unconscious sympathy for inanimate objects, which prevents them from overdriving a suffering engine.

When the novice has made up his mind what type of machine will best suit his purpose, the next question for him to decide is whether he will buy a new machine or be content at first with a second-hand mount. There is much to be said on either side; but briefly it comes to this: a new machine will give less trouble, and in the event of a small derangement the works, or agent who supplied the machine, will put things right; a second-hand machine will more quickly give the rider an insight into roadside repairs and adjustment, for it is by encountering troubles that we learn to rectify them and thus become more self-reliant.

There is, too, another aspect of the case. It is a pity that a new and nicely finished machine should be knocked about by an inexperienced rider who might just as well serve his novitiate upon a motor cycle that has already seen service. Where money is fairly plentiful, I should advise the purchase of a second-hand mount at first. After this has been ridden for a few months and the rider has gained confidence and experience, it can be sold and a new machine purchased. A lady, however, or a man who is quite unmechanical, would do well to purchase a new machine from the start. If money be no object, then I should say that it would be better to purchase new machines and renew them at least every year. But the impecunious rider must be content with what he can afford, remembering that in the case of motor cycles—like everything else—the best is cheapest in the end, and this applies more to motor cycles than to most things.

A man who has some experience, or an experienced friend to help him, will get the best value by buying a second-hand machine privately. If he lack these advantages, it is better to go to a good dealer and rely to some extent upon his judgment. A look through the advertisement columns of the motor cycling papers will give a general idea of the prices asked for machines of different makes and ages.

On the whole, a single-cylinder engine is a wise first choice because it is more easily kept in tune than a twin- or four-cylinder, for the simple reason that it has fewer parts. Also when trouble occurs one does not have to locate the faulty cylinder as a preliminary operation. Twins are, however, just as reliable as singles, and just as easy to drive. It is a mistake to suppose, as many do, that because a twin has more parts it is more likely to go wrong, for if it be properly designed, every part will be up to its work, and, moreover, the stresses upon the gear-box and transmission will be less because the impulses from the engine are lighter and more numerous.

When tuning a single cylinder one naturally gets the compression as good as possible, but when tuning a twin it is desirable to get the compression equal in the two cylinders. Again the induction system must be more carefully watched on multi-cylinder engines. On a single, a slight air leak in the inlet pipe can be neutralized by cutting off some air at the carburetter; though this is not a good plan it will suffice at the moment, but on a twin this procedure will result in making the mixture in one cylinder too rich and the remedy will be worse than the disease.

These points will be touched upon in more detail in another chapter. My object at the moment is merely to show how differences in design should affect the choice of a machine, and that the purchaser of a twin must expect to spend a little more time upon it, if he wishes to get the best results, as nearly all motor cyclists do.

CHAPTER III

THE PRIME MOVER

IT has already been stated that a motor cycle is driven by an internal combustion engine, a...

Table of contents

• MOTORCYCLING
• CHAPTER I
• CHAPTER II
• CHAPTER III
• CHAPTER IV
• CHAPTER V
• CHAPTER VI
• CHAPTER VII
• CHAPTER VIII
• CHAPTER IX
• CHAPTER X
• CHAPTER XI
• CHAPTER XII
• CHAPTER XIII
• APPENDIX