Motor Cycling - A History of the Early Motorcycle

MOTOR CYCLING

A HISTORY OF

THE EARLY MOTORCYCLE

By

JOHN H. WYATT

First published in 1925

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Contents

MOTORCYCLING

CHAPTER I

HISTORICAL AND INTRODUCTORY

CHAPTER II

THE CHOICE OF A MOUNT

CHAPTER III

THE PRIME MOVER

CHAPTER IV

CARBURATION AND IGNITION.

CHAPTER V

FRAME-DESIGN AND CYCLE PARTS

CHAPTER VI

VARIABLE GEARS AND TRANSMISSION

CHAPTER VII

PASSENGER MACHINES

CHAPTER VIII

ACCESSORIES, SPARES AND TOOLS

CHAPTER IX

DRIVING AND UPKEEP

CHAPTER X

TROUBLES ON THE ROAD

CHAPTER XI

TOURING AND RELIABILITY TRIALS

CHAPTER XII

MOTOR CYCLE RACING

CHAPTER XIII

NOTABLE MOTOR CYCLES

APPENDIX

MOTOR CYCLE RECORDS

Illustrations

The Scott Super-Squirrel Two-Speed

Timing-Gear of Twin-Cylinder B.S.A.

Ricardo-Triumph 4-Valve Engine with Masked Inlet Valves

Section of the B.S.A. Overhead Valve Engine

Contact-Breaker of M.l. Magneto, with Cover Removed

B.S.A. Dry-Plate Single-Disc Clutch

Indian Super-Chief and Side-Car

A.J.S. Twin-Cylinder Side-Car Outfit

Sporting B.S.A., of the Type that Ascended Snowdon

Sporting A.J.S., with Overhead Valves

MOTORCYCLING

Motorcycling can be a hobby, a sport, a mode of transport or a fashion statement – though for most people in the world, motorcycling is the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation.

Statistically, there is a large difference between the car-dominated developed world, and the more populous developing world, where cars are less common than motorcycles. In the developed world, motorcycles are frequently owned in addition to a car, and thus used primarily for recreation or when traffic density means a motorcycle confers travel time or parking advantages as a mode of transport. In the developing world a motorcycle is more likely to be the primary mode of transport for its owner, and often the owner's family as well. It is not uncommon for riders to transport multiple passengers or large goods aboard small motorcycles and scooters – simply because there is no better alternative.

The simplicity demanded of motorcycles, coupled with the high volume of sales possible makes them a profitable and appealing product for major manufacturers – who go to substantial lengths to attract and retain market share. Of all the motorcycles in the world, 58% are in the Asia Pacific and Southern and Eastern Asia regions, excluding car-centric Japan. In the developed world, motorcycling goes beyond being just a mode of motor transportation or sport. It is also leisure activity and numerous subcultures and lifestyles have evolved around the use of motorcycles. Although mainly a solo activity, motorcycling can be very social and motorcyclists tend to have a strong sense of community.

There are many reasons for riding a motorcycle, for most riders, a motorcycle is a cheaper and more convenient form of transportation which causes less commuter congestion within cities and has less environmental impacts than automobile ownership. Others ride as a way to relieve stress and to 'clear their minds' as described in Robert M. Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Pirsig contrasted the sense of connection experienced by motorcyclists with the isolation of drivers who are 'always in a compartment', passively observing the passing landscape. The connection to ones motorcycle is sensed further, as Pirsig explained, by the frequent need to maintain its mechanical operation.

Speed is another large factor which draws many people to motorcycling, because the power-to-weight ratios of even low-power motorcycles rivals that of an expensive sports car. The power-to-weight ratio of many modestly priced sport bikes is well beyond any mass-produced car. Hunter S. Thompson's book Hell's Angels includes an ode to the joys of pushing a motorcycle to its limits, 'with the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin, and no room at all for mistakes ... that's when the strange music starts ... fear becomes exhilaration [and the] only sounds are the wind and a dull roar floating back from the mufflers' and T. E. Lawrence wrote of the 'lustfulness of moving swiftly' and the 'pleasure of speeding on the road.' A sensation he compared to feeling 'the earth moulding herself under me ... coming alive ... and heaving and tossing on each side like a sea.'

About 200 million motorcycles, including mopeds, motor scooters, motorised bicycles, and other powered two and three-wheelers, are in use worldwide, or about 33 motorcycles per 1000 people. By comparison, there are about 1 billion cars in the world, or about 141 per 1000 people, with about one third in service in Japan and the United States. Despite their popularity, motorcycles do pose significant risks however. The relative risk of a motorcycle rider being killed or seriously injured per kilometre travelled was around 54 times higher in Great Britain in 2006 than for car drivers. United States Department of Transportation data for 2005 showed that for passenger cars, 18.62 fatal crashes occur per 100,000 vehicles. For motorcycles this figure is 75.19 per 100,000 vehicles – four times higher than for cars.

To address motorcycle safety issues, motorcycle-specific training and personal protective equipment is important for motorcyclists' survival on the road, and mandated in many countries and several U.S. states and counties. Helmet usage reduces the chance for death in an accident by 40% and the risk of serious injury by 70%. While helmet usage generally is increasing world-wide and 77% of the worlds population is covered by extensive helmet laws, many countries still lack sufficient enforcement. Pakistan has both laws requiring driver and passenger to wear a helmet and regulations on helmet standards – but still, only 10% of all riders in Pakistan wear a helmet.

Motorcycling lifestyles have been adopted by many different groups spanning nations and cultures. They include commuters, mainstream motorcycle clubs such as long-distance riding clubs, adventurer touring, trail riding and those involved with motorcycle sports, such as motocross riding, drag racing, circuit racing and trick or stunt enthusiasts.

Around the world, motorcycles have historically been associated with highly visible subcultures (such as the scooter riders and cafe racer riders of the 1950s and 60s in Great Britain), and they often are seen as inhabiting the fringes of society. Numerous books about motorcycle subcultures have been written, including Hunter S. Thompson's (previously mentioned) Hells Angels, Lee Gutkind's Bike Fever, and Daniel R. Wolf's The Rebels. There are also several 'outlaw motorcycle gangs', occasionally getting in trouble with the law, such as the Pagans, Hells Angels, Outlaws MC, and Bandidos – known as the 'Big Four.'

Motorcycling is a truly fascinating means of transport, with fans and adherents spread out all over the globe. It is hoped that the reader enjoys this book on the subject, and is maybe inspired to try some motorcycling for themselves.

MOTOR CYCLING

A HISTORY OF THE EARLY MOTORCYCLE

The Scott Super-Squirrel Two-Speed

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