Unrestored Millet, titled 1897 model | |
Manufacturer | Alexandre Darracq |
---|---|
Production | ca. 1894–1895 |
Engine | 5-cylinder air-cooled radial-configuration rotary engine |
Top speed | 35 km/h (hypothetical) |
Power | 1.2 PS (1.2 hp) |
Ignition type | Bunsen cell/ignition coil hybrid |
Tires | Pneumatic |
The Millet motorcycle, designed in 1892 by Félix Théodore Millet, may have been the first motorcycle (or motorized bicycle) to use pneumatic tires. [1] It had an unusual radial-configuration rotary engine incorporated into the rear wheel, believed to be the first one ever used to power a person-carrying vehicle of any type.
A motorcycle, often called a bike, motorbike, or cycle, is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport including racing, and off-road riding. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and related social activity such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rallies.
A motorised bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it always retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-powered propulsion, the motorised bicycle is in technical terms a true bicycle, albeit a power-assisted one. However, for purposes of governmental licensing and registration requirements, the type may be legally defined as a motor vehicle, motorbike, moped, or a separate class of hybrid vehicle. Powered by a variety of engine types and designs, the motorised bicycle formed the prototype for what would later become the motorbike.
The rotary engine was an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration, in which the crankshaft remained stationary in operation, with the entire crankcase and its attached cylinders rotating around it as a unit. Its main application was in aviation, although it also saw use before its primary aviation role, in a few early motorcycles and automobiles.
A prototype with rear-wheel rotary engine ran in 1892. Production rights were acquired by Alexandre Darracq in 1894. Production halted following an unsuccessful entry in the Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race of 1895. [2]
Alexandre Darracq was a French investor, engineer, cycle manufacturer and automobile manufacturer. By 1904, Darracq was producing more than ten percent of all automobiles in France and he sold a substantial part of his business to British investors. He became fascinated by the possibilities of a rotary valve engine, put it into production and though it became a disaster for Darracq & Cie persisted in installing it in Darracq products. He was obliged to retire in June 1912 aged 56 and after the Armistice his name was dropped from his Suresnes factory's mass-produced products.
The Paris–Bordeaux–Paris Trail of June 1895 is sometimes called the "first motor race" although it did not conform to modern convention whereby the fastest finisher is the winner. It was a triumph for Émile Levassor who arrived first after completing the 1,178 km race in 48 hours, nearly six hours ahead of the runner-up. However, the official winner was Paul Koechlin, who arrived third in his Peugeot, exactly 11 hours slower than Levassor, but officially the race had been for four-seater cars, whereas Levassor and the runner-up drove two-seater cars.
The five cylinders were mounted radially in the rear wheel, with the connecting rods directly attached to the fixed crank of the hollow-drilled rear axle. The rear fender served as a fuel tank; a surface carburetor and air filter were located between the wheels. [3] Ignition was electric via combination Bunsen cell and induction coil. Millet used a rotating handlebar twistgrip for its operation. [4] It was started with pedals so the motorcycle could be moved even after engine failure. Maximum power was rated at 1.2 metric horsepower (1.2 hp), continuous power at 0.75 metric horsepower (0.74 hp) at 180 RPM. With the rated continuous power, the bike should have reached a speed of 35 km/h. [4]
The Bunsen cell is a zinc-carbon primary cell composed of a zinc anode in dilute sulfuric acid separated by a porous pot from a carbon cathode in nitric or chromic acid.
An induction coil or "spark coil" is a type of electrical transformer used to produce high-voltage pulses from a low-voltage direct current (DC) supply. To create the flux changes necessary to induce voltage in the secondary coil, the direct current in the primary coil is repeatedly interrupted by a vibrating mechanical contact called an interrupter. Invented in 1836 by Nicholas Callan, with additional research by Charles Grafton Page and others, the induction coil was the first type of transformer. It was widely used in x-ray machines, spark-gap radio transmitters, arc lighting and quack medical electrotherapy devices from the 1880s to the 1920s. Today its only common use is as the ignition coils in internal combustion engines and in physics education to demonstrate induction.
A twistgrip is a handle that can be twisted to operate a control. It is commonly found as a motorcycle's right handlebar grip to control the throttle, but is sometimes found elsewhere, such as on a bicycle as a gearshift, and in helicopters.
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions being used today are the mechanical horsepower, which is about 745.7 watts, and the metric horsepower, which is approximately 735.5 watts.
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is called a "star engine" in some languages. The radial configuration was commonly used for aircraft engines before gas turbine engines became predominant.
NSU Motorenwerke AG, or NSU, was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and pedal cycles, founded in 1873. Acquired by Volkswagen Group in 1969, VW merged NSU with Auto Union, creating Audi NSU Auto Union AG, ultimately Audi. The name NSU originated as an abbreviation of "Neckarsulm", the city where NSU was located.
Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy.
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The Suzuki GSX-R1000 is a sport bike from Suzuki's GSX-R series of motorcycles. It was introduced in 2001 to replace the GSX-R1100 and is powered by a liquid-cooled 999 cc (61.0 cu in) inline four-cylinder, four-stroke engine.
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The MV Agusta F4 is a four-cylinder sport bike made by MV Agusta from 1999 until 2018. It was the motorcycle that launched the resurrection of the brand in 1998. The F4 was created by motorcycle designer Massimo Tamburini at CRC, following his work on the Ducati 916. The F4 has single-sided swingarm, large front forks and traditional MV Agusta red and silver livery. The F4 is also one of the few production superbikes to have a hemispherical chamber 4 valves per cylinder engine.
The 247 cc BMW R27, introduced in 1960, is a shaft-driven, single-cylinder motorcycle manufactured by BMW.
Two-wheel tractor or walking tractor French: motoculteur German: Einachsschlepper oder Bodenfräse are generic terms understood in the USA and in parts of Europe to represent a single-axle tractor, which is a tractor with one axle, self-powered and self-propelled, which can pull and power various farm implements such as a trailer, cultivator or harrow, a plough, or various seeders and harvesters. The operator usually walks behind it or rides the implement being towed. Similar terms are mistakenly applied to the household rotary tiller or power tiller; although these may be wheeled and/or self-propelled, they are not tailored for towing implements. A two-wheeled tractor specializes in pulling any of numerous types of implements, whereas rotary tillers specialize in soil tillage with their dedicated digging tools. This article concerns two-wheeled tractors as distinguished from such tillers.
Motorcycle components and systems for a motorcycle are engineered, manufactured, and assembled in order to produce motorcycle models with the desired performance, aesthetics, and cost. The key components of modern motorcycles are presented below.
The Advance Motor Manufacturing Company was a British motorcycle and engine manufacturer established in 1905. As well as supplying aircraft engines to the pioneering monoplane developers, Advance engines were also used by Captain Robert Scott to power Antarctic snow sleds. After the end of the Second World War the company was sold to Sheepbridge Engineering and became a motor supplies organisation.
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BMW R 100, with variant models designated by T, S, CS, RS, RS Classic, RT, RT Classic, TIC, R and GS is a BMW motorcycle series, using a two-cylinder four-stroke boxer engine of 980 cc capacity. Model production began in 1976, with a premature shutdown and subsequent restart in 1985, and final completion of the series in 1996.
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