Timeline of motorized bicycle history

Last updated April 27, 2023

This timeline of motorized bicycle history is a summary of the major events in the development and use of motorized bicycles and tricycles, which are defined as pedal cycles with motor assistance but which can be powered by pedals alone.

19th century

1867-1869 – The first steam driven two wheeled vehicle is the Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede created in France.^[1]^{[ dubious – discuss ]}
1869 – Sylvester H. Roper of Massachusetts, USA creates a steam velocipede which he shows at fairs and circuses.^[2]
1885 – Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach of Cannstatt, Germany put their newly developed "grandfather clock" engine in a two-wheeled frame to demonstrate their automobile engine. The Daimler Reitwagen is the first internal combustion motorcycle.^[3]^[4]^[5]
1896 – Roy C. Marks of San Francisco produces the first motorcycle made in the USA. It becomes the California Motorcycle.^[6]
1897 – Most likely the first electric bicycle was built in 1897 by Hosea W. Libbey.^[7]
1897 – The Werner Brothers of France developed a motorized bicycle with a De Dion-Bouton engine mounted above the front wheel.^[8]
1898 – Laurin and Klement produce the Slavia model A moto cycle. It is a purpose built motorcycle.^[9]
1900 – Due to poor handling Werner move the engine to the bottom of the frame and patent the design. The 1900 Werner is the first motorcycle layout.
1900 – The Singer Motor Wheel was a wheel attached to a small internal combustion engine that would be substituted for the front wheel of a bicycle, motorizing it

20th century

1903 – A California motorized bicycle ridden by George Wyman became the first motor vehicle to cross the North American continent.^[10]
1903 – 1962 The "Shaw Manufacturing Co." () of Galesburg, Kansas advertises a 241cc chain-drive engine kit (1903 – 1915) for motorizing a bicycle in "Popular Mechanics" magazine for $90.
1914 – The Smith Motor Wheel was introduced, similar in concept to the Singer, but was designed to be fixed to the rear of the bicycle, rather than to replace the front wheel. The design was later picked up by Briggs & Stratton.
1918 – Evans Power Cycle
1919 – Johnson Motor Wheel
1938- Fichtel & Sachs-Werke Germany introduced the (Brennabor) Saxonette, a hub driven bycicle . 60 ccm, 1.2 HP max. speed 30km/h. The engine was licensed to: Anker, Bismarck, Elfa, Excelsior, Gold-Rad, Hecker, Meister, Panther, Presto, Urania, Victoria and Wanderer. The inventor was Mr. Goldeband who gave the patents to F & S.
1939 – The bolt-on Whizzer bike motor is introduced; production continues until 1962.^[11] In Australia, the Autocycle Malvern Star was introduced, following the pattern of the British Autocycle^[12]
1946 – In Italy, Vincenti Piatti had designed a 50cc engine unit for driving portable lathes and also foresaw the possibilities of this engine power-assisting a bicycle – the Mini Motore.^[13]
1946 – The initial iteration of the VéloSoleX motorized bicycle is introduced to the French Public.
1948 – The Trojan Minimotor begins production in Britain and becomes immediately popular.
1949 – The Mobylette is introduced in France. Its concept was "a bicycle with a nice permanent back wind". This pattern gave its name to the French slang term for moped. 30 million copies were produced until 2002, evolving much through different models during half a century.
1950 – The British-made Cyclaid 31cc bolt on bicycle motor is introduced.^[14] This same year also sees the introduction of the popular Cyclemaster motor wheel, also made in Britain from a design by the German DKW company.^[15]
1952 – The 18cc German Lohmann is one of the few semi-diesel bike motors ever produced and is claimed to be the world's smallest bike motor.^[16]
1966 – The Vélosolex 3800 is introduced and becomes the most popular version of the Vélosolex motorized bicycle, production continues until 1988.[17]
1968 – The Honda P50 the last vehicle to incorporate a motor wheel as a power unit is discontinued.^[18]
1975 - Sears begins selling the Tanaka Bike Bug motor under its own Free Spirit brand name; U.S. sales of the Bike Bug continue until 1985.^[19]
1982 – The "Bumble Bike" friction drive (now Golden Eagle belt drive) is chosen as "Official Transportation" at the Knoxville Worlds Fair.
1985 – The Tour de Sol leads to the development of modern electric bicycles in Switzerland.
1986 – A group of Swiss students develops the Twike sociable tricycle. The prototype was purely human-powered, but all 850 production vehicles were human-electric hybrids.
2000 - Honda Step Compo, first folding electric bicycle.

21st century

2001 - the Hudspith Steam Bicycle makes its public debut at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.^[20]
2003 – Rif Addams(Sean Patrick Brown b. 1969) re-enacts George Wyman's 1903 San Francisco to New York run, on a custom-built Whizzer.
2006 – Motorized bicycling enjoys a resurgence in popularity, both as hobby and serious alternative transportation.
2006 – Motorized bicycle racing began in Tucson, Arizona with Death Race
2008 – The first "National" rally in the US, specifically for Motor-Assisted-Bicycles, took place in Ocean Park WA. There were 29 bikes, of various styles, representing 4 states.
2008 – A motorized bicycle ridden by Augie Deabler is accepted as an official entrant at the Bonneville Salt Flats "World of Speed '08." He used a Golden Eagle/Tanaka 32cc, and recorded a top speed in the standing mile of 32.4MPH.
2011 – Motorized Bicycle racing began in Southern California at the Willow Springs International Motorsports Park Go Kart track in Rosamond, CA on June 18, 2011. SoCal Motor Bicycle Racing continues to hold races in Southern California at Grange Motor Circuit in Apple Valley, California after the first race on October 20, 2011 and at Willow Springs International Motorsports Park.
2020 - Ufeel supercapacitor electric bicycle without battery introduced.^[21]

Related Research Articles

A motorcycle is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat.

A moped is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. Historically,the term exclusively meant a similar vehicle with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typically travel only a bit faster than bicycles on public roads.

Quadricycle refers to vehicles with four wheels.

A motorcycle engine is an engine that powers a motorcycle. Motorcycle engines are typically two-stroke or four-stroke internal combustion engines, but other engine types, such as Wankels and electric motors, have been used.

The six main types of motorcycles are generally recognized as standard, cruiser, touring, sports, off-road, and dual-purpose. Sport touring is sometimes recognized as a seventh category or integrated with the touring category.

A motorized 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 sometimes retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-powered propulsion, the motorized bicycle is in technical terms a true bicycle, albeit a power-assisted one. Typically they are incapable of speeds above 52 km/h (32 mph).

Solex is a brand name owned by a subsidiary of Italian automotive parts manufacturer, Magneti Marelli. The original Solex company was French-owned and produced carburetors and gasoline powered bicycles.

The history of the motorcycle begins in the second half of the 19th century. Motorcycles are descended from the "safety bicycle," a bicycle with front and rear wheels of the same size and a pedal crank mechanism to drive the rear wheel. Despite some early landmarks in its development, the motorcycle lacks a rigid pedigree that can be traced back to a single idea or machine. Instead, the idea seems to have occurred to numerous engineers and inventors around Europe at around the same time.

Hero Motors is a former moped and scooter manufacturer based in Delhi, India. It is a part of multinational company Hero Motors Company, which also currently owns Hero Motocorp and Hero Cycles, among others. Hero Motors was started in the 1960s to manufacture 50 cc two-stroke mopeds but gradually diversified into making larger mopeds, mokicks and scooters in the 1980s and the 1990s. Noteworthy collaborators and technical partners were Puch of Austria and Malaguti of Italy manufacturing Puch Maxi Plus and Malaguti Centro respectively in India with updated engines.

A scooter is a motorcycle with an underbone or step-through frame, a seat, and a platform for the rider's feet, emphasizing comfort and fuel economy. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motor scooters have been made since at least 1914.

The following outline is provided as an overview of motorcycles and motorcycling:

The Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede was a steam powered velocipede made in France sometime from 1867 to 1871, when a small Louis-Guillaume Perreaux commercial steam engine was attached to a Pierre Michaux manufactured iron framed pedal bicycle. It is one of three motorcycles claimed to be the first motorcycle, along with the Roper steam velocipede of 1867 or 1868, and the internal combustion engine Daimler Reitwagen of 1885. Perreaux continued development of his steam cycle, and exhibited a tricycle version by 1884. The only Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede made, on loan from the Musée de l'Île-de-France, Sceaux, was the first machine viewers saw upon entering the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum rotunda in The Art of the Motorcycle exhibition in New York in 1998.

The Roper steam velocipede was a steam-powered velocipede built by inventor Sylvester H. Roper of Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, United States sometime from 1867–1869. It is one of three machines which have been called the first motorcycle, along with the Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede, also dated 1867–1869, and the 1885 Daimler Reitwagen. Historians disagree over whether the Roper or the Michaux-Perreaux came first. Though the Reitwagen came many years later than the two steam cycles, it is often labeled as the "first motorcycle" because there is doubt by some experts whether a steam cycle should meet the definition of a motorcycle.

The Daimler Reitwagen or Einspur was a motor vehicle made by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in 1885. It is widely recognized as the first motorcycle. Daimler is often called "the father of the motorcycle" for this invention. Even when the steam powered two-wheelers that preceded the Reitwagen, the Michaux-Perreaux and Roper of 1867–1869, and the 1884 Copeland, are considered motorcycles, it remains nonetheless the first gasoline internal combustion motorcycle, and the forerunner of all vehicles, land, sea and air, that use its overwhelmingly popular engine type.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorized tricycle</span> Resembling a bicycle with two rear wheels and an engine

A motorized tricycle, motor trike, or motortrycle is a three-wheeled vehicle based on the same technology as a bicycle or motorcycle, and powered by an electric motor, motorcycle, scooter or car engine.

References

↑ Early Steam Cycle History Archived 2010-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
↑ http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_271.html%7C America on the Move, Smithsonian Institution, Roper Steam Velocipede
↑ "Daimler Petroleum Reitwagen". Archived from the original on 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
↑ Deutsches Zweirad Museum- Neckarsulm, First Motorcycle.
↑ Celebrates 125 Years of the Automobile, By Pia Reutter.
↑ California and Yale History ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, Roy C. Marks Motorcycle.
↑ Electric Bicycle Guide
↑ http://www.moto-histo.com/france/fr1/fr1.htm%7C%5B%5D 1868 - L'ere des Pionniers - 1914
↑ Laurin & Klement Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine , Laurin and Klement the first Motorcycle layout.
↑ Rafferty, Tod, The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Motorcycles, Philadelphia, PA: Courage Books (1999), p. 22
↑ Whizzer Bike
↑ Autocycle A B C
↑ Trojan Mini-Motor
↑ Five go Cyclemotoring
↑ "Cyclemaster power assisted bicycles". Archived from the original on 2005-07-30. Retrieved 2005-11-22.
↑ 1952 Lohmann engine
↑ "Solex Millenium, le velosolex 3800". Archived from the original on 2004-10-28. Retrieved 2005-11-22.
↑ Honda P50
↑ "Tanaka Tales". users.globalnet.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
↑ Hudspith, Geoff (2001). "The Hudspith Steam Bicycle" . Retrieved 17 May 2017.
↑ https://newmobility.news/2019/08/21/french-start-up-bets-on-e-bike-without-battery/ ^{[ dead link ]}

External links

National Autocycle & Cyclemotor Club from Britain
- Detailed historical list of motorized bicycle derivatives available in Britain

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[1] Early Steam Cycle History Archived 2010-08-10 at the Wayback Machine

[2] ttp://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_271.html%7C America on the Move, Smithsonian Institution, Roper Steam Velocipede

[3] "Daimler Petroleum Reitwagen". Archived from the original on 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2010-05-12.

[ZweiRad1-4] Deutsches Zweirad Museum- Neckarsulm, First Motorcycle.

[GermanMag-5] Celebrates 125 Years of the Automobile, By Pia Reutter.

[RCMarks-6] California and Yale History ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, Roy C. Marks Motorcycle.

[7] Electric Bicycle Guide

[8] ttp://www.moto-histo.com/france/fr1/fr1.htm%7C%5B%5D 1868 - L'ere des Pionniers - 1914

[IndBikeL&K-9] Laurin & Klement Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine , Laurin and Klement the first Motorcycle layout.

[10] Rafferty, Tod, The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Motorcycles, Philadelphia, PA: Courage Books (1999), p. 22

[11] Whizzer Bike

[12] Autocycle A B C

[13] Trojan Mini-Motor

[14] Five go Cyclemotoring

[15] "Cyclemaster power assisted bicycles". Archived from the original on 2005-07-30. Retrieved 2005-11-22.

[16] 1952 Lohmann engine

[17] "Solex Millenium, le velosolex 3800". Archived from the original on 2004-10-28. Retrieved 2005-11-22.

[18] Honda P50

[19] "Tanaka Tales". users.globalnet.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017.

[Hudspith-1-20] Hudspith, Geoff (2001). "The Hudspith Steam Bicycle" . Retrieved 17 May 2017.

[21] ttps://newmobility.news/2019/08/21/french-start-up-bets-on-e-bike-without-battery/ ^{[ dead link ]}

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