Motorcyclepedia Museum III: A Brief History of Motorcycles: Part I

Exact Replica of 1885 Daimler, the World's First True Motorcycle

The first motorcycles appeared in the late 1880s. Here's an 1895 Pennington--unlike the Daimler above, not a replica:

The first production motorcycles were bicycles with attached motors-- motor bicycles. The earliest manufacturers offered kits to convert bikes to motor power as well as bicycles with motors already attached.

Here's an example-- a 1902 Columbia by Pope:

 Note the bicycle elements-- the suspensionless frame, the thin tires, the swept-back handlebars, the seat, and the pedals. Motorcycles wouldn't lose their pedals until about 1910.

Here are the 1901-1903 Indian models.Looks like Indian was borrowing from Pope; compare the placements of the gas tanks.

By 1908 or so motorcycles looked rather like bicycles on steroids. The frames and tires were beefier and the motors larger; some had two cyclinders..Check out this Rex...

... and this 1908 Reading Standard:

They were still bicycles, though.

Nonetheless, some manufacturers would soon invent design elements that would re-emerge nearly 100 years later as shiny and new:

...belt drives (but note the supplementary chain!)...

... shaft drives...

trikes...

... extended (chopper) front forks...

solid wheels...

...and monoshocks:

Notice the spaded rear tire on this 1941 Indian hill climber. Such tires would soon be outlawed from competition.

The earliest motorcycles had but one cylinder.The 1904 Indian's engine displaced 13 cubic inches or 213 cc and developed just 1.75 horsepower-- less than even the cheapest power lawn motor. By contrast, the 254cc Honda CBR250 developed 23.7 hp. The Honda red lines at an incredible 19,000 RPM. The early motorcycle engines probably ran at 2500 rpm or below. Many had a long stroke, which helped develop torque but limits the speed at which the engine could turn, but that accounts for only a fraction of the difference. Motorcycle engines have come a long way.

The early bikes shared another feature-- this one a nuisance. They engines didn't have integral fuel pumps; riders had to squeeze a bulb or work a lever every minute or two to inject oil into the crankcase-- else the motor would seize.

The 1911 Merkel featured a syringe for injecting oil. Here's a photo of this beautifully restored twin-cylinder motorcycle.

Here's a 500cc single-cylinder Merkel from 1910.

Note the brass-handled oil injector on this early hill climber:

Early tires were white, as on the Merkel, above. Later, in an attempt to make them last longer and perform better, carbon was added; this made them black.

Here's a photo off an original tire from the early years of the Twentieth century:

The earliest bikes had no lights. When headlights first appeared, they were powered by gas. The light below looks as if it might have used calcium carbide:

Shifters, linkages, and motor components were often complex and sometimes awkward.

Some bikes, however, had clean lines-- even this 1910 four-cylinder Pierce.

By the mid-teens most motorcycles had suspensions of some sort and manual oil injectors and pedals had disappeared. Multi-cylinder models were common (many manufacturers offered models with one, two, three, and even four cylinders. Motorcycles were beginning to come into their own.

Here's a three-cylinder Excelsior. Bet it was loud with those open pipes!