The first motorcycle design
The first mention of a mechanical vehicle, the motorcycle, dates back to 1791. At that time, in Paris, a very wealthy count, Made de Sivrac, demonstrated a very original vehicle to the city’s inhabitants. It consisted of two wheels borrowed from a horse-drawn cart, which were then placed one behind the other. As one might easily guess, they were connected by a wooden frame, initially called the “main axle.” But for this contraption to move, one had to use their legs to push off the ground. The first motorcycle that was a “self-propelled” vehicle was its steam model, constructed by the Michaux-Perreaux company. Of course, this design was created in France in 1869.
Pierre Michaux’s and his son Ernest’s “self-propelled” vehicle was simply a combination of a steel bicycle with Perreaux’s extremely light, single-cylinder small steam engine. The steam, generated in a low-pressure boiler heated by a petroleum burner, set this steam engine in motion, which, thanks to two belt drives located on both sides of the rear wheel hub, powered the entire motorcycle of that era. This vehicle could reach a speed of 16 km/h.
A breakthrough in motorcycle construction
In the 1880s, the English company The Humber Company built the first motorcycle, but this time it was powered by an electric motor. The breakthrough in motorization came with the application of a four-stroke internal combustion engine. The first such engine was constructed by the German engineer Gottlieb Daimler. Daimler’s motorcycle was a rather strange design, as the engine, with a vertical cylinder, was placed in the frame between two wheels. The rider’s seat was 900 mm above the road surface. Therefore, to better maintain balance, Daimler installed two auxiliary side wheels in this design, which he attached to the frame.
The American idea for a motorcycle
The first American motorcycle, of course, powered by an internal combustion engine, was built by E.J. Pennington in the early 1890s. The first mass-produced motorcycle was built by the German company Hildebrand & Wolfmüller in 1894. This vehicle was patented under the name “Motorrad,” which translates to “motorcycle.” In its design, the fuel tank was attached between its four diagonal steel frame tubes. Below it, a two-cylinder four-stroke engine, cooled by a special liquid, was installed. Its ignition was incandescent. A massive fender served as the radiator.
The tricycle designed by De Dion-Bouton
This design, as we know, enjoyed the greatest success at a time when the motorcycle was not yet a well-patented invention. The French De Dion-Bouton tricycle was the first to use electric ignition, which allowed it to reach speeds of over 50 kilometers per hour. A surface carburetor was used in the fuel system of this motorcycle model. The stream of air sucked in by the piston was then led through a special pipe through the entire fuel tank, where the air mixed very thoroughly with gasoline vapors. The mixture thus formed traveled to the cylinder, where its ignition occurred. Power to both rear wheels was achieved by means of a gear transmission.
The tricycle in our country
Tricycles, a special design by Albert de Dion and Georges Bouton, were imported into the Kingdom of Poland by the Warsaw Agricultural Machinery Representation, managed by Stanisław Grodzki. Thanks to the very modern design for its time, the De Dion-Bouton engines of this motorcycle were eagerly copied and used in many other European motorcycle designs. Polish motorcycle production was undertaken by the Central Automotive Workshops (CWS), located in Warsaw. This was, as we know, a motorcycle named “Sokół,” which was equipped with a four-stroke, two-cylinder 995 cm3 engine. In 1936, the production of the “SHL” motorcycle (Suchoniewska Foundry and Ludwików Steelworks) took place. Its designer was engineer R. Ekielski.
The editorial staff of “Dziennik Polonijny” had the opportunity to see several examples of motorcycles, which are valuable exhibits in the Kielce History Museum at ul. Leonarda 4 in the aforementioned city, and they are of the SHL brand, pre-war Kielce production.
