History of the first motorcycle

Two-wheeled motorbikes (motorcycles, motorbikes) have been and are popular means of transportation in many countries. Along with the need to use, the motorcycle manufacturing companies in many countries have constantly competed creatively, improved in terms of design and technical characteristics to assert the brand. It can be said that the motorcycle is not only a means of transportation but also a work of art. Owners of motorcycles are not only to travel but also to show their interests.

In Vietnam today, there are many brands, each brand has many cars and many motorbikes circulating on the roads, making the collection of two-wheeled motorbikes very diverse.

The second half of the 19th century: The history of motorcycles began

The idea of ​​motorcycle seems to have happened to many engineers and inventors especially in Europe after the advent of the invention: steam engine (James Watt), electric motor (Michael Faraday) bike, internal combustion engine (Etienne Lenoir), . in the late 18th and first half of the 19th century. The idea was expressed by the creation of "motor bike" models. Around the second half of the 19th century, marked a milestone for the development of motorcycles.

1868 - In France

The bike with the Michaux-Perreaux steam engine is the first motorcycle to be built in France by Pierre Michaux and Louis-Guillaume Perreaux. Pierre Michaux (June 25, 1883 - 1883) was a blacksmith, who provided parts for Paris commercial vehicles in the 1850s and 1860s. Louis-Guillaume Perreaux (February 19, 1981, April 5, 1889) is a French engineer who designed the first alcohol-powered steam engine bike in France. Their car was patented in 1868 and in 1869 was presented to the public.

So far, there has been some controversy about the author of this car due to the recognition of Perreaux's age in the patent. However, most are recognized as Michaux-Perreaux motorcycles. Currently, the original single Michaux-Perreaux is kept at the Ile-de-France museum

The Michaux-Perreaux includes a wrought-iron frame, designed in the form of a modified bicycle frame for a raised seat to provide space for small steam engines. The pedal mounted on the front wheel is still retained from the bicycle. The front wheels are larger than the rear wheels, all made of wrought iron wood, spokes of wrought iron. The engine is mounted on the vertical bar of the tilt frame at a 45-degree angle, behind it is a boiler and fuel tanks, water. It is a one-cylinder steam engine made of copper (external combustion engine), with a capacity of 0.5 horsepower. The movement of the engine is transmitted to the rear wheel according to the structure of the pulley wheel and the belt. However, the first car still has no shock absorbers and brakes.

When driving the Michaux-Perreaux, people first set fire to the fuel of burning alcohol to boil the water and turn it into steam, then the operator stepped on the seat and used the foot to pedal the pedal to move the car forward. Increasing the pressure of steam in the cylinder for the motor to pull the vehicle to run. The maximum speed of Michaux-Perreaux at that time was 15km / h.

1869 - In America

Leaving the land of the wine to the subcommittee Texas United States see nature lovers - cowboys shooting horses before going to the National Museum of America to find out the second candidate to take the throne " first motorcycle ".

The first steam-powered bicycle in France was not long ago, in the United States, in 1869, Sylvester H.Roper introduced its first steam engine in Massachusetts. Sylvester Howard Roper (1823 - 1896) is a prolific inventor in many fields. Currently, the prototype of the Roper1869 steam motorcycle is stored at the US Smithsonian Institute

The Roper is still a combination of steam engines and bicycles, but the engine mounting position is placed between two wheels like modern motorcycles. In terms of structure, Roper includes a steel chassis, designed in the form of a bike frame with 2 equal wheels. The distance between the front and rear wheels is 49 inches. Two wooden armored wheels on the outside, 34 inches in diameter. Hanging under the seat is a coal boiler, attached to the frame by a pair of springs. On the rear wheel side, on each side of the repeating frame a piston cylinder, with a duct connected to the boiler. In addition, a short chimney of the boiler erected from the back of the seat.

Motor movement is transmitted to the rear wheel according to the rod-handwheel mechanism. Footrests are attached to the front axles. Roper has 0.5 horsepower engine power and speeds reach 16km / h. Roper is considered to have many modern motorbike features, including a cable attached to the throttle handle, a chain from the steering wheel to pull a curved metal plate like a spoon against the front wheel as braking system.

The operator prepared to operate the Roper by opening the side door at the bottom of the boiler, setting fire to the charcoal in the burning furnace to boil water in the boiler and creating steam to power the engine. Water is supplied from the tank in the upper part of the boiler. When the steam pressure is large enough, the driver tightens the cable to "increase the throttle" for the vehicle to move forward.

The neighbors of Roper recounted that many pedestrians were frightened, annoyed by the noise and spicy smoke when he rode the car he created to go to the street. He even went to the police station for that reason but was quickly released because the patent was granted.

1885 - In Germany

Taking a direct flight from Washington to Berlin, I and I are now in the country of famous beer and sausages but we must temporarily "stop" to carry out our main task in the journey to find out. the third member of the 'first motorcycle' title.

A copy of the Reitwagen located at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart

Copy of the Reitwagen of Honda Motegi Museum, Japan

The candidate for the world 's "first motorcycle" title here was called the Reitwagen by the German Gottlieb Daimler (1834 - 1900) in 1885. Patent No. DRP 36,423 was awarded to Gottlieb on August 11, 1886 in Germany. The prototype of the Reitwagen was lost in a massive fire in 1903 at Daimler's DMG factory in Cannstatt, so the Reitwagen displayed at some museums was an exact replica of its drawings and records.

How did Daimler build the Reitwagen? From his passion for mechanical engineering, Gottlieb Daimler showed a passion for mechanical engineering while in high school. In 1852, Gottlieb Daimler did not follow his father's baking business, but decided to choose mechanical engineering and left his hometown to begin mechanical engineering work in Graffenstaden. In 1857-1859, he returned to study engineering at Stuttgart Polytechnic. Then, to broaden the technical understanding, he went to some European countries working on the internal combustion engine of JJ Lenoir, locomotives, .

In 1863, Daimler befriended Wilhelm Maybach, a 19-year-old industrial designer who later became his long-term partner. In 1872, Daimler and Maybach went to work for Nikolaus Otto's company. In the company, Daimler and Maybach joined the engineering team with Otto focusing on building a four-stroke gasoline engine. In 1877, Otto patented a combustion engine in four stroke. In 1882, Daimler and Maybach left Otto with the same idea of ​​forming before, they established a production plant to jointly research and develop a high-speed small motor that could be mounted on a variety of vehicles. on the ground, in the river and in the air.

Secret, hard to solve difficulties. Daimler and Maybach knew well the limitations of the existing Otto engines were ignition systems and fuel supply - this was the problem they had to deal with. Maybach found inspiration in a drawing by British engineers Watson. After many trials, Maybach has developed a "hot-fire" ignition system that ensures stable ignition and can accelerate the engine as desired.

The system has a structure and operation according to the principle: an external heating tube, directed at the cylinder at the position of the spark plug later. When compressed with pistons in cylinders, the fuel mixture resists hot pipes and is naturally burned. In the process of manufacturing research, the creative activities kept secret by the two men.

Inside the factory where Daimler and Maybach worked day and night in secret

4 petrol engine is horizontal with hot fire tube

Race to receive a patent

Despite knowing the patent for a gasoline engine, the Otto DRP 532 is still valid, but with the difference in engine size, the ignition system is built and especially with the art of words of G.Daimler. The patent for a 4-stroke gasoline engine is horizontal with a hot fire hose that was issued on December 23, 1883. Predictably, it will have to run a patent with Otto, Karl Benz and other inventors, so only one The week after the patent for "4 petrol engines is horizontal with hot fire pipes" is granted, G.Daimler continues to submit another patent to a system "controlling the speed of the engine by controlling Exhaust valves " to protect your invention.

Model pendulum clock motor

The improved version of the engine is then a four-cylinder vertical cylinder engine, named "pendulum clock" (because it looks like a pendulum clock) and is patented in April of the year. 1885. In the "pendulum clock" , the crank mechanism and flywheel are first encased in an oil and dust-resistant crankcase, which has an air-cooled cylinder. It is designed to be compact and suitable for installation in many types of equipment: 60kg volume, 264cc cylinder capacity, 0.5 horsepower capacity (0.37kW) at 650 rpm (650rpm). This is considered a precursor to modern gasoline engines.

The Reitwagen was born

Original photo of the Reitwagen

Daimler and Maybach installed the "Pendulum Clock" in a wooden bike to create the first motorcycle and name it Reitwagen or Einspur. In 1885, Daimler filed a patent and a year later, he was awarded a patent for his Reitwagen.

The Reitwagen has a wooden frame, steel-lined wooden wheels on the outside, handles and saddle. Two small wheels act like anti-legs similar to the 2 wheels on the bike of children who just started to ride. The back T-shaped handle is made of steel. The seated saddle is a sheet of metal that bends U-shaped, wrapped in leather and placed directly on the engine. Reitwagen weighs 90 kg, cylinder capacity 264cc uses fuel as fuel or kerosene. Rear-wheel drive system follows pulley and belt gear mechanism. Reitwagen can reach a maximum speed of 12km / h.

Reitwagen must be started before riding and operating. To start the engine, first light a small flame under a hot fire tube and use the crank to rotate the engine a few times. It takes about a minute after starting the engine to run well, the operator sits on the seat and impacts the drive control drive for the vehicle to run.

Since there is no clutch, so to change the speed, the operator impacts on the belt support wheel to select the pulley wheel for the belt (similar to the plate transfer mechanism and the bike wheel today). Two selectable speeds are 6 or 12km / h depending on the pulley that belt chooses.

Historical moment - first test . Daimler Paul's son, 17, became the first motorcyclist on November 10, 1885, when he rode the Reitwagen from Cannstatt to Untertürkheim and returned (about 10km) at a speed of 12km / h. With the condition of roads at that time, the Reitwagen hardly had a comfortable journey. However, the biggest problem is the heat of the engine fire under the seat.

First motorbike accident

Sylvester H.Roper car - USA in 1894.

Still a steam engine after more than 25 years of improvement and development since the Roper 1869 was born. The 1894 Roper participated in the motorbike accident for the first time with its own inventor.

Comments of analysts - arguments are gradually solved

Using a broad definition for a motorbike, there were two first two-wheeled steam engines, one built in France by Louis-Guillame Perreaux and Pierre Michaux in 1868, a construction in the United States by Sylvester Roper soon after, which he proved at the fair, circus in different places. With a sufficient definition for a motorbike with two wheels and an internal combustion engine, the Reitwagen was built in Germany by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in 1885 as the first motorcycle in the world, the arrival of It is a beginning for a history of development over a hundred years.

A debate about the identification of the first motorbike was invented happened, some argued that two wheels and a steam engine had to be considered, though not developed, but its birth stunned Later creations, others stressed that an internal combustion engine is an important component. Most experts agree that 'Reitwagen built in Germany in 1885 was the first motorbike in the world'.

However, Reitwagen is only a test result in the development of an internal combustion engine of Daimler and Maybach, so it has not been produced commercially. The first mass-produced motorcycle was Hildebrand & Wolfmüller "Motorrad" (or H&W Motorrad) by brothers Henry and Wilhelm Hildebrand in cooperation with Alois Wolfmüller and Hans Geisenhof, which were created and patented in January. 1894 in Germany. Vehicles fitted with 4-stroke gasoline engines, 2 parallel cylinders of 1489cc capacity, 2.5 horsepower capacity at 240 rpm, water-cooled. Speed ​​is about 45 km / h. This is also the first time the word "motorrad" (in German "Motorrad" ) is used. They organized production in Munich and also franchised the production of this car in France under the name "The Pétrolette" .

Copy of Hildebrand & Wolfmüller