Ner-a-car

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Ner-a-Car from 1924
Wheel hub steering of the Ner-a-Car
engine and gears
Advertisement from July 1922 in Popular Mechanics

The Ner-a-Car was an American motorcycle made by the Neracar Corporation of Syracuse , which was offered for sale from 1921 to 1926. It was the first motorcycle with wheel hub steering for the front wheel guidance. The name Ner-a-Car is derived from its designer Carl A. Neracher, who set out to build a "near-car".

Beginnings

Carl A. Neracher (1882–1969), who worked as an engineer at Overland , had already acquired a patent for the "car-like vehicle" in 1919. Neracher received financial support for his project from King Camp Gillette . In 1921, production started at the Syracuse plant in quantities of up to 150 per day . The Ner-a-Car was also manufactured under license in England by Sheffield Simplex Motor Works ; there, however, with an engine with a larger displacement.

technology

The frame of the motorcycle consisted of two sheet steel parts into which the engine and the friction gear were hung. A wide fender on the front wheel protected the driver from dirt. The free passage allowed women to ride the motorcycle in normal street clothes. The front wheel was guided and sprung with a pushed swing arm. So that the wheel could be turned for steering, the inner ring of the wheel bearing was rotatably attached to the swing arm with a kingpin. It was steered with a steering lever, which sat on the bearing of the front wheel and was connected to the handlebars via a pull rod. The wheel hub steering had only a small steering angle. The unsprung rear wheel was driven by a friction gear and a chain. The five gears of the continuously variable transmission resulted from fixed positions of the friction disc. The engine, a two-stroke single cylinder with a displacement of 221 cm³, developed 2.5  hp (1.8  kW ) (model A). The English model of the licensee Sheffield Simplex Motor Works had an engine enlarged to 285 cm³ (model B), in a later version (model C, from year of construction 1924) a four-stroke engine from Blackburne with a three-speed gearbox from Sturmey-Archer . The top speed of the purely utility vehicle was 35  mph (56 km / h). Erwin G. Baker ("Cannonball" Baker) crossed the United States in 1922 with a Ner-a-Car from New York to Los Angeles in 27 days. Its average speed was 31 km / h with a consumption of 3.2 liters per 100 km.

The price of the 75 kg lightweight motorcycle was 225 US dollars , the English version cost 85 pounds . In 1926 the plants in the USA and England closed due to lack of demand.

10,000 Ner-a-Car are said to have been produced in the USA and 6,500 in England; around 100 vehicles are said to still exist today.

Web links

Commons : Ner-a-Car  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

See also

Remarks

  1. ↑ There is also an ambiguity about the name of the designer.
  2. ↑ This model is said to have reached a top speed of 88 km / h with an empty weight of 113 kg.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Roger Hicks: The international encyclopedia motorcycles . Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 1st edition 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02660-5 , p. 375
  2. ↑ a b c d Christian Rey and Harry Louis: Famous Motorcycles . Wilhelm Heyne Verlag Munich, 1977, ISBN 3-453-52062-9 . P. 70
  3. ↑ Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle . Instituto Geografico De Agostini, 1996, ISBN 3-86047-142-2 , p. 356
  4. ^ A b Hugo Wilson: The Lexicon of the motorcycle . Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 2001, ISBN 3-613-01719-9 , p. 140
  5. ↑ Ner-a-Car with a female driver ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ner-a-car.com
  6. ^ The Art Of The Motorcycle . Guggenheim Museum, Las Vegas, ISBN 0-89207-207-5 , p. 146
  7. ↑ Helmut Krackowizer: Milestones in motorcycle history . Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 1st edition 1987, ISBN 3-613-01141-7 , p. 33
  8. ↑ bonhams.com Bonhams: Ner-A-Car (accessed July 6, 2013)