Petrol cycle

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Petrol cycle from 1887

The Petrol-Cycle , also known as the motor tricycle , from 1885/1887 was one of the first tricycles with a combustion engine .

Development and technology

In 1884, the English inventor Edward Butler (1863–1940) presented the first drawings of his motorized tricycle, in 1885 a first model was presented to the press in London and in 1887 Butler took out a patent (No. 15598) on his motorized tricycle , which he called “Petrol-Cycle “Called. Whether the Butler motor tricycle from 1885/1887 was ever actually ridden in public is controversial. In any case, the vehicle led to "numerous quarrels between the British and Germans" as to whether it drove before the Benz patented motor car number 1 .

In the first model (1885/1887) the Butler motor tricycle was moved by a water-cooled two - stroke engine (Clerk system). Two cylinders on the left and right at the height of the wheel axle with a total of 1073 cm³ displacement (57 mm bore, 203 mm stroke) provided the drive via curved push rods to the rear wheel. The mudguard was tank and radiator in one function, the rotary valve-controlled engine already had a float carburetor . The motor tricycle was steered with two rods, attached to the left and right of the driver, which acted on the front wheels. Two support wheels, operated by a pedal, lifted the driven rear wheel before the start, when starting they were manually brought back into the driving position, as the motor tricycle had no power interruption ( clutch ).

Another patented motor tricycle (1889) was driven by a four-stroke engine and power was transmitted via a planetary gear . In 1896 Butler broke off his attempts at the "Petrol Cycle" and, shortly before the repeal of the Red Flag Act , sold his patents to Harry John Lawson. However, the British Motor Syndicate never produced the vehicle.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Roger Hicks: The international encyclopedia motorcycles. Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 1st edition 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02660-5 , p. 112
  2. ^ LJK Setright: The Guinness Book of Motorcycling. Facts and Feats. 1982, ISBN 0-85112-255-8 , p. 18
  3. ↑ 3wheelers.com Butler (accessed December 7, 2011)
  4. ↑ a b c d e encyclopedia of the motorcycle. Instituto Geografico De Agostini, 1996. ISBN 3-86047-142-2 . P. 94
  5. ↑ 3wheelers.com Butler (accessed December 7, 2011)