Werner (motorcycle)

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Werner
Werner 230 cc 1904.jpg
"New Werner" (1904)
Manufacturer Werner brothers
Production period 1897 to 1901
"Model 1901" to 1908
class Motorbike
Motor data
Four-stroke engine , air-cooled single-cylinder engine, sniffer valve , pump lubrication, surface carburetor, glow tube ignition, from 1898 battery coil ignition
Displacement  (cm³) 217
Power  (kW / PS ) about 0.75 hp at 1200 min -1
Top speed (  km / h) approx 35
drive Friction roller later belt drive
Brakes front: block brake
(model 1901) rear: band brake
Empty weight  (kg) 25th

The Werner from 1897 was the first motor bike with front wheel drive .

Model 1897

The Werner brothers in Paris came up with the idea of ​​equipping a bicycle with a small motor in 1896. The lightweight single-cylinder - four-stroke engine was produced by Hippolyte Labitte 1896th The 10 kg light motor was mounted directly in front of the steering head; initially designed as a friction roller drive . The elastic belt drive proved to be more advantageous, so that it was used in series production. The first motorbike by the Werner brothers, called the “Motocyclette”, still had glow tube ignition . In 1898 the motor bike was revised. The engine received an increase in output to 1.5 HP due to the increase in displacement to 232 cm³ and the more reliable battery coil ignition with interrupter. When driving uphill, the pedals could be used to assist the motor. It started with the pedals, which could be locked after starting the engine to serve as a support for the feet.

Model 1901

In 1901 the "Neue Werner" appeared. In the completely revised model, now with a curb weight of 41 kg, the motor was integrated into the bicycle frame similar to the Laurin & Klement Type 1 . The engine, a power unit supplied by De-Dion-Bouton with 225 cm³ displacement and 2.75 hp, later (1904) with 262 cm³ displacement and 3.25 hp and spray nozzle carburetor, allowed a top speed of 45 km / h. Participation in the Paris – Vienna race ended with a double victory in the motorcycle class for the “Neue Werner”. The success was repeated with a victory in the 1903 Paris – Madrid race . The models available for sale were accordingly offered as “2.75 HP Paris – Vienna” and “3.25 HP Paris – Madrid”. In 1905 a two-cylinder model with 4 hp was launched.

distribution

In 1897 only a few dozen Werner motorcycles were made, in 1898 production began in large numbers; thousands were sold. The production amounted to 300 to 500 Motocyclette per year. The low weight as well as the technical reliability ensure the distribution throughout Europe.

Licensees were u. a. the Eisenach vehicle factory , the Cyklon machine factory and the British Motor Syndicate under Harry John Lawson. In 1931 the German manufacturer NSU offered the concept of front-wheel drive, but with chain drive, with its NSU Motosulm . The French manufacturer Solex took up the original idea of ​​the Werner brothers in 1946 with its Vélosolex with friction roller drive.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b Juraj Porazik: Motorbikes from the years 1885 to 1940. Slovart Verlag, 1983. ISBN 978-3768402408 , p. 52 ff
  2. ^ A b Christian Rey and Harry Louis: Famous Motorcycles. ISBN 3-453-52062-9 . P. 22
  3. ^ A b Christian Bartsch (ed.): A century of motorcycle technology. VDI-Verlag Düsseldorf. ISBN 3-18-400757-X . P. 15
  4. bicycles. In: Polytechnisches Journal . 308, 1898, pp. 214-217.
  5. Roger Hicks: The international encyclopedia motorcycles. Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 1st edition 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02660-5 , p. 503
  6. ^ Cyril Posthumus and Dave Richmond: Motorcycles Yesterday and Today. Munich 1978, ISBN 3-453-52080-7 , p. 17