Summary
The New Werner was a motorcycle produced by Werner Motors beginning in 1901. It replaced Werner's 1897 model, whose motor placed above the front wheel caused handling problems.[2][3] Production ceased in 1908.[4] Some 50, now known as the "Leitner Rossiya Motorcycle", were also produced under license in Russia with Fafnir engines at the Riga bicycle works.[4]
 1904 Werner | |
| Manufacturer | Werner Motors |
|---|---|
| Production | 1901–1908 |
| Predecessor | Werner 1897 "Motocyclette" |
| Engine | 217 cc single-cylinder, four-stroke, surface carburetor |
| Bore / stroke | 62 × 72 mm |
| Power | 1.5 hp (1.1 kW) |
| Ignition type | Platinum hot tube ignition or battery and trembler coil |
| Transmission | Rawhide belt drive |
| Weight | c. 100 lb (45 kg)[1] (dry) |
The New Werner's lasting innovation was to place the engine at the lowest point in a bicycle-style diamond frame, where a bicycle crank would have been (the bicycle pedals, crank and redundant chain were relocated rearward and retained for starting and hillclimbing assistance). The pattern of low-mounted engine inside some kind of motorcycle frame became the standard motorcycle layout for the 20th century.[5][6][7][8]
The intake valve was automatic (actuated by atmospheric pressure) and the exhaust valve was cam driven.[9]
At 30 miles per hour (48 km/h), it was the fastest production motorcycle from the time it was introduced until the 1911 model year FN Four was introduced.[citation needed]
The New Werner was selected by Cycle World's Kevin Cameron as the most influential motorcycle of all time.[10] It was shown in the Guggenheim Museum's 2001–2003 The Art of the Motorcycle exhibition in Las Vegas.[citation needed]
Notes edit
- ^ Kelly, p. 61
- ^ Grace's Guide
- ^ Bonhams: "The [1897] Werner, however, was not without its shortcomings, not the least of which was the dreaded 'sideslip', a consequence of the design's high centre of gravity, whereupon the hot tube ignition would cause the fallen machine to catch fire."
- ^ a b Kelly, p. 56
- ^ Louis and Currie, p. 22: "The Werner engine position was so logical, so absolutely right, that the new machine was to be the prototype of motor cycles for years ahead."
- ^ Setright 1976, p. 15: "[T]he New Werner provided an archetype for the modern motorcycle, the crystalline form that was to be multiplied and mirrored a thousand times... in which they passed from being experimental playthings of a lunatic minority to becoming the recreational or workaday transport of a considerable number."
- ^ Setright 1979, p. 26: "the layout [was] copied everywhere..."
- ^ Bonhams: "The 1901 Werner is generally acknowledged as the first powered two-wheeler to carry its engine in the frame where the bicycle's bottom bracket and pedalling gear had been located, and thus is credited as the progenitor of the modern motorcycle.
- ^ Louis and Currie, p. 22
- ^ Cameron 2012
References edit
- c.1908 Werner 230cc — Frame no. 1911 — Engine no. 1C10CN-201270, Bonhams, February 5, 2011, retrieved 2013-10-22
- Cameron, Kevin (January 19, 2012), "The Five Greatest Motorcycles", Cycle World
- Werner Motors, Grace's Guide to British Industrial History, March 31, 2013, retrieved 2013-04-20
- Kelly, Maurice A. (2009), Russian Motor Vehicles: The Czarist Period 1784 to 1917, Veloce Publishing Ltd, ISBN 9781845842130
- Louis, Harry; Currie, Bob (1976), The classic motorcycles (1st ed.), New York: Dutton, ISBN 0525082034
- Setright, L.J.K. (1976), Motorcycles, London: Arthur Baker, OCLC 2692115
- Setright, L.J.K. (1979). The Guinness Book of Motorcycling Facts and Feats. Guinness Superlatives. pp. 8–18. ISBN 0-85112-200-0.
See also edit
External links edit
- Werner 1903, Yesterday's Antique Motorcycles (Nederweert, the Netherlands)