The Saint Paul globe., 1897-04-11

A new bicycle motor, the invention of
Fred Nye and I. ]. Lewis, two Amer
leans, is interesting the wheelmen Of
Great Britain. 1t is a small oil engine,
detachable, which can be used with the
ordinary bicycle of any manufacture.
1t is not necessary to alter the machine
In any way. Any wheel can be turned
into motorcycle in five minutes.
The great fault with the motorcycles
which have been placed before the
public heretofore is that they are more
or less unwteldly. Each has a tank or
reservoir, and an engine, and a great
deal Of awkward gearing. Then the
rider has always been confronted with
the necessity of knowing something Of
mechanics, and the constant danger of
q breakdown which could not be rem
edied short Of the shop. To be sure,
tIhe motorcycles have developed excel
lent speed, but the balance on the ledg-
er has been generally against them,
because it was really too much trouble
t@Fide them. Just for this reasOn-that
the average cyclist wants the pleasure
of his ride without annoyance of undue
Iabor--he motorcycle has been ex-
plotted, admired and then placed to
one side.
The inventive mind u an American
has provided the real motive power for
the bicycle, if cyclists in London are to
be credited with having opinions wor-
thy Of consideration. It is so simple
this invention, that everybody is won
dering why no one else thought of it.
The engine is only a tiny affair. and
vnr~xv -fvr 10 f,.1,
point. 1t takes up very little room and
IN no way makes a wheel unwieldy.
1t weighs twelve and a half pounds.
The fuel used is either petroleum, gasO-
line or naphtha. The fuel is carried in
the tubes which form the frame Of the
engine, and thus the necessity for the
ugly appearing reservoir is done away
with
When placed in position on the wheel
the engine is bOlted to the frame in a
vertical position. 1t is placed just over
Inc steering wheel, and is geared
down with single purchase gear onto
The crank or sprocket wheel. The di-
ameter Of the fly wheel is nine and
three-fourths inches. The diameter of
the cylinder is one and one-uuarter
inches, and the length of the stroke is
three inches. The height of the en-
gine, including the fiy-wheel. is four
teen inches. Its breadth is nine and
three-fOurths inches, and the depth
from front to back is six inches.
The speed which this tiny engine can
cause wheel to make is astonishing.
when the size and weight are consid-
cred. It develops one and One-haIf
horse power and runs at a speed of
100 revolutions a minute There is
no engine today in existence of such
compactnesS and power. A speed of
impetus of the rider can be easily
maintained just as long as the supply
OF fuel for the engine lasts
On a recent trip from London TO
! Liverpool, a distance of 202 miles. a
Wheelman mounted Oh an ordinary cy-
Gle of English make, impelled by the
Vest Pocket Bicycle Engine" av-
eraged fourteen and a half miles an
hour. This rider, William Simonson.
In speaking of his trip. said that the
engine worked as smoothly every mo-
ment as the pedals do under ordinary
circumstances. The jarring of the ma
chine, where the road was a bit rough
seemed to have no i'll effect on the en-
CINE, which lacks the complicated
features that are peculiar to most
small contrivances Of the sort This
. Iondon-LiverpoOl journey is the best
test the engine has yet endured
When the wheel, empelled by an engine, is
IN motion, the rider simply permits his feet
10 rest on the pedals, which move under
ordinary circumstances. 1t is possible how
ever, TO equip the machine with an appliance
that will enable the wheelman to sit perfectly
quiet, if he does not care for exercise. Ex-