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A feet first (FF) motorcycle is a class of motorcycle design which positions the rider with their feet ahead, like a car, rather than below and astride, as with conventional bikes. As there are other types of motorcycle (e.g. choppers ) that have a 'feet forward' position, an alternative term sometimes used is advanced single track vehicle .
The Bi-Autogo was a prototype American cyclecar, built from 1908 to 1912. [1] [2]Designed and built by Detroit artist & engineer James Scripps Booth, [3] it had the usual two wheels (wooden-spoked, 37 inches (940 mm)), plus two pairs of smaller, retractable outrigger wheels [4] in the three-seater body. [3]
Design columnist Glynn Kerr, ignoring the Michaux-Perraux altogether and championing the Roper, feels it would be more accurate to call the Daimler Reitwagen, "the predecessor of all gasoline-driven vehicles on land, sea, or air", but not a true motorcycle because it used two outrigger wheels to remain upright and could not lean. [8]
It had a 264-cubic-centimetre (16.1 cu in) single-cylinder Otto cycle four-stroke engine mounted on rubber blocks, with two iron tread wooden wheels and a pair of spring-loaded outrigger wheels to help it remain upright. [13] Its engine output of 0.37 kW (0.5 hp) at 600 rpm gave it a speed of about 11 km/h (6.8 mph). [1]
Small outrigger wheels are fitted to nylon legs under each wing. [1] [2] The fuselage is of steel tube construction, covered in fabric [1] and the wings are constructed of wood and fabric around a single spar. [2]
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or, if three-wheeled, a trike) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat. [1] [2] [3] Motorcycle designs vary greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport (including racing), and off-road riding.
The Roper steam velocipede was a steam-powered velocipede built by inventor Sylvester H. Roper of Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, United States sometime from 1867 to 1869.It is one of three machines which have been called the first motorcycle, [1] along with the Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede, also dated 1867–1869, and the 1885 Daimler Reitwagen.
The Steffey motorcycle in 1902, essentially a bicycle with a two-stroke engine attached, used wooden, rims with wire spokes. [1] This style of wheel evolved into a stouter motorcycle-specific wheel, still with spokes, up to the 1960s and beyond. [2]: 134 In April, 1922, Borrani started production of motorcycle wheels with an aluminium rim. [3]