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Motorcycle History
It wasnt until the 1890s that what we know as the modern motorcycle was born.
Coincidentally, this also heralded the invention of the first motorcycles available for
public purchase. Gone were the steam-pumping of old; internal combustion now
provided propulsion for the motorcycle. German engineers Hildebrand and
Wolfmuller pipped American and British manufacturers including the Excelsior
Motor Company, Royal Enfield and Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company (US)
to the commercial post by introducing their eponymous internal combustion model
in 1894, which was also the first model to be referred to as a motorcycle (motorrad).
But they only produced a couple thousand bikes in total and couldnt keep up with
their larger counterparts.
The First World War saw an increased interest in motorcycles for war
communications, and at one point American manufacturer Harley-Davidson (founded
1903) had devoted 50 per cent of its output to the war effort. Messengers on
motorcycles became a more familiar sight than those on horseback, and the British
company Triumph, which had switched from bicycles to motorcycles in 1902, got in
on the action with its 1915 Model H. Often considered the first modern motorcycle,
the Triumph Model H had no pedals and a reputation for reliability essential in the
midst of combat.
The Plane
It wasnt until the turn of the nineteenth century that an English baronet
from the gloomy moors of Yorkshire conceived a flying machine with fixed
wings, a propulsion system, and movable control surfaces. This was the
fundamental concept of the airplane. Sir George Cayley also built the first
true airplane a kite mounted on a stick with a movable tail. It was crude,
but it proved his idea worked, and from that first humble glider evolved the
amazing machines that have taken us to the edge of space at speeds
faster than sound.
This wing of the museum focuses on the early history of the airplane, from
its conception in 1799 to the years just before World War I. Because we are
a museum of pioneer aviation, we dont spend a great deal of time on those
years after Orville Wright closed the doors of the Wright Company in 1916.
We concentrate on the development of the airplane before it was
commonplace, when flying machines were odd contraptions of stick, cloth,
and wire; engines were temperamental and untrustworthy; and pilots were
never quite sure whether theyd be able to coax their machine into the air or
bring it down in one piece.
Questions:
1. What decade was born the modern motorcycle?
It wasnt until the 1890s that what we know as the modern motorcycle
was born.
2. Who outscored the Americans and British manufacturers?
German engineers Hildebrand and Wolfmuller pipped at American and
British manufacturers.
3. What century was built the first airplane?
It wasnt until the turn of the nineteenth century
4. Who built the first airplane?
Sir George Cayley also built the first true airplane
5. When the doors of Wright Company were closed?
The door of the Wright Company were closed in 1916