According to several archaeologists, the invention of the wheel is attributed to Mesopotamia (Iraq) some 3,500 years before Christ, back 5,500 years from today. We know that the first wheels were full- bodied, made of a whole piece of rock or made of wood in an assembly of three or four parts. This invention made the movement of chariots much easier, powered by horses or human physical force. Wheels with spokes and rims, much lighter, appeared some 2,000 years before Christ, or 4,000 years from today. These wheels are linked to the axle, an axis that joins two wheels on either side of the body shell. In order to reduce friction between the axis and the chassis frame, many methods were used, such as boring a hole in a plank, which serves as a host for the axle and where rollers (pebbles) lubricated with oil are located. Later on, wheels were mounted on their axis with the use of ball bearings or a hydraulic bearing.
The use of either of these methods assures a trustworthy mechanical link, with a minimum of friction. The invention of the wheel has brought on many means of transport such as:
The rickshaw
Created in Japan in 1868, a two wheel cart, pulled or pushed by a man, still in use today, in India for example. This method of transportation was highly popular with Japanese aristocracy and with geishas, to the point where taxis were created. Little by little, this vehicle went through many improvements.
The carriage
Drawn by an animal, this vehicle originating from central Europe in the 18th century can be pulled by one or many horses. In the course of time this carriage has gone through many changes. In the 19th century, the horse-drawn carriage becomes an elegant mean of transport, essentially used for strolling when the weather allowed. It was in style in Paris at this point. It was hitched to 4 or 6 horses, where those to the left were each ridden by a horseman.
The stagecoach
The vast expanses of North America helped popularize the use of the stage-coach drawn by several horses. As of 1818, transport services on a larger scale are provided and the stagecoach takes on more importance. At its peak, the stagecoach was divided into three compartments, from the front to the back, the two seat coupé (sometimes convertible), the four-door sedan or inside and the rotonda. The stagecoach would later be replaced by the train.
Cars
The first cars to appear date back to 1771. The long load dolly, built by Joseph Cugnot, is considered by many as being the first automobile. Powered by a steam engine and designed for the transport of canons, its top speed was 3.5 km/h. Up until the end of the 19th century, but for a few exceptions, all automobiles were steam driven. The first trials at propulsion by an internal combustion motor were done by Isaac de Rivas, of Swiss nationality, as early as 1807.
In England, Samuel Brown followed his example, but it’s in France, in 1862, that Étienne Lenoir, of Belgian descent, devised the first internal combustion motor that was truly operational, a two stroke without pre-compression. The fuel powered motor appeared after 1876 when the 4 stroke motor was used. It was in 1883 that two Frenchmen, Édouard Delamarre Deboutteville and Léon Molandrin, first equipped a road vehicle with a 4 stroke engine.
The bicycle
The modern bicycle, as we know it today, dates back to the end of the 19th century, in 1885 more precisely. The story of the bike started with the famous hobby horse, an invention by German baron Karl Drais von Sauerbronn that was presented in 1817 at les jardins du Luxembourg in Paris. It was equipped with a steering wheel swivel linked to a rudder, an ancestor of handlebars, and was powered by the alternate movement of the rider’s feet on the ground.
The creation of the modern bicycle is credited to two modest artisans who were established in Paris as locksmith-car builders. In 1861, Pierre Michaud and his son Ernest came up with the idea, while repairing a hobby horse, to install a footrest on the hub of the front wheel and use it to propel the wheel: the pedal board was born. In 1869, a Frenchman by the name of André Guilmet had a velocipede built with pedals located in the current central position, that were linked to a chain transmitting motion to the back wheel. Sadly enough, one year later Guilmet was killed in the war opposing France to the Prussians and his invention was forgotten. It was only in 1879 that an Englishman by the name of Harry Lawson came up with the same idea. With help from industrialist J.K Stanley, Lawson presented the Rover Safety in 1885. Finally, it was in 1879 that Swiss born Hans Renold, a graduate of Zurich’s polytechnic school and immigrant to England, invented the roller chain that we use today. The bicycle had taken its final form.
Transmissions
Around 1900, the belts, the chains and the shaft, the three main systems of transmission of power produced by the motor to the propulsion rear wheel, appeared with the creation of the motorcycle. The chain adopted right off from the start (1897) did not change until 1972 when the Duplex chain, a double chain, from Englishman Raynolds, made its appearance. In 1982, Yamaha equipped the Ténéré with a toric joint chain that was weatherproof and auto-lubricant. Since the launching of the original model in 1980, at Yamaha the name Ténéré has been associated to a whole line of trail fighting vehicles designed for sport adventure.
These first models of the Ténéré have assured the loyalty of countless bikers in the period between1980 and 1990. Because of it’s exceptional reputation for longevity, it’s outstanding performances on or off road, it’s great comfort on long distances and it’s capacity to deal with hostile terrain with ease, this machine was one the best selling models of this make throughout all of Europe. Its reputation for versatility was such that it became the ideal bike for a great number of globetrotters. To this day, the initial model and its successors have no doubt gone around the world more times than any other “mono”. See the all new XT660Z Ténéré.
4-stroke motorcycle
In 1885, Germans Wilhelm Maybach (1846-1929) and Gottlieb Daimler (1834-1900) built a motorcycle with the frame and the wheels made of wood powered by an internal combustion 4 stroke motor. This motor generated 0.5 horsepower and reached a speed of 18 km/h. Three years later, in 1888, Englishman Edouard Butter came out with a tricycle powered by a motor running on fuel.
The first mass produced motorcycle
The Hildebrand brothers (Germany) join in a partnership with Alois Wolfmuller and build over 1,000 motorcycles. This motorcycle is equipped with a one cylinder water cooled 4 stroke engine of 1488 cc. Built in Germany and France from 1894 to 1897, these motorcycles were the first to be mass produced. Different versions of the “Motorad” can be seen at the Deutsches Zweirad Museum, at the Science Museum in London, England and at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, Michigan.
2-stroke motorcycle
The devising of the first 2 stroke motor installed on a motorcycle is credited to Frenchman Cormery (patented on the 20th of August 1900). In 1901, another Frenchman by the name of Le Cordonnier, had his Ixion motor patented, a start for the rotary distributor. In 1919, it will be made popular by the “Tour du monde”(Around the world) model of the Belgian firm of Gillet d’Herstal. In a parallel way, Englishman Alfred A. Scott was working on the first 2 stroke twin cylinder British patent on February, 11th 1904, but was built only in 1908. Six units were produced. The 2-stroke motor will only come to maturity during the mid 30’s thanks to, particularly, the research completed in Germany by a firm called DKW.
DKW’s story starts in 1907 with the creation in Germany by J.S. Rasmussen of a firm specialized in mechanics, under the name of Motorenwerke Rasmussen en Zschopau. In 1922, DKW was his brand name which meant “Dampf-Kraft-Wagen" (steam driven vehicles) and quickly known as “Das kleine Wunder" (The Little Wonder). Going back in time till 1907, this company produced a small motor of 18cc for use in toys. Eventually, it would be brought up to 118 cc. This motor was used as an auxiliary on a bicycle. The production of complete vehicles started in 1922, offering a model of 142 cc, with an optional variable speed drive.
In France, the people from SIC adapt the auxiliary motor to their bicycles and then commercialize complete motorcycles with the 142 cc. As early as 1925, DKW people have used compression motors. In 1929, a 500 cc liquid cooled motor is commercialized (100 km/h, 14 horsepower, 3 speeds). It is not until 1930 that the cast in one piece motor appears, including a performing final transmission, the motor being available at 600 cc. The people at DKW will perfect the functioning of this 2-stroke motor mounted in all their vehicles, but the patents were applied for by a certain Adolph Schnurle. An anecdote says that the 125 DKW served as a model for the first Yamaha.
The scooter
Contrary to popular belief, it was not in 1945 that the scooter was invented. In 1902, in the city of Blois, France, Georges Gauthier invented, under the name “auto-armchair”, a motorcycle with small diameter wheels and an open frame allowing the rider to be seated, with the protection of an apron. It was really a scooter. It was produced until 1914. Other models of scooters were made then. But, as of 1946, the Italian Vespa showed unprecedented success, followed by a decline, up until Peugeot teamed up with Honda to produce a modern scooter.
The tire
In 1888, John Boyd Dunlop (1840-1921), a young Scotish veterinarian working in Ireland, saw how difficult it was for his son to move forward on his tricycle, so he got the idea of a tire. The first tire plants were created in Dublin, Ireland, in 1889. These first tires were difficult to repair after a blow-out that would inevitably occur. A great step forward was realized in 1891 when industrialist Édouard Michelin developed a tire that could be disassembled, including an air chamber. This new tire would immediately be tested by Charles Terrant, in the Brest-Paris-Brest motorcycle race, which he won. The air chamber tire was adapted to cars by brothers André and Édouard Michelin. The invention of the tire would revolutionize the world of cycling, of automobile and aeronautic industries.
These tires opened the way for faster transportation on long distances, and allowed us to travel further, faster, and in much more comfort. The possibility of such rapid transit must have contributed strongly to the evolution of humanity on many scales (commercial and cultural). In the same frame of mind, we don’t have to physically get around for certain business transactions. The invention of Internet allows us, in a wink, a virtual motion that was unimaginable not so long ago. This article is not exhaustive, just an overview. The subject is very vast. Finally, great thanks to this ancestor who had a stroke of genius by imagining and realizing the wheel. Without it, the world would seem a much larger place.
