Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Trivia: Motorcycling's first decade - 1900 to 1909

1900-‘09: The de Dion-Bouton motor powers a revolution
Hundreds of small European workshops aspired to design and sell motorcycles. And why not? Anyone who could make a bicycle could make a motorcycle, if only they could find a small, reliable motor that made reasonable power and was available cheap.
Supplying those motors was the mission of two pioneering Frenchmen, Count Albert de Dion, and Georges Bouton. They patented a small, high-speed gas engine that they used in automobiles of their own design. More importantly, they also sold thousands of motors and licensed their design to over 150 motorcycle companies.
Power by de Dion-Bouton

1 comment:

  1. Bonhams sold the Hildebrand & Wolfmuller in 'Vegas for $161k! I hope it was in better shape than the one pictured. Interestingly, both of the H&Ws they uncovered and sold in the last year were held in U.S. collections.