The first motorcycle was a steam powered oddity built by Sylvester Roper in 1869. It was a steam powered bicycle or motorcycle. It went through several revisions, and by 1896 it could do 40 mph, and ran 7 miles on one load of coal. The small boiler was mounted between the riders legs on a bicycle-like frame. It had two cylinders, and a smokestack. Twist grips on the handlebars served as throttle and brake. The inventor liked to say, "It would climb any hill and outrun any horse."
Roper died like we all should, at the age of 73 riding the third version of his crazy contraption around a track at 40 mph. He died in the saddle, and was dead before his bike hit the ground.
Shown is his earliest version, and the last version.
I happened upon this article when looking for information about the Menere Steam Motorcycle built in South Australia circa 1920. It was built by a relative of my late ex-husband's. The inventor used to ride it around the Adelaide Hills, and had secret caches of wood for burning when in need of replenishing his steam.
Posted by: JEAN MENERE | December 31, 2006 at 04:02 PM
You can see pics and clips of a modern reproduction of Ropers motorcycle here; http://lindsaybks.com/gallery/Jorg/index.html
Posted by: Brian Drake | November 05, 2007 at 02:54 AM
I like the first bike on this page if that bike was invented this year i would ride it.
Posted by: tyrin | January 24, 2008 at 11:04 AM
That was pretty innovative for it's time. To bad he died so young, it was a awesome invention that is so popular right now.
Posted by: Ajlouny | June 21, 2009 at 02:31 PM