Bike India – August 2019

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HEELSAREARGUABLYTHEMOST

importantcomponentofa motorcycle.Somewould

disagree,suggestingthattheengineplaysthemore

dominantrole—afterall,withoutthat,youdon’teven

havea bicycle.Whatyouhaveis knownasa “hobby

horse”or“pedestriancurricle”,sometimescalleda

“Draisine”afterKarlvonDrais,whopatentedhis

designinGermanyin1818.Lackingpedals,motive

forcewasbypushingwiththefeet,whichwasat bestamusingontheflats,hardwork

uphill,and,lackinganyformofbraking,downrightterrifyingdownhill.Bycontrast,an

enginewithnowheelsis knownasa stationaryengineforobviousreasons.Withit,you

canthreshwheat,splitlogsorputit toanyotherindustrial

application.Butit won’tbetransportinganyoneanywheresoon.

Partofmyinternshipasa traineecardesignernearly 40

yearsagoinvolvedcreatinga newpressedsteelwheelforthe

ChryslerAlpine—a carthatfailedtomatchitstargetof

competingwiththeVolkswagenPassatasspectacularlyasthe

ChryslerHorizonfailedtoequaltheVWGolf.Believeme,I

owneda Horizon,albeitmercifullybriefly.Butcomparedto

myothertasksofdesigningdoor-handlesandfrontgrilles,all

ofwhichcouldbedrawnwitha rulerin1980,it wasn’ta bad

project.Wheelsinevitablyhavecurves;otherwisetheyaren’t

toocomfortabletodriveon.

Whilewheeldesignswerealwaysextremelyimportantto

cars,wheretheentiredesignis usuallyvisible,motorcycles

havetheissueofforks,swing-arms,chaincases,andbrakes

thatobscuretheview.Ontheupside,dynamicspokesare

alwayscorrectona motorcycle,irrespectiveofwhichsidethey

areseenfrom.Oncars,whichmostlyusethesamecastingfor

eachside,theyslopethewrongwaywhenreversed.

Whetheryoufavourthe 1869 Ropersteamvelocipedeorthe 1885 Daimler

Reitwagenasbeingthefirstmotorizedtwo-wheeler,thefirstwheelsweremadeof

wood,withheat-shrunkiron“tyres”inthefashionofhorse-drawncarriagesuptothat

point.All-metalspoked(orlaced)wheelswithrubbertyresquicklyreplacedwood

andiron,asseenonthefirst“production”motorcycle:the 1894 Hildebrand&

Wolfmüller.Duetotheuniquedesignofthisvehicle,therearwheelwassolid,

though,asit alsoactedastheflywheel,crankshaft,andcamshaftviaconnectingrods

tothepistons.Thinradialpaintedspokeswereaddedasanattemptat visualunity

withthefrontwheel,althoughasthatwasconsiderablylarger,theeffectcarriedlittle

conviction.Theimbalancewasn’thelpedbytherearmud-guard,whichinviteda

wheelthesamesizeasthefront.TheGermansmayormaynothaveinventedthefirst

motorcycle(Isteadfastlybelievetheydidn’t),buttheycancertainlybecreditedwith

creatingthefirstuglyone.

Metalspokedwheelswerethemainstayofthemotorcycleindustryforthenext 75

yearsandcontinuetodayintraditionallystyledmodels.Cheapandsimpletoproduce,

Design guru Glynn Kerr on wheels

that not only give momentum to

the rider’s machine, but also form

its only and vital contact with terra

firma and contribute to the visual

appeal of a two-wheeler

Wheels

Remove the engine from a motorcycle and you basically have an

early 19th-century Draisine

42 Bike India^ August 2019 http://www.bikeindia.in