Old bikes with radial engines. Too strange and cool.

[micah2074]

 

[betoney]

...And we think cracked oil pans are something to worry about.  😲

[texscottyd]

I want that cutaway as a coffee table… 

[angrygirafe]

Those hub motors are pretty cool

[micah2074]

3 hours ago, angrygirafe said:

Those hub motors are pretty cool

With all that weight spinning around it has to be hard to turn. Also, what do you do at a stop sign?

[dazzler24]

15 minutes ago, micah2074 said:

Also, what do you do at a stop sign?

Do what I see an increasing amount of people do these days... Just blow right on through them!

[The Pilot]

I absolutely love radial engines. A few years ago I broke down in Germany and while we were waiting for new aircraft batteries to arrive rented an M5 to do some exploration during the downtime.  Anyway, cooking down the autobahn at 180 mph and see a beautiful Concord suspended 100 feet in the air. Turns out it was an absolutely killer transport museum.... and they had a neat Red Barron radial bike.

[gerrychuck]

The engines in those first two bikes with the engine as part of the wheel are not radials; they are rotaries, and were used in many of the first world war fighter aircraft.  Turning would indeed pose a challenge, as they generate a huge gyroscopic effect and resist changes in direction.  This was also true in aircraft.  The Sopwith Camel was known for rolling and turning incredibly fast in one direction, and being extremely difficult to turn the other way.  Most of the rotary engines in these aircraft had no real throttle; to control power on approach and landing you cut and re-engaged the ignition as needed to get the speed and descent rate you wanted. Had their quirks, in other words.  Interesting engines, but no surprise the much more modern and user-friendly radial replaced them.

Edited October 1, 2021 by gerrychuck

[angrygirafe]

15 hours ago, micah2074 said:

With all that weight spinning around it has to be hard to turn. Also, what do you do at a stop sign?

Potholes probably present a new hazard as well 😂

[knyte]

11 hours ago, gerrychuck said:

Most of the rotary engines in these aircraft had no real throttle

I bet the Red Barron bike has no transmission, either?  Direct connect, most likely?  I can't see it needing 1st gear to get moving.  I get it's more of a showpiece than a practical machine; just thinking it through.

[knyte]

11 hours ago, The Pilot said:

absolutely killer transport museum

Great story, lucky find!  Amazing stuff there.  Have always loved Concords.  Shame they don't fly any longer.