IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — On this day, in 1885, German Engineer Gottlieb Daimler unveild a mechanism called the ‘Einspur’, or ‘single track’.
It was essentially a wooden bicycle, with a fire-breathing “grandfather clock” engine strapped to the side. The contraption would become known as the world’s first motorcycle.
But as American Author Melissa Pierson put it, “The first motorcycle looks like an an instrument of torture.”
Daimler’s 17-year-old son made the first long distance ride, an important proof of concept to be sure, if not a little uncomfortable with no suspension system. It wasn’t as bad as a ride someone else took eight days later though, where the seat caught on fire!
Sources for this story:
The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is about Motorcycles – By Melissa Pierson
