Hildebrand & Wolfmüller

The Hildebrand & Wolfmüller was the world's first mass-production two-wheeled motor vehicle to be dubbed a "motorcycle," or "motorrad" in German. After dabbling with steam power Henry and Wilhelm Hildebrand, along with partner Alois Wolfmüller, designed their revolutionary 1488cc Hildebrand & Wolfmüller, which was patented in 1894.
Although Gottlieb Daimler is credited with being the "Father of the Motorcycle," his Einspur "boneshaker" motor bike was actually a "hybrid" motor-driven bicycle with a wooden bicycle frame, and wooden wheels. Following on the neels of Daimler was the de Dion-Bouton, the Orient Aster, and the E. R. Thomas, all using a bicycle chassis.

The Hildebrand & Wolfmüller Motorcycle
The motorcycle featured a water-cooled engine (the coolant tank/radiator of which is prominent over and around the rear wheel) mounted in a purpose-designed tubular frame. The rear wheel was directly driven from the connecting rods (a similar arrangement to that of steam locomotives). There was no flywheel other than the rear wheel, and it needed heavy rubber bands to provide the return impulse.

The Hildebrand & Wolfmüller patent of 20 January 1894, No. 78553 describes a 1,489 cc (90.9 cu in) two-cylinder, four-stroke engine, with a bore and stroke of 90 × 117 mm (3.5 × 4.6 in). It produced 1.9 kW (2.5 bhp) @ 240 rpm[1] propelling a weight of 50 kg (110 lb) up to a maximum speed of 45 km/h (28 mph).
Examples exist today in the Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum in Neckarsulm, Germany, the Science Museum in London, The Henry Ford in Detroit, Michigan, the Wells Auto Museum in Wells, Maine, and the Museum Lalu Lintas in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Production run

Several hundred examples of this motorcycles were built but with a high initial purchase price and fierce competition from improving designs (this model was entirely "run and jump" with neither clutch nor pedals) it is not thought to have been a great commercial success. The Hildebrand & Wolfmüller factory closed in 1919 after WWI.