Motorcycle Born

Wilheim Gottleib Daimler was born in Schorndorf (Kingdom of Württemberg, a federal state of the German Confederation) Germany on March 17, 1834. He was an engineer, industrial designer and industrialist and became a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development. He invented the first high-speed petrol engine and the first four-wheel automobile.
Daimler and his lifelong business partner Wilhelm Maybach were two inventors whose goal was to create small, high speed engines to be mounted in any kind of locomotion device. In 1885 they designed a precursor of the modern petrol (gasoline) engine which they subsequently fitted to a two-wheeler, considered the first motorcycle.

That's was Daimler 264cc 4 strokes with single cylinder power unit. The little engine had two flywheels, on each side of the crankshaft, all enclosed in a cast aluminium crankcase.
The machine had wooden wheels and a wooden frame with auxiliary wheels on either side, but it did have some features of later motorcycles. The rear wheel was belt driven, whilst the fan cooled engine was mounted in the frame on rubber blocks. Starting was by crank handle, and featured a freewheel. With a weight of 90 kg ( 198lb) the machine produce 0.5 bhp at 750 rpm, and the two gear ratios gave the Daimler speeds of 3.5 and 7 mph respectively. Other notable features included an evaporating carburettor, heated tube ignition and almost convention all handlebars.
Daimler patented his design on 29 August  1885, following a successful short test session in the garden of his house and the streets of Canstatt, the longest journey being some 3 kilometers. But the soon realised that not only was the engine not really powerful enough, but his ' Petroleum Reitwagen', as he named it, was not easy to use. It was not only difficult to balance but was a real bone shaker, thanks in no small part ti the dire state of the roads at the time. So intead he concentrated his efforts upon the development of motorized carriagee, which in essence were the forerunners of today cars. But even so history has, however, ascribed to Daimler the title of 'Father of the motorcycle'. His original 1885 machine can still be viewed in the museum of the Daimler-Benz Company in Stuttgart-Untertufurkheim.
With his health failing in the autumn of 1899, he was told to stay in bed, but the workaholic insisted on being driven in bad weather to inspect a possible factory site. On the way home he collapsed and fell out of the car. He died with his family around him early on March 6, 1900.
Gottlieb Daimler was an engineer with a peerless ability to synthesize ideas others had developed before and to create something better. That spirit lives still in the industry today.