Motorcycles with seemingly huge engines always attract people's attention. When it comes to "V10 motorcycles", people will think of Chrysler's V10 Tomahawk show car, but Allen Millyard's customized Viper V10 powered bicycle is actually a functional motorcycle. In the past 30 years, the Boss Hoss Company of Monte Wayne, Tennessee, has sold thousands of Chevrolet V8-powered motorcycles. Prior to this, starting in the late 1950s, the great "Michigan lunatic" EJ Potter set a record, and a series of bicycles called Widowmaker powered by a V8 engine made drag racing fans excited.

However, Porter is not the first to use a V8 to drive a motorcycle. You might be surprised that this happened more than a century ago and was achieved by Glenn Curtiss, a man who is known for his airplanes instead of motorcycles. Although the names Curtis and Wright merge today into a diversified defense contractor, the brothers Glenn Curtis and Wright were serious competitors in the early days of the aviation industry. So much so that Wright's patent infringement lawsuit filed against Curtis in 1909 was resolved only a few years later. During the First World War, the US government needed fighter jets to force competitors to settle out of court.

Curtis is a true pioneer in the field of aviation, responsible for various inventions and innovations. He helped develop basic aircraft technology such as ailerons, tricycles and retractable landing gear, as well as dual pilot control. He was particularly influential in naval aviation, building the first successful American pontoon plane, the first plane to take off and landing on the deck of the ship, the first plane to cross the Atlantic (the Curtis Flyer), and The first aircraft of the US Navy. During the First World War, Curtis Aircraft and Motor Company manufactured 2,000 seaplanes, more than 7,000 JN-4D "Jenny" trainers (a design still used by flying enthusiasts) and more than 15,000 engines.

Like the Wright brothers, Glen Curtis’s journey to the sky started with a two-wheeler. The Wright brothers own a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio (by the way, another pair of famous Dodge brothers also started their industrial career in the bicycle industry). Curtis also started using bicycles in 1898, but soon turned to motorcycles, and in 1902 built his first motorcycle engine, a three-horsepower single-cylinder engine. GH Curtiss Manufacturing Company sold Curtiss-designed motorcycles under the Hercules brand in 1903. Curtiss introduced his first multi-cylinder engine, an eight-horsepower V-type twin-cylinder engine, and later introduced a three-cylinder engine in the W layout. . On the track, the Hercules motorcycle successfully competed with Harley-Davidson and the Indians. Over the next few years, Curtis developed a series of inline four-cylinder engines with a power between 15 and 25 horsepower, and he gained a reputation as a manufacturer of powerful, light engines. Those high power and lightweight characteristics that make his engines suitable for motorcycles also make them ideal for the ever-evolving aviation sector.

The Wright brothers’ first flight in Kitty Hawk was in late 1903, but it’s important to remember that although they were the first to successfully complete a controlled powered flight heavier than an airplane, they were not the only ones trying to fly People. In 1904, Thomas Baldwin’s California Arrow was the first American flying spacecraft, powered by a five-horsepower Curtis engine.

Thomas Baldwin "California Arrow", circa 1904. The engine on display is a Curtis 4-cylinder engine.

Due to the requirements of aircraft and lighter-than-air spacecraft manufacturers, Curtis designed his first V8 engine in 1906. It is air-cooled, has a displacement of 268 cubic inches, and produces between 30 and 40 horsepower at 1,800 rpm. This is an F-type valve design with an overhead intake valve that operates in the atmosphere and a side exhaust valve that is operated by a camshaft and push rod. Although not commonly used today, Rolls-Royce has used F-head engines for decades. Curtiss' V8 is a 90-degree design with a two-piece thin-walled cylinder and is cast with a special hard gray cast iron for durability. The head and pistons are also cast iron, while the crankcase is aluminum. Each row of cylinders has its own carburetor. The connecting rod and crankshaft are made of forged alloy steel, and the studs that fix the cylinder and cylinder head to the crankcase are made of nickel alloy steel with high tensile strength. Lubrication is through splashing, and ignition is through spark plugs powered by dry batteries.

To demonstrate the engine, Curtis asked his employees to build a motorcycle frame strong enough to support the longitudinally mounted V8. Since the transmission chain and belt of motorcycles at that time could not withstand the power of the engine, the engine was connected to the rear wheel through a double universal joint, a drive shaft and an open bevel gear. There is no clutch or gearbox, so the engine is driven by an assistant. Braking is minimal, with articulated paddles pressing on the rear tires. The rear wheels come from cars, while the front wheels use traditional motorcycle wheels. BF Goodrich provided the tires. The only suspension is the spring of the leather saddle. Both the front and rear forks are reinforced with auxiliary struts.

The frame is very long, nearly eight feet long, partly because of the length of the engine, but also to place the rider's seat far enough behind the engine to prevent burns. The fuel tank of the lubrication system is located behind the 2.5-gallon gasoline tank, under the seat, and the ignition battery is installed above the fuel tank. Due to the length of the machine, it requires very long handlebars, which makes the steering quite awkward, but Curtis’s V8 motorcycle is designed to drive fast in a straight line.

The flat sands of Ormond Beach, Florida, have become the "Birthplace of Speed" in the United States, where the first approved race was held in 1903. Glenn Curtiss took his V8-powered motorcycle to participate in the Florida Speed ​​Carnival in Ormond Beach. January 1907. Curtis is no stranger to high speeds. In 1903, in Yonkers, New York, he drove his own Curtiss Hercules motorcycle at a speed of 64 mph. The motorcycle was powered by his 1,000 cc v-twin engine, making him the first motorcycle Car speed record holder.

Glenn Curtiss drives his motorcycle Hercules 1,000 cc twin at a record speed

Curtis and the judges of the Ormond Music Festival agreed on a five-mile route, two miles of acceleration, a timed measurement of the miles, and two miles for the motorcycle to stop. With that shoddy brake, Curtis needs braking space. Pilot Tom Baldwin and Curtis’ assistant "Tank" Waters let Glenn take the lead, and he will set an overall land speed record of 136 mph (218 km/h). The entire LSR lasted until 1911 and was not overtaken by another motorcycle until 1930. The newspapers at the time called Curtis "the fastest man on earth."

Curtis based the design of his liquid-cooled OX-5 V8 (the first American aircraft engine to enter mass production) on his V8 motorcycle engine, which remained in service until the 1930s.

Glenn Curtis tests one of his own aircraft designs.

Curtis is a brave man, often flying his own aircraft. However, it is not clear whether Curtis has ever participated or even rode his V8-powered motorcycle. Describing his record, Curtis said: “It’s unlikely that riding an eight-cylinder motorcycle will become very popular. All I can see is a series of beaches with wild waves on one side and wild waves on the other. On the sand dunes, there is a black spot where the crowds are. The machine sets up terrible inexplicable vibrations; it is so big that it does not produce completely comforting thoughts.” Regarding his experience on the V8 motorcycle, Curty Si concluded, "It satisfies my desire for speed."

Curtiss V8 motorcycle collection at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

[Image courtesy of Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, Smithsonian, Hammondport, NY]

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Three words: 1) ball 2) of 3) steel

My first thought was, do these guys have a wish to die? Oops!

I like Curtis’s insight: "It did not produce completely comforting thoughts"... "It satisfies my desire for speed"...

@FreedMike-huge steel ball.

Huge hardened vanadium steel ball.

I mean, seriously, look at the tires on that thing-they are not bigger than my ten-speed tires around 1976. I reached 50 at the fastest (yes, I have a speedometer), and when I hit a crack on the sidewalk at such a fast speed, I almost got angry.

There is a thin line between bold and provable.

One of the most popular forms of motorcycle racing at the time was board races (bicycles drove on sloping wooden boards, no, it was not as smooth, smooth and closely connected as today's bicycle racing tracks). It's definitely not for the faint-hearted.

So basically what we have is a 40-horsepower engine mounted on the bicycle frame. I can understand why people are reluctant to give up horses for these modern devices.

The fear of death is very rational.

This is a modern version of the high-speed death machine:

https://electrek.co/2021/02/15/this-standing-electric-scooter-goes-0-50-mph-in-4-8-seconds-and-thats-not-even-its-top- speed/

With better tires and brakes than Curtiss bikes, I might feel safer on a scooter.

Should be on every child's Christmas list

Wow, what a wonderful way to die.

brave guy! ! At least once. That is a crazy car.

The Glen H. Curtis Museum in Hammondsport, New York is well worth a visit.

What an incredible amount of time (at least in terms of technology).

Think about it, when these people were born, motor vehicles didn't even exist—they set a land speed record here and flew off the ground. In half a century, they will be on the moon.

The first Tom Swift series was written in this era; unlike Jr, Sr invented fast motorcycles, cars, trains, and spacecraft. You can find them for free, and some of them are fascinating insights into this era.

Tom Swift’s electric car is quite prescient: https://www.hagerty.com/media/archived/1910-fiction-series-electric-future-surprisingly-accurately/

Mr. @ Ronnie Schreiber, thank you for your article. Your articles are always great and enjoy. Nice to meet you.

I am a person who rides a bicycle downhill at a speed of 65 mph. I am not afraid of the risk of two-wheelers.

But looking at it and seeing "136 mph" absolutely scared me.

136 miles per hour? So I have to assume that those are V tires?

Considering that 136 mph/218 km/h is numbing. This will be very scary.

I drove a modified Yamaha YZ490 off-road motorcycle at a top speed of 101 mph/162 km/h. That is rough. My Suzuki DRZ400 Supermoto wheels have a top speed of 154 kph/96 mph, and they twitch at this speed. I have a sports bike with a top speed of 260 kph/163 mph. It feels good, but it is designed for towing an azz.

Yes, V stands for "It's likely to kill you."

If you mean, "Victor on the street gave them a good rating", then yes!

They don't let them do that anymore.

Are you talking about bicycles or Curtis? :-)

You mean, someone who has a death wish? There are many around. Search for "Ghost Rider Motorcycle" on YouTube.

Must-see: "The Fastest Indian in the World", a movie about Burt Munro's efforts to set a speed record with the Indians in 1920 in 1967.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412080/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

The Curtis Aviation Museum is in my finger lake woods...not far from Watkins Glen. Wonderful little places and magnificent roads that can reach top speeds or winding roads through the forest by the lake.

Ronnie, you can remove the apostrophe after Curtis in the title. The artifact from the editor? I also do similar things.

It is a bad form for writers to blame the editor for errors, but I seem to remember submitting different titles.

I just want to know why there is a possessive apostrophe in the title:

"How aviation pioneer Glenn Curtis used his V8-powered motorcycle to set a land speed record of 136 mph"

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