Autoped

Autoped
Manufacturer Autoped Company, Krupp
Also called Krupp-Roller
Production 1915-1921 (Autoped)
1919-1922 (Krupp)
Class Motor scooter
Motorized scooter
Engine 155 cc air-cooled single (Autoped)
191 cc air-cooled single (Krupp)
Bore / Stroke 56 mm x 63 mm (Autoped)
Top speed 20 mph (32 km/h) (Autoped)
35 km/h (22 mph) (Krupp)
Power 1.5 hp (1.1 kW) (Autoped)
1.3 kW (1.7 hp) (Krupp)
Transmission clutch operated by handlebar column
Frame type welded steel
Suspension none
Tires 10 inches (250 mm) diameter

The Autoped was an early motor scooter or motorized scooter manufactured by the Autoped Company of Long Island City, New York[1] from 1915 to 1921.[2][3]

The driver stood on a platform with 10-inch tires[3] and operated the machine using only the handlebars and steering column,[1][2] pushing them forward to engage the clutch, using a lever on the handlebar to control the throttle, and pulling the handlebars and column back to disengage the clutch and apply the brake.[2] After riding, the steering column would be folded onto the platform to store the scooter more easily. The engine was an air-cooled, 4-stroke, 155 cc engine over the front wheel.[1][2] The bike came with a headlamp and tail lamp, a Klaxon horn, and a toolbox. Developed during wartime and gasoline rationing, it was quite efficient, but was not widely distributed.[1]

A patent for the Autoped as a "self-propelled vehicle" was applied for in July 1913 and granted in July 1916.[4][5] An early description of the Autoped described it as having a hollow steering column that acted as the fuel tank.[6] However, the production version had a fuel tank above the front mudguard.[2]

The Autoped went out of production in the United States in 1921,[2] but was manufactured by Krupp in Germany from 1919 to 1922.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "America On The Move - Pope, Cleveland, Autoped, and Simplex". America On The Move. Smithsonian National Museum of American History. http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_54_2.html. Retrieved 2009-05-17. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f Wilson, Hugo (1995). "The A-Z of Motorcycles" (in UK English). The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 22. ISBN 0 7513 0206 6. 
  3. ^ a b "ScooterManiac - Autoped" ScooterManiac Florian JACQUET, webmaster http://www.scootermaniac.org/index.php?op=modele&cle=173. Retrieved 2010-08-28 
  4. ^ US patent 1192514, Arthur Hugo Cecil Gibson, "SELF-PROPELLED VEHICLE", issued 1916-07-25 
  5. ^ U.S. Patent 1,192,514
  6. ^ H. H. Windsor, ed. (August 1914) "New Power Vehicle Built on Unique Lines" Popular Mechanics (Hearst Magazines) 22 (2): 163 ISSN 0032-4558 "The engine, 2 1/2 hp., is built in the front wheel, and the steering pillar is hollow, serving also as the gasoline-supply tank." 
  7. ^ Wilson, Hugo (1995). "The Directory of Motorcycles" (in UK English). The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 243. ISBN 0 7513 0206 6. 

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Autoped_scooters Autoped scooters] at Wikimedia Commons