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« on: May 29, 2007, 12:50:50 PM » |
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Apparently aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss was the designer/inventor behind the E. R. Thomas "Auto-Bi" motorized bicycle...
Here is the text of a newspaper article originally published in 1901, re-published in 2001 by Business First-Buffalo
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COPYRIGHT 2001 Business First-Buffalo
One unsung accomplishment of the just-concluded Pan-American Exposition is the role it played in advancing the reputation and career of Glenn Curtiss, a young up-and-coming inventor.
Western New York and the nation may reap the rewards.
Soon after visiting the International exhibition the week of June 23, the experimenter was back home in Hammondsport, N.Y., there to build his first motorized bicycle, a machine often referred to as a motorcycle or moto-cycle.
Buffalo's Thomas Motor Co. -- owned by Edwin R. Thomas, who is acknowledged to have pioneered the commercial motorcycle industry in the United States in 1900 -- manufactured the single-cylinder engine for Mr. Curtiss' machine.
Because of the success with this first motorcycle venture, Mr. Curtiss is considering launching general production of the gasolene-powered devices sometime in 1902.
At the moment, he sells and repairs bicycles as well as running a harness shop and is much renowned around his hometown and the Finger Lakes region for his innovative and competitive spirit.
Though reluctant to speak with reporters, the taciturn Mr. Curtiss admitted in a recent interview that, "I am very interested in gadgets, inventions and modern technology."
While in Buffalo, he visited with Mr. Thomas, who earned a reputation as a bicycle-maker in the late 1890s More recently, his fame has extended to the field of motorcycles with his Auto-BL.
Lately, his attention has turned to motor cars which, along with motorcycles, are widely thought to be the future direction for general transportation in Western New York and the nation. Supporting evidence is the formation last year of automobile clubs in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.
When Mr. Curtiss visited the exposition, the Thomas Motor Co. was one of the companies exhibiting in the Machinery and Transportation building. Already familiar with Mr. Thomas and his work, Mr. Curtiss purchased his Thomas engine as a result of his trip.
It was to Mr. Curtiss' disappointment, though, that the mall-order engine arrived in less than desired condition.
According to his Uncle Frank Neff, who runs a small Hammondsport machine shop and is the inventor of the wire cage used to cap the cork in a champagne bottle, the engine showed up rough-milled, without a carburetor and missing an instruction sheet.
"The motorcycle was a challenge for his ingenuity, but It ran superbly," said Mr. Neff, who finished the engine for Mr. Curtiss.
The next challenge appears to be producing motorcycles with a variety of engines. Speed seems to be a most likely goal for Mr. Curtiss who, as a youth, raced bicycles at fairs all over the area. At 17, he was the bicycle champion of the Lower Lakes Region of New York.
With the Pan-American Exposition consigned to memory, It is left to us now to assess whether it was a success or failure. A full appraisal, however, cannot be determined soon. That awaits the future.
Our late, beloved President McKinley in his speech here asked: "Who can tell the new thoughts that have been awakened, the ambitions fired, and the high achievement that will be wrought through this exposition?"
For Mr. Curtiss, one can only fancy where his interest and talent will lead him.
Only 23 years old and In possession of a restless and inquisitive mind, he is an enterprising young man and forward-looking fellow with lots of ideas. He has delved into photography, bicycles, acetylene lamps, and now, motorcycles.
For young Glenn Curtiss, the sky seems his only limit.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Business First-Buffalo
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