Edward Butler (inventor)

The Petrol- Cycle, also called motor tricycle of 1885/1887 was one of the first tricycles with a combustion engine.

Development and Technology

1884, the English inventor Edward Butler ( 1863-1940 ) first drawings of his motorized tricycle before, in 1885 the first model in London, was presented to the press and Butler 1887 took out a patent (No. 15598 ) on his motor tricycle that he "Petrol -Cycle " called. Whether the Butler Motor tricycle is from 1885/1887 ever driven really in public, is controversial. The vehicle led in any case to " numerous quarrels between the English and German " if it went number 1 before the Benz Patent Motor Car.

The first model (1885/1887) the butler motor tricycle was of a water-cooled two-stroke engine (System Clerk ) moves. Two -mounted height of the axle left and right cylinder with a total of 1073 cc (57 mm bore, 203 mm stroke) made ​​for driving on bent push rods on the rear wheel. The apron was tank and cooler in a function, the rotary valve controlled motor already had a carburettor. Was steered the motor tricycle with two rods attached to the left and right of the driver, who worked on the front wheels. Two training wheels on a pedal operated, raised to the driven rear wheel before the start, when you start off on, they were manually placed in the driving position, because the motor tricycle has no power interruption (clutch ) decreed.

In another patented motor tricycle (1889 ) of the driving was done with a four-stroke engine and the transmission via a planetary gear. 1896 Butler broke his experiments with the "Petrol - Cycle" and sold, just before the repeal of the Red Flag Act, its patents to Harry John Lawson. The British Motor Syndicate, however, never produced the vehicle.