The Steam Motorcycle And It's Place In Motorcycle History

Historians often but not always regard a motorcycle to be a machine powered by an internal combustion engine as opposed to a steam motorcycle. This point has been argued for decades. If you were to include two wheeled machines powered by any means other than manually (pedaling) then you would have to include the amazing invention by Sylvester H. Roper in 1867.

Roper's Steam Cycle

Roper's steam cycle invention used coal fueled steam power, the popular invention that made the nations steamboats and railroads possible.

Steam power had the unique quality of being able to generate heat from just about any source, wood and coal being the top two. This is what powered our steamboats and locomotives. An internal combustion engine uses only a derivative of petroleum. On the plus side of course is that a petroleum fuel tank is much more convenient and requires a lot less space than a load of wood or coal.  There was much debate on the place steam powered velocipede's resided in motorcycle history. While many believe true motorcycling involves only the use of internal combustion engines, Roper nevertheless was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2002 with his steam bike.


Roper was born in New Hampshire in 1823 and from a very young age demonstrated both his interest and ability in understanding mechanics. He went on to invent the Handstitch Sewing Machine and a hot air engine. he was also seen driving his steam powered carriage around Boston in 1863. Additionally Roper had a patent on a shotgun loading mechanism and developed the velocipede (bicycle).

Needless to say Roper came to the attention of many well known inventors during the 1860's. Unfortunately Roper's end came on June 1, 1896 when he rode one of his velocipede models which was essentially a bicycle with a steam engine added. Roper rode several laps and then fell off the bike and crashed. The autopsy afterward attributed his death to a heart attack. Whether the crash itself brought on the heart attack, no conclusion was made.



Michaux-Perreaux

For those who consider a steam powered bicycle to be a motorcycle, the first would have been the French Michaux-Perreaux in 1868. It had an alcohol burner and twin belt drives.

This was followed up by Sylvester Roper's steam velocipede in 1869. The first motorcycle which officially was called a "motorcycle" was produced by Hildebrand & Wolfmuller in 1894, although there was  a motorcycle developed in 1885 by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Germany. This vehicle was considered the first powered by petroleum. Only a limited number of the Hildebrand  models were built because engines and the power they put out were changing dramatically and quickly. About this time bicycle manufacturers produced designs which would accommodate the internal combustion engine. Eventually the power plants increased in size to the extent that more motorcycle manufacturers went into business and less bicycle manufacturers. Whether the apparatus was powered by steam or gas, it's origin was the bicycle.

There were obvious drawbacks in steam power versus the internal combustion engine. The earliest inventors did a lot of designing and redesigning for where to place the power plant and how to transfer the power to the wheels. The photo left is of Lucius Copeland who in 1881 designed a smaller boiler. It powered the rear wheel and attained a speed of 12 MPH.

Another difficulty with a steam engine on a motorcycle was it's size. To produce power past maybe 12 MPH required a larger boiler. How large of a steam engine can a bicycle accommodate? Compare the size of boilers used on steamboats and locomotives and you can see the power producing problem.

Steamboats had very large boilers within their superstructure. These boilers produced the desired power but had to be monitored closely because of their great pressure. Boiler explosions on steamboats were a huge problem in the 1850's and 1860's and these accidents resulted in thousands of lives lost. Example are the Sultana explosion near Memphis and the Saluda explosion off the docks at Lexington Missouri.

Locomotives were less of a problem because the steam boiler was exterior and located at the front of the train. Boilers of this size of course could not be made to fit on a motorcycle. About the time of internal combustion engine development there were great advances made in the use of electricity as a means of providing power for transportation. Examples of this can be seen in the interurban streetcars and the McKeen Motorcar at the start of the 1900's. Because of lack of battery development this was not an option for the early motorcycles.

The Twentieth Century

At the beginning of the 20th century the big motorcycle manufacturers were companies like Harley-Davidson, Indian, and DKW. Next came BSA Group and a German company NSU. The motorcycle industry today is mostly dominated by Japanese companies such as Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. Both Harley-Davidson and BMW continue to be popular. Piaggio Group of Italy, Ducati, Triumph and KTM are also popular.

Motorcycle size was important and at first there was a rush to build the biggest and most powerful machines. More recently there is a tremendous market for smaller motorcycles in the 300cc range and lower. With fuel prices what they are, a motorcycle and especially the ones under 300 cc offer economical unmatched transportation.

There are more than 200 million motorcycles in use worldwide. In some countries motorcycles represent the largest mode of transportation. There are about 33 motorcycles per 1,000 people in the world compared to about 91 automobiles. India claims top rank in motorcycles in use with approximately 37 million. Depending on engine size, motorcycle mileage ranges from 29 U.S. MPG to over 100.

Courtesy Fir002 CCShare-Alike 3.0

Motorcycle racing and rallies did for the motorcycle what it did for the automobile. While putting forth great entertainment it also popularizes the machine and promotes sales.

The racing is primarily divided between motorcycle road racing and off road racing. The off road Motocross racing has gained tremendously in popularity. Motocross is different from road racing, in that starts are done en masse, with all riders alongside each other.

 Another form of motorcycle racing is Supercross. Supercross is essentially indoor motocross. Supercross is usually undertaken in stadiums and open or closed arenas, and includes many jumping routines. Other motorcycle racing genre's include Superbike, Supersport, Endurance, Grand Prix's and Side Car racing. An interesting side note was that during the 1920's and 1930's a form of motorcycle racing called "board racing" was very popular. Board racing was done on an oval motorcycle race track  constructed of wood boards. Motorcycle racing remains as popular as ever and today there are organizations offering motorcycle racing classes.

Racer Ralph Hepburn

One of the very best and well known racers in vintage motorcycle racing history was Ralph Hepburn pictured above right on a 1919 Harley Davidson Racing Bike. Hepburn raced for the Harley-Davidson company and attained great fame when he won the 1919 200 mile National Championship at Ascot Park in Los Angeles.

Starting in 1925 Ralph Hepburn decided to add car racing to his list of accomplishments and appeared in fifteen Indianapolis 500 races. Hepburn set auto racing records during his era such as the fastest lap at 139 MPH. Ralph Hepburn died during a qualifying practice for the 1948 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Tucker Corporation. In 1998 Hepburn was inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame.

Tour the Museums

There are many great  motorcycle museums throughout the world. I think anyone viewing the displays of early era motorcycles will be amazed at how they evolved. Visiting one of these museums could be a fun and entertaining addition to your vacation or side trip.

Steam Flyer

If you're in the San Francisco area make sure to visit the Musee Mecanique at Fishermans Wharf where the authentic and original Steam Flyer motorcycle is on permanent display. It's quite a machine.

Following are a just a few that you may want to add to your vacation or side trip planner.  The Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum in Solvang California. Also Cyclemo's Motorcycle Museum in Red Boiling Springs Tennessee. The Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Museum in Milwaukee Wisconsin. The BMW Motorcycle Museum in Weisel Germany. The Ducati Museum at the Ducati factory in Balogna Italy.

(Article copyright Western Trips. Steam Flyer photo from author's collection. Remaining photos and images from the public domain)

Fort Apache

Fort Apache is located in eastern Arizona about 120 miles east of Phoenix. Many people may remember the highly popular 1948 film by the same name directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda and John Wayne. Fort Apache was one of the classic old west movies John Wayne starred in.

A Visit to Fort Apache

Fort Apache 1873

Today the site of Fort Apache is an Arizona State Historic Park located off Arizona State Hwy 73. It's a fun and educational stop during your Arizona vacation road trip and one of Arizona's finest historic landmarks. Today, the 288 acre site is comprised of 27 buildings dating between 1870 and 1930. Buildings include a guardhouse, officer quarters, stables and dormitories.

Also included is the White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum. The museum features an exhibit about the legacy of Fort Apache and an exhibit "Footprints of the Apache". Many very interesting photos and artifacts make this a must see during your Arizona vacation. It's one of the most historic of Arizona State Parks and it's an ideal family road trip destination.

Early Days of Fort Apache Arizona

The story of Fort Apache begins in July, 1869, when Brevet Colonel John Green of the U.S. 1st Cavalry led an expedition of more than 120 troops into the White Mountains from Camp Goodwin and Camp Grant to the south. The mission was to kill or capture any Apache people they encountered. Green's expedition headed north up the San Carlos River, across the Black River, and to the White River in the vicinity of the future Fort Apache. The Apache Indians have lived in this region for centuries.

Green's scouts discovered over 100 acres of cornfields along the White River. Escapa - an Apache chief who was also called Miguel visited the  Army camp, and invited Colonel Green to visit his village. Green dispatched Captain John Barry, telling him "if possible to exterminate the whole village." When Barry arrived at Miguel's village  he found white flags "flying from every hut and from every prominent point," and "the men, women and children came out to meet them and went to work at once to cut corn for their horses, and showed such a spirit of delight at meeting them that the officers [said] if they had fired upon them they would have been guilty of cold-blooded murder."

Apaches 1873

Green returned a second time to the White Mountains in November 1869 and met with the Apache leaders Escapa (Miguel), Eskininla (Diablo), Pedro, and Eskiltesela. At that second encounter the Apache chiefs agreed to the creation of a military post and reservation. They directed Green to the area of the East and North Forks of the White River.

The Battle of Fort Apache occurred on September 1, 1881. It was an engagement between the cavalry of Fort Apache and dozens of mounted White Mountain Apache's. The attack on Fort Apache, commanded was a  reprisal for the Battle at Cibicue Creek in which a notorious medicine man had been killed along with a cavalry officer.

The Ft Apache battle lasted all day but the Apaches more or less stayed outside of the range of the cavalry riflemen. Reinforcements arrived a few days later but by that time the Apaches had scattered into hiding. Only three American soldiers were wounded and White Mountain Apache casualties were unknown. While the battle itself was not large in scope, it's repercussions were.

Aftermath of the Battle

After the battle other groups of Apaches left their newly formed reservations. They either escaped to northern Mexico or joined Geronimo and other Apache leaders in their war against the whites, both military and civilian. Geronimo remains a Native American legend much the same way as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. The two separate engagements at Cibecue Creek the year before and Fort Apache started another Apache War in Arizona Territory which would finally end with the surrender of Geronimo at Skeleton Canyon five years later in 1886. All in all, the Apache War lasted some 25 years.

The Larger Decades Long War

Officially, the first U.S. military engagements against the Apaches occurred as early as 1851. It officially ended with Geronimo's surrender in 1886. In the Arizona Territory itself the war is believed to have started with a bloody cavalry attack on an Apache camp during the Civil War.

During this decades long war there were several battles often attributed to entirely different reasons. Apache depredations against white settlers ignited most of the skirmishes. Indians would raid ranches killing it's residents and stealing it's cattle. There was also a stagecoach massacre near Wickenburg Arizona in 1871. Killed in this stagecoach attack was Frederick W. Loring a young promising writer from Boston. Prior to the stagecoach attack there was a degree of sympathy toward the Apaches from many easterners but this attack and Loring's death changed some minds.

There were even battles between various Apache tribes. In some instances a tribe would help the cavalry during it's campaign against it's perceived enemy. The overriding cause however for this and for all Indian Wars during the 1800's was the emigration of white settlers and the military into centuries old Indian lands. This war like all Indian Wars was a clash of cultures. The clashes even go back to the earliest days of Texas settlement in the mid 1800's involving the legendary Comanche leader Quanah Parker.

Fort Apache in Later Years

Geronimo, far right,and warriors

The post which had a few prior names was designated as Fort Apache in 1879. It remained in use for decades and was finally abandoned in 1922 after it's use declined.

After an act of Congress in January 1923 the site became the home of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Theodore Roosevelt Indian Boarding School. It was overseen by the Interior Department. The school's initial purpose was to serve Navajo children but by the 1930s the majority of students were Apache. In 1960 the Arizona State Department of Education opened a public school in nearby Whitewater and most of the students transferred there. The school continued to function as a multi-tribe institution. The Theodore Roosevelt School still operates today on the very spot as a middle school. It has operated since 1980 under the administration of a school board selected by the White Mountain Apache Tribal Council.

If you're deciding what to see in Arizona you may very well want to consider a visit to Fort Apache as part of your Arizona vacation trip planner. There's lots of Arizona history to see and it makes a great family vacation side trip.

Also, a very good companion trip to Fort Apache when in Arizona is the historic Hubbell Trading Post on the Navajo reservation in the northeast part of the state. The trading post continues in operation and features many fine authentic Navajo products.


(Article copyright Western Trips. Photos and images from the public domain)