Not many of these around

Even a more modern bike and flares don’t mix. On a 1970s BMW flat twin it was possible to get a trouser leg hooked over the carburetter top preventing a foot from touching the ground, resulting in the bike toppling over.
Don’t ask me how I know this….:D

William

C’mon! You still have not told us you’re story!!! Was it in public? :rolleyes:

Lets not forget the Messerschmitt & Heinkel micro cars of the 50s.

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/your_garage/cars/432.shtml

You have just transported me back 35 yrs!!! I remember my fave book was a Ladybird Book of Cars. Remember the pages full of the cars you mentioned and stuff like Bond 3 wheelers and the ultra cool Renault Dauphin!!!!

Amazing machines! 😎

Post war (WWII…) Beech made a prototype of a hideous looking automobile named the “Plainsman”. I suspect the name was a play on words referring to an airplane and their Kansas location.

Grumman made canoes for years…and fairly lately post office vans.

Lets not forget the Messerschmitt & Heinkel micro cars of the 50s.

But back to bikes…here’s a link to a radial engined powered motorbike…
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/your_garage/cars/432.shtml

Avro produced a few vehicles, one of which still exists in the Science Museum collection I believe.

Best wishes
Steve P

This little beauty, currently resident in the Museum of Science & Industry at Manchester, was manufactured by Avro.

….. Did any other aero manufacturers produce other automotive thingy wotsits

I’m surprised no-ones mentioned SAAB yet.

Oh, I just did……. 😎

Avro produced a few vehicles, one of which still exists in the Science Museum collection I believe.

Best wishes
Steve P

….. Did any other aero manufacturers produce other automotive thingy wotsits

Short Brothers at least twice. They built bus bodies in the mid 1920s, many for London and some trolley buses for Oldham.
And in the 70s they produced the Short Shorland – an armoured Landrover with the turret from a Ferret armoured car – used in N Ireland.

Allan

The gyroscopic effect would have made for interesting cornering characteristics!!

Not forgetting the Megola – which actually strikes me as a fairly sensible thing to do with a rotary engine. Except possibly when it comes to trying to brake a wheel with all that mass attached to it…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megola

Adrian
(we are VERY off-topic, aren’t we?)

How about this?!

Built by Jesse James. Yes he is a direct descendant!!

Bristols had a car manufacturing arm – which is still going if you are able to paper walls with £50 notes, you might like to pay them a visit………..

Used to work for a chap who drove Bristols. He once claimed that the first Bristol car was powered by a Bristol aircraft engine. Any truth in this?

Best wishes
Steve P

Bristols had a car manufacturing arm – which is still going if you are able to paper walls with £50 notes, you might like to pay them a visit………..

Of course! Totally missed that one. Did I hear rightly that they are wanting to build the most powerful and fastest production car??

Mods, I think this should now be moved to General Discussion. We have now gone from Hawker to idiots like me falling off inherently unstable modes of transport!!!! 😀

Even a more modern bike and flares don’t mix. On a 1970s BMW flat twin it was possible to get a trouser leg hooked over the carburetter top preventing a foot from touching the ground, resulting in the bike toppling over.
Don’t ask me how I know this….:D

William

Sorry it has to be done….. How Do You Know This!! 😉
Is it the same thing as me running out of talent even before running out of grip at Donington Park last year? Ankle still ********… that sort of thing? 😀

Good job Flares didn’t come in til the 70’s!! 😀

Even a more modern bike and flares don’t mix. On a 1970s BMW flat twin it was possible to get a trouser leg hooked over the carburetter top preventing a foot from touching the ground, resulting in the bike toppling over.
Don’t ask me how I know this….:D

William

….. Did any other aero manufacturers produce other automotive thingy wotsits

Plenty on the engines side…Rolls-Royce, BMW and Daimler-Benz to name but some.
Not so sure about airframes. I know Austin built a few fighters in the Great war, and Fiat means as much in aviation as it does on the road. Plus, of course, the many British motor makers like Rootes Group who turned themselves into plane makers in the Second World war – think of all those Speke-built Blenheims and Halifaxes.
The early French aviator Gabriel Voisin was as much a car man as a planes man. He was just about the last survivor of the really early days of powered flying (ie pre-1908) and in the 1970s he was asked whether he would rather be driving one of his cars or a modern one. He reply was along the lines of ‘don’t be silly – a Renault 5 is better than anything I ever made.’
I’m sure I’ve left a few obvious names out, but you get the general idea.

William

Bristols had a car manufacturing arm – which is still going if you are able to paper walls with £50 notes, you might like to pay them a visit………..

As an off topic….

….. Did any other aero manufacturers produce other automotive thingy wotsits

External Flywheel aswell! Good job Flares didn’t come in til the 70’s!! 😀
Even if you are not into bikes, you will find the engineering fascinating. Well worth a visit and a fantastic legacy for the folks that have restored this place after the soul destroying fire. Incredible work in such a short time! 😎

Wonderful place, definitely gets your juices flowing. 😀

Let’s hope it now has a sprinkler system with juices that flow. What a lovely bike, by the way. One *phut* for every telegraph pole!

Adrian