Gear-driven Machines.

Buckley Front Wheel Engine, 1903

An example of a gear-driven motor bicycle, with the engine contained within the wheel is seen on the stand of the Buckley Patent Motor Wheel and Carriage Co., of Sheffield. In this machine the engine is mounted on a sleeve around the hub proper and drives by a pinion on the crankshaft of the motor on to an internally toothed wheel bolted to aluminium arms on one side of the wheel, the opposite side of the wheel being left open, so as to give a means of ready access to the motor. One of the machines on the stand is fitted with a 2 h.p. engine having magneto ignition. A spray type of carburetter is employed, spirit being supplied to it from a petrol tank, which occupies a position between the seat-tube and the rear wheel. What is described in the catalogue as the Buckley light motor car is also shown. This reminds one somewhat of one of Mr. H. J. Lawson's earlier efforts. It has a front tractor wheel in which a 2½ h.p. Minerva engine is employed driving through gearing of the type before mentioned.

Some ingenuity has been displayed in the employment of this type of motor, as the battery box, silencer, and all other parts of the motor are contained within the wheel, the main mudguard being made to serve as the petrol tank, while the forward extension of the mudguard is employed as a lubricating oil tank. Lubricating oil is supplied to the crank chamber of the engine by means of a small force pump clipped to one of the bridge stays of the front fork. A bicycle type of head socket is employed, and a steering tiller carrying the ignition advance is located near the handle and operates the contact breaker by means of a steel wire cable.The framework of the car is constructed of steel tube, painted in imitation of bamboo. Perhaps the most noticeable feature of this particular machine is the entire absence of brakes. (Stand 3.)

The Motor Cycle November 25th, 1903. Page 846
Crystal Palace, National Show 1903