Daimler and Maybach develop the first motorcycle in Stuttgart
In the early 1880s, engineer Gottlieb Daimler and his assistant William Maybach were working in a workshop in what is now a district of Stuttgart when they developed a petrol-powered combustion engine. They named their invention the Standuhr (grandfather clock), and Daimler immediately patented his new, small, lightweight engine. Recognizing that the engine would be ideal for use in a vehicle, Daimler and Maybach aimed to minimize costs by building a simple, two-wheeled wooden chassis covered with iron plates. Stabilized by two small outer wheels, the vehicle was propelled by their new “grandfather clock”. With an output of half a horsepower, the new craft could reach a top speed of 12 kilometres per hour.
Daimler registered a patent for the new vehicle on 29 August 1885, later christening it the “riding car” (Reitwagen). Due to its stabilizers and perhaps because of its name, some doubt whether the vehicle was a direct precursor to the motorcycle. However, it is undisputed that the Reitwagen was the world’s first self-propelled motor vehicle.
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