Today in motorcycle history, December 9, 1902

  Gladiator Cycle Company introduces it's first motorcycle. 

  Gladiator Cycle Company, a French bicycle manufacturer, was founded by Alexandre Darracq and Paul Aucoq in 1891 at Le Pré-Saint-Gervais in northeast Paris.  Adolphe Clement, owner of rival Clement Cycles, was a large investor.


  In 1895 Gladiator introduced its first internal combustion engine, a naphtha powered tricycle.


  After numerous, and at times nearly fatal, failed attempts, in 1902 they finally offered a motorized bicycle with a 142cc engine bolted to the frame. The motor used overhead valves and a detachable cylinder head; the inlet valve was automatically controlled by the engines suction, the exhaust valve was mechanically operated. A coil-and-battery ignition was used, and a two-barrel carb was controlled by small levers attached to the frames top tube. An external flywheel kept the crankcase very small, and a long belt from the engine pulley to a rim on the rear wheel was tensioned by a small pulley on the seat tube. The front brake pressed direct on the front tire, the rear was a coaster brake activated by back-pedaling. 

  The bike was sold under both the Gladiator and Clement marques.



  Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk