Pioneers of the Two-Wheeler

<p>From the smoke-wreathed sheds of Cannstatt to the wind-scoured sands of Ormond Beach the motorcycle's first three decades unfolded as a pageant of restless curiosity. Pioneers of the Two-Wheeler follows that arc with forensic clarity charting how steam dreamers petrol pragmatists and factory visionaries turned wobbly wooden draisines into chain-driven multi-gear machines capable of reshaping armies and daily commutes alike.</p><p></p><p>Drawing on patent filings military trial reports and production ledgers the book illuminates the breakthroughs-spray carburetors high-tension magnetos triangulated steel frames-that still underpin twenty-first-century superbikes. Equally vivid are the personalities: Muriel Hind and Madame Lefèvre shattering gender barriers on 400-mile endurance runs; Glenn Curtiss coaxing 136 mph from a beach-bound V-eight; factory managers at FN NSU and Bianchi teaching assembly lines to hum in six-minute rhythms.</p><p></p><p>Set against the gathering thunder of world war these stories reveal why balance simplicity and open-road exhilaration remain the motorcycle's immutable core. Whether you restore veteran bikes ride modern café racers or simply relish industrial history this narrative delivers a front-row seat to the birth of mechanised freedom.</p>