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The Autoped was an early
motor scooter or
motorized scooter manufactured by the Autoped Company of
Long Island City
Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...
, New York from 1915 to 1922.
The driver stood on a platform with 10-inch tires and operated the machine using only the handlebars and steering column, pushing them forward to engage the clutch, using a lever on the handlebar to control the throttle, and pulling the handlebars and column back to disengage the clutch and apply the brake. After riding, the steering column would be folded onto the platform to store the scooter more easily. The engine was an air-cooled, 4-stroke, 155 cc engine over the front wheel. The bike came with a headlamp and tail lamp, a Klaxon
horn, and a toolbox. It was quite efficient, but was not widely distributed.
A patent for the Autoped as a "self-propelled vehicle" was applied for in July 1913 and granted in July 1916.
An early description of the Autoped described it as having a hollow steering column that acted as the fuel tank. However, the production version had a fuel tank above the front mudguard.
The Autoped went out of production in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in 1921, but was manufactured by
Krupp
Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...
in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
from 1919 to 1922.
File:Autoped in Newark - historical photo - 1922.jpg, Historical photo of an Autoped in use by a traffic cop in Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, 1922
File:Krupp-Motorroller.JPG, Krupp licence-built Autoped with seat
File:Lady Florence Norman.jpg, Lady Florence Norman, a suffragette, on her motor-scooter in 1916
See also
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List of motorcycles of the 1910s
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Moped
A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. Historically, the term exclusively meant a similar vehicle with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle eng ...
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Personal transporter
References
Bibliography
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External links
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Motorcycle manufacturers of the United States
Scooter manufacturers
Motorcycles introduced in the 1910s
Personal transporters
{{Motorcycle-stub