Reitwagen

The Reitwagen, meaning “riding car,” is widely regarded as the first motorcycle. It was built in 1885 by German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Cannstatt, near Stuttgart, as a testbed for Daimler’s gasoline engine and as an early demonstration of motorized two-wheeled transport.

Design and technical details: The Reitwagen was a two-wheeled vehicle with a wooden frame that carried a compact internal-combustion engine. The engine displaced about 264 cubic centimeters and produced roughly 0.5 horsepower (about 0.37 kilowatts). Power was transmitted to the rear wheel via a belt drive. The machine relied on the rider’s balance, featured a simple suspension, and used iron tires. It was capable of modest speeds, on the order of a few tens of kilometers per hour in demonstrations.

Historical context and significance: The Reitwagen was developed as part of Daimler and Maybach’s early engine program to explore motorized transportation. Although only prototypes were built and it did not go into production, the device established several concepts that would shape later motorcycles: a vehicle with a powered engine mounted on a frame designed for two-wheeled propulsion, and the idea of self-propelled transport using a gasoline engine.

Preservation and legacy: The original Reitwagen prototypes did not become a mass-production design, and the surviving artifacts from this era are limited. In modern times, the Reitwagen is recognized in retrospective histories as a crucial milestone in the development of motorcycles and the broader history of Daimler and Maybach’s engineering legacy.