Pre 1914 British Army Cyclist

[Frankenstein]

I really think it's a home made in part, that engine cradle is almost like a Harley but isn't... Maybe a guy saw a drawing and tried to copy.

 

[wheelbender6]

I have an Enfield rifle like that. It doesn't shoot straight, but it is fine for home protection. Ammo is pricey.
Perhaps the engine is Royal Enfield as well.

 

[zippinaround]

if the lamp is definitely from birmingham then i'd say its a BSA (birmingham small arms) it could well have been custom built specifically for that soldier. But I can't find anything similar .

 

[TJL]

This is a member of the 1st City of London Royal Engineers (Volunteers). This is based on the shoulder strap where "Lo." for London and "E" for Engineers were standard abbreviations. The Volunteers were predecessors to the Territorial Army. I know nothing about motorized bikes but based on the uniform I would date this to between about 1900 and 1908, probably at the earlier end. The rifle is a Lee-Metford, predecessor to the Lee Enfield discussed above.

 

[Tyler6357]

Nice Pic. The Germans had the Wanderer, here is a picture. Not much info on it. It was taken in France, the picture is of German officers, The caption only says: "Walter with a motorcycle", it is dated May 30, 1916 but I can see snow on the ground so it must have been taken earlier maybe?

 

[Decimals]

This is a member of the 1st City of London Royal Engineers (Volunteers). This is based on the shoulder strap where "Lo." for London and "E" for Engineers were standard abbreviations. The Volunteers were predecessors to the Territorial Army. I know nothing about motorized bikes but based on the uniform I would date this to between about 1900 and 1908, probably at the earlier end. The rifle is a Lee-Metford, predecessor to the Lee Enfield discussed above.

Many thanks TJL and sincere apologies for my delay in responding. I have not visited this site for some time as no one had offered any plausible suggestions as to the unit or the bike. London Royal Engineers makes perfect sense - mystery solved. Thank you again, Pete

 

[MadCat]

Both are cool pictures of a time gone by. It seems so simple and crude but must have been the coolest thing ever to ride back then. I’m not familiar with old engines from this time period so correct me if I’m wrong. In the first picture, Is that the spark plug on the side? Is the pipe/plumbing on top some kind of intake manifold? Where’s the carb? Where’s the exhaust pipe?

 

[Old Busted Hotness]

After spending way too much time Googling, I'm going to suggest 1904 Rex:

This one even has the leather(?) pad on the cylinder:

In this early period there were literally hundreds of motorcycle "manufacturers," most of which vanished without a trace after a few years. Looking at these old pics shows me how spoiled we are today, with engines that work and whatnot.

 

[Old Busted Hotness]

Upon further review, 1903 Rex is a much closer match:

 

[Old Busted Hotness]

And upon further review yet, the "pad" on the side of the cylinder is the muffler. Looky here:

Behind the pad you can see the exhaust valve, so that's one mystery solved. The lever on my pic above is most likely a "town and country" device to open/close the silencer.

The intake valve is atmospheric (also called automatic) meaning it's a poppet valve on a very weak spring. Vacuum in the cylinder opens it on the intake stroke. Carburetor is very likely a "surface: or evaporation type, not something we would recognize as a carb today.