I've seen many photos of vintage motorcycles - very early 1900's - which seemed to have fairly large engines, leading me to believe that they were primarily motorcycles, not power-assisted bicycles. Many of them had what appear to be bicycle pedals.
For example, I picked up the current issue of Street Bikes magazine, and there was an article and photos of an early motorcycle race at Indianapolis Speedway, and some of the bikes pictured clearly had pedals. There are also pictures I've seen in this forum showing the same thing.
What was the deal with this? Were the pedals there in case the motor stopped (Imagine trying to pedal a Harley!)? Were they used for starting the engine? Were they just carry-over technology from the evolution from bicycle to motorcycle?
Inquiring minds want to know.
For example, I picked up the current issue of Street Bikes magazine, and there was an article and photos of an early motorcycle race at Indianapolis Speedway, and some of the bikes pictured clearly had pedals. There are also pictures I've seen in this forum showing the same thing.
What was the deal with this? Were the pedals there in case the motor stopped (Imagine trying to pedal a Harley!)? Were they used for starting the engine? Were they just carry-over technology from the evolution from bicycle to motorcycle?
Inquiring minds want to know.