Motocycle

Motocycle was a word used in the United States in the latter part of the 19th century for a horseless carriage, the type of vehicle now known as a car or automobile.

[5]It turns out that Herman H. Kohlsaat, owner of the Times-Herald, and Frederick Upham Adams, a local writer with a mechanical engineering interest, ran a public contest for someone to come up with a unique name to replace "horseless carriage" that represented the new motorized transport.

[11] His motocycle could carry four persons, but for the race there would have been only two in the vehicle to reduce the weight and gain speed.

His lightweight motocycle came in at 675 pounds, could seat four people plus cargo, and would probably sell for about $600 in a large quantity production.

[11][12] In 1898 "Modern machinery" magazine pointed out the merits of gasoline-, electric- and steam-propelled 4-wheeled motocycles (automobiles).