In 1896, Edwin Ross Thomas (1850–1936) of Buffalo, New York began selling gasoline engine kits for propelling ordinary bicycles.

[1] By 1912, the demand for motorcycles had dropped significantly, and the Thomas Motor company discontinued all production of two-wheeled machines.

This was followed in January 1903 by the Model 18 with its sliding selective transmission and non-detachable tonneau with rear entrance or runabout body styles.

The race began in Times Square, New York, on February 12 and covered some 22,000 miles (35,000 km), finishing in Paris on July 30, 1908.

Six teams started the race (one Italian, one German, three French (De Dion-Bouton, Motobloc, and Sizaire-Naudin), and the American Flyer).

The American Flyer arrived at the edge of the city on July 30, and initially was not allowed into Paris by police because it had a broken headlamp.

With no tools to remove the light, they simply strapped the bike on the Thomas Flyer so they could enter Paris and finish the race.

It was later discovered the Protos took some shortcuts on its path and was penalized, so the American team that actually arrived second was declared the official winner of the epic race.