Throughout the history of motorcycles, companies and inventors have tried to make driving a motorcycle more like the experience of driving a car. Some of these motorcycles have roofs, seat belts, cavity-like storage spaces, and powertrains housed under the body. Many vehicles were equipped with automatic transmissions. This concept goes back further than I originally thought. In the early 1920s, you could buy the Ner-A-Car, a motorcycle with an automatic transmission, hub-center steering, and a perimeter frame inspired by car frames.. It was sold as a “two-wheeled vehicle” that could be enjoyed by women, children, men, and anyone else.
Last week, I covered a much more recent attempt to fuse automotive technology and motorcycles. The BMW C1 was an ambitious project in which BMW engineers equipped the scooter with crumple zones, seatbelts and safety cells. BMW’s goal was to create a scooter that was as safe as a city car, but cheaper to own than paying a monthly train ticket. Motorcycle history is full of things like this, from fully enclosed carvers to trikes of all kinds. Someone mentioned in my post about his BMW C1 that motorcycles existed a century before anything like this. Let’s shine a light on it!
The Ner-A-Car predates all of these motorcycles, and its design still holds some value a century later. Luckily, I found his 1923 Ner-A-Car when I went to the National Motorcycle Museum on Labor Day.
Fusion of cars and motorcycles
This story dates back to the early 1900s, when vehicle experimentation was taking place. Karl Nellacher was born in 1882 and, as the New York State Museum notes, Nellacher worked in the automotive field when he was a sales representative for Smith Motor His Wheels His Company, now known as A.O. Smith His Corporation. I started my career at. If this name sounds familiar, it’s because there’s a good chance you have one of those water heaters in your home. But would he have returned in 1914? The company was known for its bicycle parts and automobile frames. The Smith Motor Wheel was a gasoline-powered motor that was attached to the bicycle as his third wheel.
Neracher later moved to Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Company, where he served as the company’s chief engineer. The New York State Museum writes that in Cleveland, Nellacher designed a transverse two-stroke, single-cylinder engine. The 221cc engine powered the rear wheel of Cleveland’s motorcycle through his 90-degree bevel drive that rotated the chain.
The motorcycle reportedly had some success, and the Army ended up using it for courier services in World War I. This machine is important because the engine will be revived later. The New York State Museum notes that Nellacher joined the Essex Motor Truck Company in New York in 1916 after working in Cleveland.
In 1918, Nellacher presented a prototype for a new type of motorcycle. This bike had a lower step-through frame, hub-center steering, and a higher seating position. Will it be installed behind the front wheel? Nellacher’s horizontal 2-stroke single.
Despite the technology on display, the prototype repurposed known technology into something new. As a motorcycle history publication, vintage Reportedly, hub steering and step-through chassis were already well-established at the time, and were also featured on the British Tooley company’s patent biker in 1904.
This low frame also appears in Norman Sinclair’s 1914 Militaire. This motorcycle was designed like a car and was not a typical motorcycle, so it was no longer a motorcycle. The original Militia was equipped with a steering wheel that utilized girder forks and an articulated steering neck. It’s not hub-center steering, but what is described as a “pivot front axle.” Another neat Militare trick was a series of outriggers that lowered when the pedals were pressed, allowing Militare riders to stop without putting their foot down. Like his 1915 model above, later Militia reverted to a regular handlebar setup.
It is unclear how many of these older designs inspired the Ner-A-Car, but the Ner-A-Car itself is based on a patent granted to John J. Chapin of the Detroit Biker Company in 1911. doing.According to the New York State Museum, this is his 1911 edition of world of bicycles, the Detroit Bike Car was an “attempt to build a two-wheeled vehicle that incorporated many desirable features of an automobile.” The Detroit Biker was an afterthought in that it used a passenger car-style frame, steered the front wheel via a linkage, used a sheet steel body, utilized footboards, and had a low center of gravity for safety. It was similar to his car.
The Bi-Car reportedly sold few, if any, sales. What is clear is that Mr. Nellacher must have obtained a license before putting his own spin on the biker design. The Ner-A-Car Corporation was founded in Syracuse, New York in his 1920 year, and one year later, Neracher filed for a patent for a “motorcycle.” U.S. Patent 1,547,157 was granted to Ner-A-Car Corporation in 1925. Ner-A-Car’s patent is extensive, including 9 pages of drawings, 13 pages of instructions, and 98 improvements in the motorcycle’s design. This pertains only to the motorcycle chassis, not the engine, transmission, or controls.
In the patent image above, you can see the surrounding frame and why Ner-A-Car claims it’s a “car-type chassis.”
almost car
Before Ner-A-Car was founded, and before Neracher went after its patents, he was working on building a sales network. Neracar’s business partner, J. Alan Smith, persuaded Harry Powell, manager of Sheffield Simplex Motors in England, to sell Neracar in England and the British colonies. In 1919, the Intercontinental Engineering Company was founded in London, with Smith, Nellacker and Powell as directors. Sheffield Simplex he established a factory in 1921 and began promoting Ner-A-Car.
[Editor’s Note: We’ve actually written about the Ner-A-Car in a different context before! – JT]
Meanwhile, in the United States, the Ner-A-Car (sold as Neracar in the United States) was exhibited at the Chicago National Motorcycle, Bicycle, and Accessories Show in 1921.
The Ner-A-Car starts with a low perimeter frame. On top of that, a sheet metal body hid the dirty machine from the rider. The front wheel is pushed forward and rotated by a series of linkages operated by the handlebars. The rider sits on a high seat and commands the vehicle in a comfortable position with his feet forward.
Underneath the body is a 221cc 2-stroke single producing 2.5 horsepower. Transmission not connected. Instead, a friction wheel was moved between the center and outer edge of the engine’s flywheel, effectively changing the bike’s gear ratio. This setting was operated by a lever with five recesses. If the friction wheel is placed closer to the center of the flywheel, the speed will be lower. As the friction wheel moves towards the outside of the flywheel, the Ner-A-Car moves faster.
Ner-A-Car advertised a weight of 175 pounds, a top speed of 35 miles, and a fuel economy of 85 to 100 miles per gallon. The company also announced that you can travel up to 300 miles for just $1 (currently $18). According to the ad, Neracar has the simplest drivetrain, with only six moving parts from the engine pistons to the rear wheels.
The Ner-A-Car name was also a bit dual-purpose, as the vehicle was marketed almost as a car, but the motorcycle was also very close to its inventor’s name.
In fact, the Ner-A-Car and its American sibling, the Neracar, had proven to be stable machines. Apparently, it was so easy to ride and stable that there were stunts like standing up and riding the Ner-A-Car without touching the bars, and riding the Ner-A-Car while handcuffed. Ner-A-Car boasted the vehicle’s low center of gravity and claimed that its exceptional design minimizes skidding even on the roughest roads. Because the Neracar was designed to be very beginner-rider friendly, there was some debate within Ner-A-Car about whether 35 mph was too high as a top speed.
Ner-A-Car said in its advertisement that the motorcycle was a “two-wheeled motor” and a “two-wheeled automobile.” Typical motorcycles of the time were dirty, with riders ending up covered in mud and oil. These bikes also had Diamond He style frames, but they were not suitable for women who wore skirts or were going to commute in a suit. Ner-A-Car advertised that its frame was passenger car type and its body would not stain the car body.
One thing I noticed about Ner-A-Car’s marketing was the fact that this machine was pushed quite a bit towards girls and women. The company said it is targeting a wide age range from 9 to 99 years old. Marketing materials often cited women as the primary buyer, noting that the step-through design would not interfere with skirts or kilts.
It was a bike that I could ride with my everyday clothes on. At the time, women had only recently gained the right to vote in both Britain and the United States, a revolution of independent women was taking place, and women were entering places normally occupied by men, and sports that at the time belonged to men. Women have started to participate.
There were also some famous Nerakar rides.as sports illustrated In 1921, Gwenda Hawkes wrote that she rode 1,000 miles in the British Ner-A-Car, traveling 190 miles a day to reach her goal. Later that year, she rode 300 miles nonstop in her Ner-A-Car.
In the image above you can see some of Ner-A-Car’s quirks. A lever linkage on the handlebar rotates the wheels. The fender is fixed to the rest of the body. Its wide fenders, along with the rest of the body, are meant to keep the rider clean, so you don’t have to dress like a motorcyclist to ride the Ner-A-Car .
In 1922, motorcycle racer Irwin G. “Cannonball” Baker rode a Neracar from Staten Island, New York, to Los Angeles, California. It took him 27 days, 5 hours and 28 minutes to complete the 3,364-mile trip, averaging about 19.41 miles per hour and consuming 45 gallons of fuel. In the end, Neracar recorded 74.77 mpg, and he also consumed just over 5 gallons of oil. The trip cost him $15.70 (currently $284).
Good idea that didn’t catch on
Despite glowing reviews and perhaps casting the widest net of riders, the Ner-A-Car never really caught on. In the UK, Ner-A-Car has evolved over the years. After the entry-level model, the Narkar B type appeared with a larger 285cc engine. Then came the Model C, which featured his even larger 350cc Blackburne 4-stroke engine and his traditional 3-speed manual transmission instead of a friction drive. Later variations include a high-end His Ner-A-Car with a rear swingarm and His 1/4 elliptical leaf springs, bucket seats with unique suspension, windshield, and instrument cluster.
None of these seemed to appeal to the market, and production was discontinued in Britain after 1926 with just 6,500 produced.
The original American Neracar, on the other hand, underwent very few changes. The engine was enlarged to 255cc, a second seat was added, lighting was added, rear brakes (no front wheels) and a storage box were added. His Ner-A-Car in America was a bit more successful, selling around 10,000 units before production ended in 1927.
Ultimately, Ner-A-Car proved that you can bring automotive technology to motorcycles and create something really cool. The bike was reportedly even said to be very reliable. In America, the Neracar sold for $225, or about $4,070 in today’s money, so it wasn’t prohibitively expensive. But the people were not that interested because they voted with their wallets. Thankfully, the car-like motorcycle concept didn’t die with Ner-A-Car, and today motorcyclists looking for something a little different can find plenty of car-like machines.
If you’re interested in the National Motorcycle Museum’s Ner-A-Car, it’s scheduled to hit the Mecum auction block this Saturday. However, bring cash as it is expected to sell for between $20,000 and $24,000.
(Image: author, unless otherwise noted.)
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