The first V8 Motorcycle?

[V8Bikers]

Found this online:


1913 Scripps-Booth Bi-Autogo

A 3,200-lb. motorcycle with training wheels, a V8 engine and enough copper tubing to provide every hillbilly in the Ozarks with a still, the Scripps-Booth Bi-Autogo was the daft experiment of James Scripps-Booth, an heir of the Scripps publishing fortune and a self-taught — or untaught — auto engineer. The Bi-Autogo was essentially a two-wheeled vehicle, carrying its considerable heft on 37-in. wooden wheels. At slow speeds, the driver could lower small wheels on outriggers to stabilize the vehicle so it wouldn't plop over. This is not a case of the advantage of hindsight; this was obviously a crazy idea, even in 1913. The Bi-Autogo does enjoy the historical distinction of being the first V8-powered vehicle ever built in Detroit, so you could argue it is the beginning of an even greater folly.

[Puff]

History ! Dontcha just LOVE it ?!

[Carl La Fong]

Glenn Curtiss went 136 mph on this V8 bike in1907

I believe it was unfair, for whomever wrote that blurb about James Scripps-Booth, to portray him as a nut or a backyard hack. His Bi-Auto-Go may have been odd and seen as a failed experiment, but it was anything but a Mickey Mouse pile of junk as the "author" seems to imply. Scripps-Booth produced a line of fine, high quality cars. They were, eventually, absorbed into Billy Durant's, newly formed, General Motors and became part of Chevrolet. So, in a way, the Bi-Auto-Go was the great great grandfather of the Boss Hoss

[V8Bikers]

I did a little research and it looks like the V8 engine Curtis used was meant for aircraft use initially. Several articles on the Autogo state that it was the first vehicle in Detroit to have a V8 engine. Maybe because it was a automotive based engine? Or the authors are wrong?

[petitemoose]

I applaud his inginuity! Don't care what anyone says ... I'd ride it!!!