Pierce Four: Difference between revisions

Pierce Four
	Pierce Four at The Art of the Motorcycle exhibit in Memphis
Manufacturer	Pierce Motorcycle Company
Parent company	Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company
Production	1909–1914
Engine	696 cc T-head inline-4 with compression release
Bore / stroke	2-1/2 x 2-1/2 in.
Top speed	60 mph (97 km/h)
Power	4 hp or 7 hp
Transmission	Shaft drive
Frame type	31⁄2 inch tubing
Suspension	Front: Leading link fork; Rear: rigid
Tires	28×2.5 in. pneumatic
Weight	275 lb (125 kg) (dry);
Related	FN Four, Henderson Four

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The Pierce Four was the first four-cylinder motorcycle produced in the United States.^[5]^[6]^[7] The model is included in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Classic Bikes^[8] and Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. Touting its inline-four engine as "vibrationless", Pierce sold the motorcycle for $325,^[2] rising to $400 by 1913, which was expensive at the time, making it popular with "more prosperous sportsmen".^[9]

Development and design

1910 Pierce Four motorcycle on display at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, Birmingham, Alabama.

George N. Pierce, owner of the GN Pierce Company, built refrigerators and bird cages in the 1890s, and expanded into bicycle manufacture by 1892, with the famous 'arrow' logo. Many of their bicycles used a shaft drive for the rear wheel. Three members of the GN Pierce board of directors traveled to Europe in 1900 to acquire new technology, and they purchased a DeDion engine to power a new automobile.

Pierce's son Percy was a competition driver of Pierce automobiles. By 1907, he was appointed head of the new Pierce Cycle Company, with the intention of producing motorcycles. Following factory tradition, he traveled to Europe for technical inspiration and acquired a Belgian FN Four in 1908, which was shipped back to the Pierce factory for study.^[10] As the world's first production four-cylinder motorcycle, the FN was the apex of current technology, and the Pierce engineering team used the FN as a reference for their own four-cylinder motorcycle introduced in 1909: the Pierce Four.^[4]^[11]

The new Pierce was innovative, with a stressed member engine and shaft drive,^[6] and a frame of very large-diameter tubing, that both hid the control cables and held oil and gasoline internally.^[12]^[13] The large diameter tubing is said to have increased the frame's strength, and reduced the number of parts required, making manufacture less expensive.^[14] Unlike FN's engine, the Pierce had a T-head sidevalve motor, and cam-driven intake valves rather than the 'automatic' (opened by atmospheric pressure) inlet valves of the FN.^[5] The Pierce was thus quite an improvement on the FN, and was the first four-cylinder motorcycle manufactured in the USA. Early models had no clutch and fixed gearing, like the competing FN Four, but the 1910 model was greatly improved, with a clutch and two-speed transmission.^[6]

Fate of Pierce Motorcycle Company

The motorcycle is said to have cost more to build than its sale price and eventually bankrupted Pierce Motorcycle Company after fewer than 500 were built.^[7]

Exhibitions and collections

The Pierce Four was exhibited in the Guggenheim Museum's The Art of the Motorcycle exhibition in Las Vegas.^[15] Examples are held in permanent collections of several museums, including the National Motorcycle Museum in Iowa,^[16] the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Ohio,^[17] the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Alabama,^[18] Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum in England and the Dreamcycle Motorcycle Museum in Sorrento, British Columbia.^[19]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c American Motorcyclist 2005, p. 71
^ ^a ^b Silverman 2013
^ Duckworth 2012, p. 30
^ ^a ^b Hodgdon, p. 28
^ ^a ^b Hodgdon 1976, p. 27
^ ^a ^b ^c Dumitrache 2011
^ ^a ^b Clayton 2008
^ Motorcycle Hall of Fame 2010
^ Hodgdon 1976, p. 34
^ Edwards 1997, p. 43
^ de Cet (2002, p. 360) states that Pierce "did not copy" the FN Four but "its influence...was apparent".
^ Clayton (2008) states that fuel was carried in the top tube and seat tube. Oil was carried in the down tube.
^ Motorcycle Hall of Fame states that (steel?) tubes were internally coated with copper.
^ d'Orléans 2013
^ 2003 Art of the Motorcycle Show Photo Gallery, Motorcycle USA, retrieved 2013-10-28
^ 1912 Pierce Four, National Motorcycle Museum
^ Classic Bikes: 1911 Pierce Four, American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame, archived from the original on 2013-10-29
^ "2011 Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum: 1910 Pierce Four", Photo Gallery, Motorcycle USA, retrieved 2013-10-28
^ "Home". dreamcycle.ca.

References

"1911 Pierce Four", American Motorcyclist, 59 (7): 71, July 2005
Clayton, Graham (March–April 2008), "America's early in-line fours", Motorcycle Mojo
de Cet, Mirco, ed. (2002). The Illustrated Directory of Motorcycles. St. Paul, MN USA: Salamander Books. ISBN 0-7603-1417-9.
Duckworth, Mick, ed. (2012), Motorcycle: The Definitive Visual History, Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 978-0756690526
Dumitrache, Alina (May 23, 2011), 1910 American Pierce Four Wins Villa d'Este Motorcycle Best of Show
Edwards, David (August 1997), "Four-runners: the essential guide to inline-fours", Cycle World, pp. 42–43
Hodgdon, Ted A. (1976), Motorcycling's Golden Age of the Fours (third ed.), Lake Arrowhead, California: Bagnall Publishing Company, ASIN B0006CR2Q2
1910 Pierce, How Stuff Works, 26 September 2007
Motorcycle Hall of Fame (2010), 1911 Pierce Four: When two cylinders were not enough, American Motorcyclist Association, archived from the original on 2013-10-29
d'Orléans, Paul (April 4, 2013), "Bicycles and a Pierce 4", The Vintagent, retrieved 2013-10-21
Silverman, Daniel (January 23, 2013), "Retro: 1911 Pierce Four-Cylinder", Ride Apart

External links

High resolution images, Copake Auction

[ama-1] American Motorcyclist 2005, p. 71

[silverman-2] Silverman 2013

[duckworth-3] Duckworth 2012, p. 30

[hodgdon28-4] Hodgdon, p. 28

[hodgdon27-5] Hodgdon 1976, p. 27

[dumitrache-6] Dumitrache 2011

[clayton-7] Clayton 2008

[ama2-8] Motorcycle Hall of Fame 2010

[9] Hodgdon 1976, p. 34

[Edwards-10] Edwards 1997, p. 43

[11] Cet (2002, p. 360) states that Pierce "did not copy" the FN Four but "its influence...was apparent".

[12] Clayton (2008) states that fuel was carried in the top tube and seat tube. Oil was carried in the down tube.

[13] Motorcycle Hall of Fame states that (steel?) tubes were internally coated with copper.

[14] 'Orléans 2013

[15] 2003 Art of the Motorcycle Show Photo Gallery, Motorcycle USA, retrieved 2013-10-28

[16] 1912 Pierce Four, National Motorcycle Museum

[17] Classic Bikes: 1911 Pierce Four, American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame, archived from the original on 2013-10-29

[18] "2011 Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum: 1910 Pierce Four", Photo Gallery, Motorcycle USA, retrieved 2013-10-28

[19] "Home". dreamcycle.ca.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox motorcycle
 |name             = Pierce Four
@@ Line 20: / Line 21: @@
 |transmission     = [[Driveshaft|Shaft drive]]
 |frame            = 3{{1/2}} inch tubing<ref name=hodgdon28>Hodgdon, p. 28</ref>
-|suspension       = Front: [[Leading link fork]]<br>Rear: rigid
+|suspension       = Front: [[Leading link fork]]<br />Rear: rigid
 |brakes           =
 |tires            = 28×2.5 in. pneumatic
@@ Line 38: / Line 39: @@
 |sp               =
 }}
-The '''Pierce Four''' was the first four-cylinder [[motorcycle]] produced in the United States.<ref name=hodgdon27>Hodgdon 1976, p. 27</ref><ref name=dumitrache>Dumitrache 2011</ref><ref name=clayton>Clayton 2008</ref> The model is included in the [[American Motorcyclist Association|AMA]] [[Motorcycle Hall of Fame]] Classic Bikes<ref name=ama>Motorcycle Hall of Fame 2010</ref> and [[Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum]]. Touting its [[inline-four engine]] as "vibrationless", Pierce sold the motorcycle for $325,<ref name=silverman>Silverman 2013</ref> rising to $400 by 1913, which was expensive at the time, making it popular with "more prosperous sportsmen".<ref>Hodgdon 1976, p. 34</ref>
+The '''Pierce Four''' was the first four-cylinder [[motorcycle]] produced in the United States.<ref name=hodgdon27>Hodgdon 1976, p. 27</ref><ref name=dumitrache>Dumitrache 2011</ref><ref name=clayton>Clayton 2008</ref> The model is included in the [[American Motorcyclist Association|AMA]] [[Motorcycle Hall of Fame]] Classic Bikes<ref name=ama2>Motorcycle Hall of Fame 2010</ref> and [[Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum]]. Touting its [[inline-four engine]] as "vibrationless", Pierce sold the motorcycle for $325,<ref name=silverman>Silverman 2013</ref> rising to $400 by 1913, which was expensive at the time, making it popular with "more prosperous sportsmen".<ref>Hodgdon 1976, p. 34</ref>
 ==Development and design==
+[[File:1910PierceFour-Barber.jpg|thumb|1910 Pierce Four motorcycle on display at the [[Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum]], Birmingham, Alabama.]]
-Percy Pierce, president of The Pierce Motorcycle Company, created as a subsidiary of [[Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company]], had acquired a European 1908 [[FN Four]] and brought it to America to disassemble and study.<ref name=Edwards>Edwards 1997, p. 43</ref> The company's engineering team used it as a "reference" for at least part of the two years they took to develop the Pierce Four.<ref name=hodgdon28/><ref>de Cet (2002, p. 360) states that Pierce "did not copy" the FN Four but "its influence...was apparent".</ref> The results were innovative, with a [[stressed member engine]] and [[driveshaft|shaft drive]],<ref name=dumitrache/> and a frame that both hid the control cables and held oil and gasoline internally.<ref>Clayton (2008) states that fuel was carried in the [[top tube]] and [[seat tube]].  Oil was carried in the [[down tube]].</ref><ref>Motorcycle Hall of Fame states that (steel?) tubes were internally coated with copper.</ref> The large diameter tubing is said to have increased strength and reduced parts count for less expensive manufacturing.<ref>d'Orléans 2013</ref> Unlike FN's engine, the Pierce had a [[T-head engine|T-head]], and cam-driven intake valves rather than automatic (opened by atmospheric pressure).<ref name=hodgdon27/>
+[[File:Pierce 7 pk 1911.jpg|thumb|upright=1.30|alt=1911 Pierce Motorcycle|1911 Pierce Motorcycle]]
+George N. Pierce, owner of the GN Pierce Company, built refrigerators and bird cages in the 1890s, and expanded into bicycle manufacture by 1892, with the famous 'arrow' logo. Many of their bicycles used a shaft drive for the rear wheel. Three members of the GN Pierce board of directors traveled to Europe in 1900 to acquire new technology, and they purchased a DeDion engine to power a new automobile.
+Pierce's son Percy was a competition driver of [[Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company|Pierce automobiles]]. By 1907, he was appointed head of the new Pierce Cycle Company, with the intention of producing motorcycles. Following factory tradition, he traveled to Europe for technical inspiration and acquired a Belgian [[FN Four]] in 1908, which was shipped back to the Pierce factory for study.<ref name=Edwards>Edwards 1997, p. 43</ref> As the world's first production four-cylinder motorcycle, the FN was the apex of current technology, and the Pierce engineering team used the FN as a reference for their own four-cylinder motorcycle introduced in 1909: the Pierce Four.<ref name=hodgdon28/><ref>de Cet (2002, p. 360) states that Pierce "did not copy" the FN Four but "its influence...was apparent".</ref>
-Early models had no clutch and fixed gearing, like the competing FN Four, but this was soon corrected in 1910 when a two-speed transmission was fitted.<ref name=dumitrache/>
+The new Pierce was innovative, with a [[stressed member engine]] and [[driveshaft|shaft drive]],<ref name=dumitrache/> and a frame of very large-diameter tubing, that both hid the control cables and held oil and gasoline internally.<ref>Clayton (2008) states that fuel was carried in the [[top tube]] and [[seat tube]].  Oil was carried in the [[down tube]].</ref><ref>Motorcycle Hall of Fame states that (steel?) tubes were internally coated with copper.</ref> The large diameter tubing is said to have increased the frame's strength, and reduced the number of parts required, making manufacture less expensive.<ref>d'Orléans 2013</ref> Unlike FN's engine, the Pierce had a [[T-head engine|T-head]] sidevalve motor, and cam-driven intake valves rather than the 'automatic' (opened by atmospheric pressure) inlet valves of the FN.<ref name=hodgdon27/> The Pierce was thus quite an improvement on the FN, and was the first four-cylinder motorcycle manufactured in the USA.  Early models had no clutch and fixed gearing, like the competing FN Four, but the 1910 model was greatly improved, with a clutch and two-speed transmission.<ref name=dumitrache/>
 ==Fate of Pierce Motorcycle Company==
@@ Line 49: / Line 54: @@
 ==Exhibitions and collections==
-The Pierce Four was exhibited in the Guggenheim Museum's ''[[The Art of the Motorcycle]]'' exhibition in Las Vegas.<ref>{{citation|title=2003 Art of the Motorcycle Show Photo Gallery|publisher=Motorcycle USA|url=http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/180/Motorcycle-Photo-Gallery/2003-Art-of-the-Motorcycle-Show.aspx|accessdate=2013-10-28}}</ref> Examples are held in permanent collections of several museums, including the [[National Motorcycle Museum (Iowa)|National Motorcycle Museum]] in Iowa,<ref>{{citation|publisher=National Motorcycle Museum|title=1912 Pierce Four|url=http://www.nationalmcmuseum.org/featured-bikes/1912-pierce-four/}}</ref> the [[Motorcycle Hall of Fame]] Museum in Ohio,<ref>{{citation|publisher=American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame|title=Classic Bikes: 1911 Pierce Four|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/classics/bike.asp?id=93}}</ref> the [[Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum]] in Alabama,<ref>{{citation|title=2011 Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum: 1910 Pierce Four |work=Photo Gallery|publisher=Motorcycle USA|url=http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/66567/Motorcycle-Photo-Gallery-Photo/2011-Barber-Vintage-Motorsports-Museum.aspx|accessdate=2013-10-28}}</ref> and the [[Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum]] in England.
+The Pierce Four was exhibited in the Guggenheim Museum's ''[[The Art of the Motorcycle]]'' exhibition in Las Vegas.<ref>{{citation|title=2003 Art of the Motorcycle Show Photo Gallery|publisher=Motorcycle USA|url=http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/180/Motorcycle-Photo-Gallery/2003-Art-of-the-Motorcycle-Show.aspx|accessdate=2013-10-28}}</ref> Examples are held in permanent collections of several museums, including the [[National Motorcycle Museum (Iowa)|National Motorcycle Museum]] in Iowa,<ref>{{citation|publisher=National Motorcycle Museum|title=1912 Pierce Four|url=http://www.nationalmcmuseum.org/featured-bikes/1912-pierce-four/}}</ref> the [[Motorcycle Hall of Fame]] Museum in Ohio,<ref>{{citation|publisher=American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame|title=Classic Bikes: 1911 Pierce Four|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/classics/bike.asp?id=93|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204811/http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/classics/bike.asp?id=93|archivedate=2013-10-29}}</ref> the [[Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum]] in Alabama,<ref>{{citation|title=2011 Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum: 1910 Pierce Four |work=Photo Gallery|publisher=Motorcycle USA|url=http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/66567/Motorcycle-Photo-Gallery-Photo/2011-Barber-Vintage-Motorsports-Museum.aspx|accessdate=2013-10-28}}</ref> [[Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum]] in England and the Dreamcycle Motorcycle Museum in Sorrento, British Columbia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dreamcycle.ca/ |title=Home |website=dreamcycle.ca}}</ref>
 ==Notes==
@@ Line 55: / Line 60: @@
 ==References==
-*{{citation|title=1911 Pierce Four|journal=[[American Motorcyclist]] |date=July 2005| volume=59|number=7|page=71|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=9fYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA71 }}
+*{{citation|title=1911 Pierce Four|journal=[[American Motorcyclist]] |date=July 2005| volume=59|number=7|page=71|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA71 }}
-*{{citation|title=America's early in-line fours|first=Graham |last=Clayton|journal=Motorcycle Mojo|date=March-April 2008|url=http://www.motorcyclemojo.com/2008/03/america’s-early-in-line-fours/ }}
+*{{citation|title=America's early in-line fours|first=Graham |last=Clayton|journal=Motorcycle Mojo|date=March–April 2008|url=http://www.motorcyclemojo.com/2008/03/america’s-early-in-line-fours/ }}
-*{{cite book |editor1-first=Mirco |editor1-last=de Cet|title=The Illustrated Directory of Motorcycles|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wNzyIcw2vxoC&pg=PA360|year=2002 |publisher=Salamander Books |location=St. Paul, MN USA|isbn=0-7603-1417-9 |ref=deCet}}
+*{{cite book |editor1-first=Mirco |editor1-last=de Cet|title=The Illustrated Directory of Motorcycles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wNzyIcw2vxoC&pg=PA360|year=2002 |publisher=Salamander Books |location=St. Paul, MN USA|isbn=0-7603-1417-9 |ref=deCet}}
-*{{Citation | editor-last = Duckworth | editor-first  = Mick |title= Motorcycle: The Definitive Visual History |isbn= 978-0756690526 |publisher= [[Dorling Kindersley]] |year= 2012 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cQ6-B-tbcqMC&pg=PA30}}
+*{{Citation | editor-last = Duckworth | editor-first  = Mick |title= Motorcycle: The Definitive Visual History |isbn= 978-0756690526 |publisher= [[Dorling Kindersley]] |year= 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQ6-B-tbcqMC&pg=PA30}}
 *{{citation|title= 1910 American Pierce Four Wins Villa d'Este Motorcycle Best of Show |first=Alina |last=Dumitrache |date=May 23, 2011|url=http://www.autoevolution.com/news/1910-american-pierce-four-wins-villa-d-este-motorcycle-best-of-show-35596.html}}
 * {{Citation |last1=Edwards |first= David |title=Four-runners: the essential guide to inline-fours |magazine=[[Cycle World]] |date=August 1997 |pages= 42–43 }}
 *{{Citation|last=Hodgdon|first=Ted A.|authorlink=Ted Hodgdon|year=1976|title=Motorcycling's Golden Age of the Fours|edition=third|publisher=Bagnall Publishing Company |location=Lake Arrowhead, California|asin=B0006CR2Q2}} <!-- no ISBN printed in book or given by booksellers or by Google Books; located at Seattle Central Library reference desk, 7th floor, call number R629.2275 H661M3 -->
-*{{citation|title=1910 Pierce|publisher=[[How Stuff Works]]|url=http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1910-pierce.htm}}
+*{{citation|title=1910 Pierce|date=26 September 2007|publisher=[[How Stuff Works]]|url=http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1910-pierce.htm}}
-*{{Citation |url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/classics/bike.asp?id=93 |title=1911 Pierce Four: When two cylinders were not enough |author=Motorcycle Hall of Fame |publisher=[[American Motorcyclist Association]]|year=2010}}
+*{{Citation |url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/classics/bike.asp?id=93 |title=1911 Pierce Four: When two cylinders were not enough |author=Motorcycle Hall of Fame |publisher=[[American Motorcyclist Association]] |year=2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204811/http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/classics/bike.asp?id=93 |archivedate=2013-10-29 }}
 *{{Citation |last=d'Orléans |first= Paul |url= http://thevintagent.blogspot.com/2013/04/bicycles-and-pierce-4.html |title=Bicycles and a Pierce 4|work= The Vintagent  |date=April 4, 2013 |accessdate= 2013-10-21 }}
 *{{citation|work=Ride Apart|first=Daniel |last=Silverman|title=Retro: 1911 Pierce Four-Cylinder  |date=January 23, 2013|url=http://rideapart.com/2013/01/the-pierce-motorcycle/ }}
+==See also==
+*[[List of motorcycles of 1900 to 1909]]
+*[[List of motorcycles of the 1910s]]
+*[[List of motorcycles by type of engine]]
+*[[Indian Four]]
 ==External links==
@@ Line 71: / Line 82: @@
 *[http://copakeauction.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=9768&weid=30991&weiid=11207966 High resolution images], Copake Auction
-[[Category:American motorcycles]]
+[[Category:Motorcycles of the United States]]
 [[Category:Motorcycles introduced in the 1900s]]
-[[Category:1909 introductions]]
+[[Category:Vehicles introduced in 1909]]
+[[Category:Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company|Four]]