Talk:FN Four

First production inline-4?

This blog [23], which appears to be well sourced, suggests that the 1903 Evart-Hall was the first inline-4. We should be careful with wording on the FN Four. I'm not even sure now that it was the first mass produced inline-4. — Brianhe (talk) 19:59, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Setright (p. 38) says " A Nottingham man named Binks produced a 5.h.p. inline four in 1903, though it did not go into production. By contrast, the 363 c.c. FN of 1905...was an overwhelming success." Cyril Ayton's History of Motorcycling p. 52 says "Unlike the British Holden, Binks and Evar-Hall fours, which failed to live up to expectations, the FN Four was a great success." I'd say it was the first production inline 4. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 20:18, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

We should still share everything we know about the other fours in this article. It's also odd that every single source goes out of their way to mention how slow the FN Four was, but they don't say which other bike you could have had prior to 1912 that was faster. Also the start date for the FN Four looks like it should be 1905, not 1911 on List of fastest production motorcycles. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 20:24, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Brown's Ultimate History of Fast Bikes pp 12-13 says the 40mph top speed was achieved on the 1911 491cc, two-speed model, and agrees with others that a two speed was introduced in 1908; not as an aftermarket kit. Ayton, p 52, says the 1905 was capable of 40mph. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 21:13, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Transmission contradiction

Perhaps Vintagent has a clue as to the 1908-1909 contradiction on when the two-speed transmission was available. He says the 1908 item was an aftermarket kit. — Brianhe (talk) 20:09, 17 October 2013 (UTC)