27:
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281:, and a frame of very large-diameter tubing, that both hid the control cables and held oil and gasoline internally. The large diameter tubing is said to have increased the frame's strength, and reduced the number of parts required, making manufacture less expensive. Unlike FN's engine, the Pierce had a
269:
in 1908, which was shipped back to the Pierce factory for study. 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.
257:
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
285:
sidevalve motor, and cam-driven intake valves rather than the 'automatic' (opened by atmospheric pressure) inlet valves of the FN. 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,
265:. 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
229:
as "vibrationless", Pierce sold the motorcycle for $ 325, rising to $ 400 by 1913, which was expensive at the time, making it popular with "more prosperous sportsmen".
294:
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.
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like the competing FN Four, but the 1910 model was greatly improved, with a clutch and two-speed transmission.
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54:
26:
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Europe in 1900 to acquire new technology, and they purchased a DeDion engine to power a new automobile.
757:
627:
455:
de Cet (2002, p. 360) states that Pierce "did not copy" the FN Four but "its influence...was apparent".
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exhibition in Las Vegas. Examples are held in permanent collections of several museums, including the
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Motorcycle Hall of Fame states that (steel?) tubes were internally coated with copper.
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670:
645:
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69:
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Edwards, David (August 1997), "Four-runners: the essential guide to inline-fours",
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729:
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111:
93:
49:
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in
England and the Dreamcycle Motorcycle Museum in Sorrento, British Columbia.
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547:, American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame, archived from
711:(third ed.), Lake Arrowhead, California: Bagnall Publishing Company,
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704:
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1910 American Pierce Four Wins Villa d'Este
Motorcycle Best of Show
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249:
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produced in the United States. The model is included in the
563:"2011 Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum: 1910 Pierce Four"
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The Pierce Four was exhibited in the
Guggenheim Museum's
736:
740:
1911 Pierce Four: When two cylinders were not enough
289:
464:Clayton (2008) states that fuel was carried in the
827:
261:Pierce's son Percy was a competition driver of
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241:1910 Pierce Four motorcycle on display at the
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506:2003 Art of the Motorcycle Show Photo Gallery
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25:
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662:Motorcycle: The Definitive Visual History
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641:The Illustrated Directory of Motorcycles
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774:Silverman, Daniel (January 23, 2013),
709:Motorcycling's Golden Age of the Fours
644:. St. Paul, MN USA: Salamander Books.
410:
273:The new Pierce was innovative, with a
803:List of motorcycles by type of engine
341:
339:
337:
626:Clayton, Graham (March–April 2008),
841:Motorcycles introduced in the 1900s
793:List of motorcycles of 1900 to 1909
422:
13:
776:"Retro: 1911 Pierce Four-Cylinder"
683:Dumitrache, Alina (May 23, 2011),
334:
14:
862:
813:
756:d'Orléans, Paul (April 4, 2013),
745:American Motorcyclist Association
318:Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum
290:Fate of Pierce Motorcycle Company
243:Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum
223:Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum
836:Motorcycles of the United States
798:List of motorcycles of the 1910s
737:Motorcycle Hall of Fame (2010),
181:275 lb (125 kg) (
628:"America's early in-line fours"
579:
555:
544:Classic Bikes: 1911 Pierce Four
535:
519:
497:
488:
479:
458:
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851:Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company
431:
322:Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum
55:Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company
1:
659:Duckworth, Mick, ed. (2012),
601:
531:, National Motorcycle Museum
428:Motorcycle Hall of Fame 2010
210:was the first four-cylinder
7:
846:Vehicles introduced in 1909
786:
638:de Cet, Mirco, ed. (2002).
298:Exhibitions and collections
10:
867:
637:
472:. Oil was carried in the
310:National Motorcycle Museum
106:60 mph (97 km/h)
758:"Bicycles and a Pierce 4"
305:The Art of the Motorcycle
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44:Pierce Motorcycle Company
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33:The Art of the Motorcycle
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314:Motorcycle Hall of Fame
219:Motorcycle Hall of Fame
820:High resolution images
275:stressed member engine
254:
253:1911 Pierce Motorcycle
246:
245:, Birmingham, Alabama.
233:Development and design
614:American Motorcyclist
369:Duckworth 2012, p. 30
346:American Motorcyclist
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316:Museum in Ohio, the
173:28Ă—2.5 in. pneumatic
732:, 26 September 2007
446:Edwards 1997, p. 43
437:Hodgdon 1976, p. 34
393:Hodgdon 1976, p. 27
83:compression release
21:
667:Dorling Kindersley
621:(7): 71, July 2005
609:"1911 Pierce Four"
263:Pierce automobiles
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247:
227:inline-four engine
221:Classic Bikes and
35:exhibit in Memphis
19:
16:Type of motorcycle
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160:Leading link fork
98:2-1/2 x 2-1/2 in.
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822:, Copake Auction
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747:, archived from
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569:, Motorcycle USA
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528:1912 Pierce Four
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509:, Motorcycle USA
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730:How Stuff Works
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705:Hodgdon, Ted A.
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632:Motorcycle Mojo
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31:Pierce Four at
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814:External links
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225:. Touting its
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199:Henderson Four
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50:Parent company
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591:dreamcycle.ca
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749:the original
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571:, retrieved
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549:the original
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511:, retrieved
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419:Clayton 2008
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320:in Alabama,
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122:Transmission
116:4 hp or 7 hp
74:696 cc
41:Manufacturer
32:
808:Indian Four
725:1910 Pierce
696:Cycle World
348:2005, p. 71
279:shaft drive
208:Pierce Four
163:Rear: rigid
148:inch tubing
127:Shaft drive
20:Pierce Four
830:Categories
780:Ride Apart
767:2013-10-21
717:B0006CR2Q2
602:References
573:2013-10-28
513:2013-10-28
212:motorcycle
154:Suspension
134:Frame type
61:Production
474:down tube
470:seat tube
103:Top speed
64:1909–1914
787:See also
707:(1976),
466:top tube
79:inline-4
267:FN Four
195:FN Four
191:Related
158:Front:
143:⁄
715:
673:
648:
587:"Home"
283:T-head
178:Weight
94:stroke
76:T-head
70:Engine
328:Notes
169:Tires
112:Power
81:with
713:ASIN
671:ISBN
646:ISBN
468:and
277:and
206:The
90:Bore
216:AMA
183:dry
832::
778:,
760:,
743:,
728:,
669:,
665:,
630:,
619:59
617:,
611:,
589:.
565:,
412:^
398:^
386:^
374:^
353:^
336:^
197:,
92:/
654:.
593:.
476:.
185:)
145:2
141:1
138:3
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