Wacky 50

Mick,
      If you Google `Imme r100`   you will have the whole mystery explained. Rather an odd one this, but pioneering none the less for that!
Both wheels were interchangeable and provision was made for a spare wheel to be secured on the rear carrier. The exhaust pipe doubled up as the swing arm ? Some models show the double spark plug arrangement. Fully qualifies for the `Wacky` status I think

Trevor

[url=https://s376.photobucket.com/user/TrevorAmos2/media/Kreidler%20MEO%201%20motor%201_zpsmtg1pdar.jpg.html][/url

This is the 50cc record breaking, blown Kreidler engine, all fairly straight forward??? The rectangular box sloping down to the engine fins is a container for...... crushed ice cubes! It was repacked before each run in an attempt to keep temps down and power up! Complete with secondary gear box. Note the Amal TT carb.
Makes you wonder how much power was lost driving all of that lot, the things people do?

Trevor

What it cost in crushed ice cubes could have been spent on a second-hand intercooler from a truck junk-yard...

How wacky can they get?

...but ain´t it lovely to see how daft the olthers are....

Whoops!

Knock at the door -- see thro´peep-hole two men in white coats....

Byeeee!

Lovely surprise to receive your letter John! No doubt about it, that the F-B fully qualifies for the title of `Really Wacky`!
I did a bit of poking around on the web but discovered nothing about this particular machine. The triangulated frame is from the 175cc two stroke roadster. The engine in the picture is a tall four-stroke, and it may be that the only way to get that long stroke engine in the frame is at the back, so the gearbox had to go up front. As it is, half of the fuel tank had to go to clear the rocker box, and other bits seem to be moved around.
But do you think the front wheel could clear that big exhaust pipe at full lock? Perhaps destined to remain a mystery?
The rider, Tommy G. Meeten, was a very prominent competitor in all the competition disciplines of the day, and he and his wife were founder members of a two stroke club!
I did my best to tidy up the image electronically so is a little clearer, but look at all the goings on in the back ground, talk about relaxed and informal, I recon you and I would fit in very well there, three piece suits, ties and cloth caps? Mind you todays jobs-worth, health and safety guys would collapse with apoplexy!

Thanks JB you made my day!  Regards, Trevor

You got it Trevor -- I´d reckon right on all counts....

The idea of straight tube -- triangulated frames -- was instant replacement of frame tubes in the mud of Flanders in the 1st World War.... So many bikes were out of action because of bent frames. Why keep on until 1924 really begs the question?

Fanstatic Bitza. Reminds of my Grass Tracking days where bits of kitchenware appeared on some -- come to think of it some early Bantams had bits of aluminium frying pan included.....


Bloke in the IoM museum reckoned Tommy Meeton finished 6th on this in the 175cc race but I imagine it was more a 250 race where 175 were classified seperate.

Must have handled really awful.

Thanks to you and young Edward for getting it published and clearing me from being called wacky too...

Cheers1

JayBee.....

nec bike show even got the oil leak

Far beyond anything my imagination could come up with, wacky, zany, outrageous but beautifully crafted, but you have to ask......why?
Nice one though though Nigel!

Trevor

Ooooooh -- ow ...!

That saddle..................!!!

I`m really struggling to find something constructive to say about this image. It`s off some sort of marine engine, I think, bet the mechanic got a hell of a shock when he lifted the lid on this can of worms, and I thought I`d seen just about every thing!

Trevor

I have seen a coach bolt in a piston crown before, but nothing so complex as this.

Mick.

Very interesting stuff indeed but if you go to You Tube and type in 48 cylinder Kawasaki you might be amazed. What some people do for pleasure

Les2012.

As long as there´s a few like this nut there must be hope for the world!

Thanks Les!

Cheers!

JayBee.

We all of us at sometime feel that our bike was going like a rocket! Well this Opel record attempt machine actually did? No details I`m afraid but truly daft and utterly wacky!!

Trevor

Spotted leaning up against the outside wall of his laboratory, this machine is reported to be Prof Pat Pending`s latest attempt to be victorious in the upcoming `Wacky Races` series?

Trevor

if that was a bantam..... it wouldnt  be allowed

How about this one then Nigel, I can`t see any problem myself!

Actually, this is a terrific snap, pin sharp details from a plate camera taken in the mid 1930s somewhere in Italy I believe, anyone have a notion as to what make the engine is?

Trevor

Not the best picture but as it`s been a while since we`ve had a `wacky`I thought this might qualify? Sadly no details though it is clearly a labour of love and an incredible amount of work!

Trevor

Another candidate for the Wacky Files, two wheel steering and option for reclining or standing as the forward protruding bars fold upwards. I just love the way all of the guys making this stuff shown on Wacky do so with astonishingly high engineering standards, if it`s worth doing then do it well!

Trevor

Megola, I have to confess that this is a new marque to me, and had a brief production run from 1921 to 25 from a factory in Munich, and it displays typically fine German engineering, the engine, contained within the hub and spokes of the front wheel, is a 5cylider radial of 640cc. there is neither clutch nor gearbox and a 6x reduction from engine to wheel. The engine was stopped by a handle bar lever and re-started by paddling with one`s feet.
From my perspective it seems a quite regal and dignified vehicle, with the exception of the starting rigmarole, but certainly a creation of it`s time and by contemporary standards a bit Wacky!

Trevor

We were down in the Ulm area (Bavaria) and in a museum -- of sorts -- was a pic of one of these with a Puppe Mädchen (Dolly-Bird) - beret as headgear,  long skirt, sitting side-saddle astride  one of these.... I wonder if she rode it that way.

Cheers!

John-Boy.

The inset from a promotional poster could depict your young lady John, bit more body stylish work to appeal to the fair sex! There would seem to be a fair few around the world in running order so 90+ years on Megolas still have their devotees?

Trevor

Fantastic! I wonder about the engine... radial or rotary?

Smoky and noisy -- and probably quite dangerous....

Great category this, it ought be strung together and published -- i love it!!

Cheers!

John-Boy.

Glad you are enjoying the Wacky stuff John.
Now I just adore this `recumbent`, so much so that I could almost be tempted back onto two wheels with one of these. The rider/designer/ manufacturer is Bob Horn and he races this 500cc Kawasaki engine machine over in the states against conventional bikes.

In some ways it reflects the Megola in it`s unorthodoxy and sheer style, whilst embracing innovation and practical engineering! I will try and get some shots of it in naked form so the design can be more fully scrutinised. This is really something special!

Trevor

Now, Trevor -- that is IT!

After grasstrack and speedway practice with wide bars and upright back -- à la, going to Grandma´s of a Sunday tea-time on the Moped -- I  had to go and get my inner-parts tangled up on a Bantam. I could never get used to it and I am  sure some parts have never recovered.......

This looks about right. One could go to McDonald´s Drive In,  collect a Bid Mac and coast thro´ Scrutineering without GETTING_UP -- as it were........

Wünderbar!

John-Boy.l

Another photo of Bob Horn`s radical racer, showing the almost minimalist approach he has to his design. It is all the more creditable an exercise to realise this was achieved in a garden shed just large enough to house a car!
The precision and fine detail of the front suspension and steering are really inspirational and the whole machine is just knee high. And I just bet he could sip from a cup of coffee whilst riding single handed going around the out-side of a fellow racer?

Trevor