Watch this film of a Rover Imperial being built. It starts with the foundry work, shows time-lapse assembly of the engine and then the "motor cycle," and finally some road time by what I assume to be factory test riders.
The engine footage is very interesting, casting the cores, where the foundry workers hand-carry a crucible of iron, and pour it into the pattern, retrieving the casting once it's cooled, machining, and final assembly. The frame is a traditional bicycle-style "double diamond," though the engine is a stressed member and takes the place of the bicycle crank area. It also has a springer front end, probably advanced for the time. They resort to child labor to install the belt final drive, leather I assume, and then there are great shots of riding on unpaved roads, and jumping into the air on rises in the dirt roads they encounter.
It's all very entertaining. I believe this to be a pre-WW I era film.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...eos/a31575/old-motorcycle-manufacturing-film/
The engine footage is very interesting, casting the cores, where the foundry workers hand-carry a crucible of iron, and pour it into the pattern, retrieving the casting once it's cooled, machining, and final assembly. The frame is a traditional bicycle-style "double diamond," though the engine is a stressed member and takes the place of the bicycle crank area. It also has a springer front end, probably advanced for the time. They resort to child labor to install the belt final drive, leather I assume, and then there are great shots of riding on unpaved roads, and jumping into the air on rises in the dirt roads they encounter.
It's all very entertaining. I believe this to be a pre-WW I era film.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...eos/a31575/old-motorcycle-manufacturing-film/
