|fuel_capacity = {{Convert|2.5|gal|l|abbr=on}}[7]
|oil_capacity =
|fuel_consumption =
|turning_radius =
|related =
|sp =
}}The Curtiss V-8 motorcycle was a {{convert|269|cuin|cc|abbr=on}} V8 engine-powered motorcycle designed and built by aviation and motorcycling pioneer Glenn Curtiss that set an unofficial land speed record of {{convert|136.36|mph|km/h}} on January 24, 1907.[1][15] The air-cooled F-head engine was developed for use in dirigibles.[2][17][18]
Engine
The forty horsepower engine was the two carburetor version of the Curtiss Model B-8 aircraft powerplant, one of thirteen engines listed in the May 1908 "Aerial and Cycle Motors" catalog.[1] The engine weighed {{Convert|150|lb|abbr=on}} and was offered for US$1,200 but it did not sell, in spite of the engine's notoriety from the speed record.[1] An eight carburetor version of the Model B-8 was used in the experimental AEA Red Wing and White Wing airplanes that flew in 1908.[1]
Legacy
Curtiss remained "the fastest man in the world," the title the newspapers gave him for going faster than any vehicle, on land, sea or air, until 1911,[3] when his absolute record was broken by the {{Convert|141.7|mph|abbr=on}} Blitzen Benz automobile.[23] No motorcycle surpassed the record until 1930.[24][25] Curtiss's success at racing strengthened his reputation as a leading maker of high-performance motorcycles and engines.[4]
It has been suggested that the literary character Tom Swift was based on Curtiss.[23][28] Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle, the first of over 100 books in the Tom Swift series, was published shortly after the V-8 record setting run.
The record setting V-8 motorcycle is now in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.[5] The Air and Space museum lent it to the Guggenheim for the 1998 The Art of the Motorcycle exhibition in New York.[17][31]
The Curtiss OX-5 aero engine, a successor of the V-8 motorcycle engine, powered several United States civilian and military aircraft. More than 10,000 were manufactured.[6]
References
1. ^House 2003, p. 41.
2. ^House 2003, p. 40.
3. ^Roseberry 1972, p. 57.
4. ^Hatch 2007, p. 36.
5. ^"Curtiss V-8 Motorcycle." {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906140855/http://www.nasm.si.edu/imagedetail.cfm?imageID=1553 |date=2010-09-06 }} Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Collections. Retrieved: February 24, 2011.
6. ^{{citation|title=Curtiss OX-5 V-8 Engine|publisher=Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum|url=http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?object=nasm_A19200008000}}
7. ^1 2 3 {{citation|url=http://www.motorcycle.com/events/1907-curtiss-v8-12898.html|publisher=Motorcycle.com|title=1907 Curtiss V-8 / Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: Glenn H. Curtiss|author= Paul Garson|date=June 25, 2004}}
8. ^1 {{Citation |url= https://archive.org/stream/scientific-american-1907-02-09/scientific-american-v96-n06-1907-02-09#page/n3/mode/2up |format=Internet Archive |magazine=Scientific American |date= February 9, 1907 |volume=96 |issue= 6 |page= 128 |title= The Fastest and Most Powerful American Motor Bicycle }}
9. ^1 2 {{Citation |url=http://pastexhibitions.guggenheim.org/motorcycle/motorcycle/1868-1919.html|title=Past Exhibitions | The Art of the Motorcycle (1868-1919 models) | publisher=The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation |year=2009}}
10. ^1 {{citation|title=Glenn H. Curtiss - 100 Years Ago|author=Trafford L-M. Doherty|publisher=Glenn H. Curtiss Museum|url=http://www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org/educational/glenn_curtiss.html|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://archive.is/20130414203405/http://www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org/educational/glenn_curtiss.html|archivedate=2013-04-14|df=}}
11. ^1 {{citation |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 22, 1907 |title=Racing Outlook Good for Autos at Ormond |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D1FFA385512738DDDAB0A94D9405B878CF1D3 }}
12. ^1 2 3 4 5 {{Citation |title= Hell-Rider to King of the Air: Glenn Curtiss' Life of Innovation |first= Kirk W. |last= House |publisher= SAE International |year= 2003 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BMCmbp7JaioC&pg=PA57 |pages=57–60 |accessdate= March 22, 2013 |isbn=0-7680-0802-6 |location= Warrendale, Pennsylvania }}
13. ^1 {{Citation|last= Setright |first=L.J.K. |authorlink=L. J. K. Setright |year= 1979 |title=The Guinness book of motorcycling facts and feats |publisher=Guinness Superlatives |isbn= 978-0-85112-200-7 }}
14. ^1 2 {{Citation |title= Top 10 Weirdest Custom Motorcycles; Dimensionally challenged motorcycle mavericks |first=Paul |last= Garson |date= 15 September 2010 |magazine= Motorcycle.com |url= http://www.motorcycle.com/how-to/top-10-weirdest-custom-motorcycles-89959.html }}
15. ^1 {{Citation|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdXaa3a2rtEC&pg=PA44 |title= Standard Catalog of American Motorcycles 1898-1981 |first= Jerry |last= Hatfield |publisher= Krause Publications |year= 2006 |ISBN= 978-0-87349-949-1 |page= 44 }}
16. ^1 2 {{Cite book|last=de Cet |first=Mirco |year=2002 |title=The illustrated directory of motorcycles |publisher=MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company |isbn= 978-0-7603-1417-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wNzyIcw2vxoC |page=116}}
17. ^1 {{cite book | title = Tom Swift & Company | last = Dizer | first = John T | year = 1982 | location = Jefferson, North Carolina | publisher = McFarland Publishing | isbn = 978-0-89950-024-9 | page = 35 }}
18. ^1 {{Citation |last1=Statnekov |first1= Daniel K. |year=2001 |origyear=1998 |title=The Art of the Motorcycle |author2=Guggenheim Museum Staff |editor1-last= Krens |editor1-first= Thomas |editor2-last= Drutt |editor2-first= Matthew |editor-link2= Matthew Drutt |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |isbn=0810969122 |page= 107 }}