1917 Ackerman Spring Wheel

[Night Train]

Here's something from a long lost corner of motorcycle history, the Ackerman Spring Wheel. The idea was to replace the spokes with sprung steel straps so that the wheel itself acted as the suspension.

Ackerman Spring Wheel

[robtg]

I can think of a whole lot of reasons why that didn't catch on.

[Quickv4]

Wow, almost like a steampunk Tweel. Pretty cool!

[anotherguy]

Here's a later attempt by (the real) Triumph. I used to have one for a bike I never built. One heavy bastard.

[eldomike]

just goes to show ya, nothing new under the sun....

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...-dont-need-air

[bk brkr baker]

I went to see a Menonite family that rebuilds Duetz tractors. As I walked into the the shed there was a 4006 Duetz {40 hp] that had it's wheels modified to steel rims with coil springs inserted for shock absorbsion.
As we drove around the area I could see other examples like this peeking out of sheds.
Different orders had varying ideas on the use of pnumatic tires some orders use them , some don't.