Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
6814
PRINETTI & STUCCHI
Tricycle and Trailer - 1899
If three wheels are good, are four wheels better?
A pioneer of the Italian motorcycle industry, Prinetti & Stucchi was founded in 1875 by an engineer named Prinetti and a businessman named Stucchi to make sewing machines, then switched to cycles. By 1894, they had produced over 7000 bicycles and tricycles.
17-Year-Old Genius
In 1898, they produced a motorized tricycle (three years after De Dion) and soon after built one of the first twin-cylinder machines, designed by a 17-year-old genius named Ettore Bugatti, soon to become one of the most famous automobile makers of all time.
Unpaid Apprentice
Bugatti, working as an unpaid apprentice, created what could be described as a twin-engine tricycle, since he simply linked two singles side by side, with their crankshafts driving a common ring gear between the two engines. He raced this machine and in 1899, won several victories with it. Also in 1898, the firm had unveiled another surprise, a tandem bicycle named the Sociable, whose two riders rode side by side, each with his own handlebars controlling the steering by a system of bellcranks. Taking sociability a step further, this astounding quadricycle of 1899 had its wheels laid out in diamond formation. The front part was a conventional tricycle, behind which was fixed a single-wheeled rear end with a passenger saddle. In 1901, Prinetti & Stucchi built their first motorcycle, with a 2 hp engine. The 1905 Stucchi, with its engine mounted in the bottom loop of the frame with mechanically-operated valves and magneto ignition, was quite advanced for its time.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine: 258cc (68x71mm) air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke
Power Rating: 1.75 hp
Valves: automatic overhead inlet, side exhaust
Fuel System: carburetor
Transmission: direct-gear drive to solid rear axle
Suspension: none (apart from sprung saddles)
Brakes: shoe pressing on tire (front); band brake (rear)
Wheels: wire clincher
Maximum Speed: 18 mph
The amazing Prinetti & Stucchi quadricycle, inspired by the French De Dion tricycle, is displayed in the Turin Automobile Museum.