Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
607
EXCELSIOR
100 Welbike - 1944
Scooters from the skies!
During World War II, motor scooters played a significant role as communications and reconnaissance machines, and particularly useful as light one-man transport vehicles which could be dropped by parachute.
Dropping Zone
The brainchild of Colonel J.R.V. Dolphin, the "Welbike" was really more a folding motorcycle than a scooter. Built by the well-known English Excelsior company, this cunning little machine had a rigid tubular frame housing a pressurized fuel tank and a horizontal two-stroke engine. The handlebars folded backwards, the telescopic seat pillar retracted into the frame, and the machine could be fitted into a 15-inch tube that could be air-dropped at the same time as its rider. Within a few minutes of landing, the Welbike was ready for use.
The Answer to Gridlock?
After the war, the Welbike was resurrected as the Corgi by Brockhouse Engineering of Southport, Lancashire. This civilian version was popular with boat owners because it took up little room on deck but gave them added mobility around the docks; however, it had added some extra weight and proved impracticable for normal usage. Bur such folding motorcycles, stored in automobile trunks ready to be put into use in case of gridlock, could become popular as a solution to urban congestion in the not-so-distant future.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine: 98 cc (50x50mm) single-cylinder two-stroke
Valves: two-stroke
Fuel System: pressure-fed carburetor
Transmission: open chain
Suspension: none
Brakes: rear wheel drum
Wheels: 12in wire
Weight: 90 lb
Maximum Speed: 40 mph
Preserved in original condition, this Wellbike played a special role in World War II – it was parachuted into occupied France with French government minister Andre Jarrot in 1944.