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Militaire

Now for something completely different. The Militaire Autocycle Company built its first machines in Cleveland, Ohio. The motorcycle departed sharply from conventional forms in design and construction, and was apparently conceived as a two-wheeled car. The original vehicle, powered by a single-cyclinder, has hub-center steering, a steering wheel and retractable outrigger wheels at the rear.

The Cleveland operation expired in 1913, but was resuscitated a year later in Buffalo, New York by owner N.R. Sinclair. The single had been replaced by a four-cylinder engine, and the steering wheel was supplanted by handlebars. The automotove-style frame and rear idler wheels remained. The 1065cc engine delivered better than 11 horsepower through a three-speed floorshift transmission and shaft drive. The wheelbase, like the early Henderson, was 65 inches. The wooden artillery wheels carried 28-inch Goodyears.

Given the name, the Militaire was surely intended as a military device from the beginning. But it was too long and heavy for a motorcycle and too unstable for a car. The army did buy a few examples for use in France in 1918, but the machines were immobilized by mud. The Buffalo enterprise had also succumbed, and Sinclair reformed the company in New Jersey and changed the name to Militor.

N.R. Sinclair was obviously not one to retreat in the face of adversity. When the Jersey City operation floundered, he set up shop again in the Knox Motors factory, an automobile company in Springfield, Massachussetts, a stones throw from the Indian factory. But this association also failed within a year, and Sinclair relocated in Bridgeport, Massachussets under the banner of the Bullard Machine Tool Company.

The Militaire was arguably ahead of its time (or its time never came), but as an engineering exercise it was an interesting device. As a hybrid, the machine was subject to numerous mechanical faults given the complex systems and overall length. Many of the motorcycles were returned for repairs, and the company would eventually fold under the burdens of warranty work and poor development.

In the Bridgeport chapter, the final three years of Militor production, the machine had an 1435cc overhead-valve engine. The latter renditions were sold only as sidecar units, and anticipated the arrival of art deco styling for motorcycles. Unfortunately the ohv engine was subject to lubrication problems, which pushed the company off the roster for good.

The History of the Motorcycle
Ace - Adler - Aermacchi - AJS - Aprilia - Ardie - Ariel - Armac
Benelli - Bianchi - Bimota - BMW - Bohmerland - Britten - Brough superior - BSA - Buell - Bultaco
Cagiva - Cleveland - Colleda - Cotton - Coventry - Crocker - Crouch - Curtiss - Cushman - Cyclone
Daimler - Deronziere - DKW - Douglas - Ducati
Emblem - Excelsior
Flanders- Flying Merkel - FN
Gilera - Gnome - Greeves - Greyhound
Harley Davidson - Henderson - Hercules - Hesketh - Hildebrand - Honda - Horex - Husqvarna - Hyosung
Imme - Indian - Iver Johnson
James - JAP - Jawa
Kawasaki - Kreidler - KTM
Lambretta - Laurin Klement - Laverda
Maico - Malaguti - Marsh Metz - Maserati - Matchless - Militaire - Mondial - Motobi
Moto Guzzi - Moto Morini - Munch - Mustang - MuZ - MV Agusta - MZ
Nelk - Ner A Car - New Era - Nimbus - Norton - NSU
OK Supreme - Ossa - Ostner Dresden
Panther - Pierce - Pope - Puch
Rokon - Royal Enfield - Rudge - Rumi
Safti - Scott - Standard - Stock - Sunbeam - Suzuki
Temple - Terrot - Thor - Triumph
Van Veen - Velocette - Victoria - Vincent - Voxan
Wanderer - Werner - Windhoff
Yale - Yamaha
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