Early Motorcycle Manufacture - The Rover Imperial (*silent movie)
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- čas přidán 14. 11. 2016
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Grab yourself a brew, sit back and watch this enchanting video of a Rover motorcycle being constructed back in the good old days of hand crafted machinery. From casting the cylinders to machining the crank and assembling the engine, this a wonderful insight into the vintage days of building motorcycles for the road. And keep your eye out for the test rider who hits the water feature with a little bit too much gusto!
The Rover company began to develop and produced the Rover Imperial motorcycle in November 1902. This was a 3.5hp diamond-framed motorcycle with the engine in the centre and 'springer' front forks, an improvement ahead of its time. The first Rover motorcycle had innovative features such as a spray carburettor, a bottom-bracket engine, and mechanically operated valves. Featuring a strong frame with double front down tubes and a good quality finish, over a thousand Rover motorcycles were sold in 1904.
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Fascinating video. Coventry was a powerhouse of British industry in the 19th and 20th century. I have a little company manufacturing parts for classic British motorcycles, repairing them and carrying out many one off and short run fabrication jobs. So many of my tools, still in everyday use were made in Coventry, Birmingham and Leicester. I can't help it but I admit feeling sad when I see the way industry has been allowed to collapse but there are some relatively young, self taught engineers like myself trying to keep going in a world that doesn't seem to appreciate these skills. There's lots of like to say but will leave it at that.
Hello good evening, my dear, how are you?
I never had a British motorcycle, I had many Japanese bikes and one BMW.
But I have a Yorkshire terrier.
You are a great person making parts for old bikes.
I have a 1966 Triumph and a love it.
For someone who has 2 of these bikes in parts this is amazing. Can't get any better reference material than this. Life just got a whole lot easier for me.
I would totally enjoy putting those together, lucky you.
It’s cool, how those engines have a internal flywheel that is actually the crankshaft
Crouching down for aerodynamics. Catching air over a small hill. Building an engine that consist of a piston, crankshaft, timing chain, flywheel, etc. This was filmed over 100 years ago.....not much has changed. Great video!!!
The gentlemen building the engine, you could tell that he was in the zone. Him, his body and his mind were solely focused on putting that engine together, with no delays and no mistakes. He must have enjoyed doing his work.
I am a 50 year old engine machinist and I welcome you to view the 1st ever X Games live. With tears in my eyes the talent of these individuals are lost to the generations. Can you cast a cylinder bore the cylinder fit the pistons no ring compressor used those were men nowadays it's all automated people of today would be lost if you handed them a box of parts and said build it. Sad day when all these newfangled electronics fail due to pole shifts or something like that this is a Damn fine work of art.
Indeed.....but humans doesn't stop to upgrade/innovate things....
Its true. Everybody just uses their phones instead of getting their hands dirty. Im only 20 and i rather build something cool than be on a phone or computer all day. Its amazing what we have done in the past 100 years, but then we have a double edged sword. The stuff we made is good but then it makes us lazy. And thats what happening to my generation and ive decided i dont want to be apart of it. If you want to build something build it, but otherwise you can waste your life on your phone all day.
Dont fear, old man(your my dad's age).There's still plenty of us who build and make, Not just put together.
Pole shifts take place over hundreds or thousands of years. It's not like a switch gets flipped and all of a sudden the poles are reversed, it's a long and drawn out process
Oh, hush now.
How can you 'dislike' this video. It's a piece of rare engineering history. WTF do some people expect???
Trump voters...
Some people are just weird?
Mika Korhonen p
@@stanley1917 I can't see why anyone would downcheck the video either.
It's a fascinating look into that era.
Steve Inskip, crash in end.
That was so early and amazing!
The speed was impressive also, they were riding like demons on what appeared to be dirt roads.
Obviously setup but I felt sorry for the lady cyclist who got enveloped in dust.
Thanks for posting.
So wonderful that iomtt did NOT add any music. It is so beautiful in its original form.
What a fantastic piece of history. Takes me back to my days of dirt road riding and learning to drive for the first time on South Texas back roads lol. How the world has changed and not for the better.
What a perfect film! I love that the testers really put those motocycles through their paces. And they even caught air!
It's seriously amazing to watch this old film! Everything about it amazes me, from the assembly process to the road test and watching other people passing by on the road. When they were using the lathe, although we have CNC lathes, for as much time that has passed between then and now not much has changed in that aspect.
True
there are very few foundries left in the UK my Dad was a journeyman in Aberdeen, I remember going to his factory in 1967 and watching him work, those days (and skills) are gone, such a shame
@Klippy Klop there are a few left, I wish i could go and watch
“Put the case on and hammer to spec”... lol
Great video! Very interesting to see manufacturing in its early years.
This video is amazing; It's a work of art. Watching the engine build sequence of an assembler with a careful eye and skilled hands. Human minds and hands at work; It's so beautiful to watch and such a well-made product overall too.
Yes. I love work. I can sit and watch it for hours.
Machinist 22 years. 63 years old still riding a 250. My brother 70. A Harley.
Beautiful, simple and intimate. More attractive than any Hollywood movie! Honorable and hardworking workers with strong hands and calluses from hard work. No advanced tools and robots but with passion and love. See how lovingly they caress the cold pieces of steel and how skillfully they make everything out of nothing.
What a treasure to have a few old films like this available.
No air cleaners! The first guy gets clean air for his engine, the rest get to eat his dust. This is referred to as the "final honing" of the cylinder walls! Great Video! Thanks!
I am so glad someone thought to film that. I am also happy someone remembered where it was and preserved it.
The company presumably?
What a wonderful document, the First motorcycling... Only motor, chassis, wheels.... And a lot of dust. They was the pioneers! Thanks. Hallo from Italy. Claudio
It’s fascinating to watch video of people performing tasks more than 120 years ago that are the same tasks that I still do today.
What fascinating footage!
I loved the testers wearing flat caps backwards and the obligatory pipe in mouth. A gem of history, times long gone.
I soon learned that it is not wise to smoke cigarettes whilst riding.... The wind burns them up so quickly, that they only last 1/2 mile...
Brilliant! Tweed jacket, plus-fours, flat cap, huge moustache and a Billiard pipe stuffed with Scruttocks Old Shag tobacco. Now THAT'S motorcycling! :-)
Totally agree. Today they sit on the bike, pushing the starter button and that is the most exciting moment.
Wow, early motorcycle manufacturing. Very rare, super cool video. Totally enjoyed watching.
This is awesome. Those people had no idea what they were starting. Just a few guys trying to make life easier back then and look what it became. Dirt floors where they were working. And quality still prevailed !! I'm much obliged !! I been riding motorcycles for 40 years and hoping another 40 to come
Watching old videos is a joy forever....
21/4/19
Cant like this video enough, absolutely fantastic! Hand built craftsmanship by true craftsmen. There is no wonder these things survived 100 years and still run.
hahh that garbage was hand build micky mouse operation. i bet those engine didnt last 10,000 miles. or even 5k.
@@jacobpoucher you sir, and I say this as kindly as possible, are a fucking douche bag. Have a good day!
Don't be fooled, those things were and are still frail, hand fitted production is a nightmare quality wise, metal quality was subpar and seal technology was in diapers, the manufacturers knew it very well and that is why those engines were extremely underloaded, producing less than 4hp with massive displacements, even that way they wouldn't last long, a few thousand miles was enough to wear rings, valve tappets bearings and pushrods, but that was considered acceptable back then, people are usually oblivious on how much industrial standards have changed over time and how consumer demands have changed with them.
Thanks to you guys for making our lives better
I love this. It's like doing it yourself on your dad's bench in the shed when you were a kid with your first bike. (Squashing the rings in with your thumbnails). I have built many engines over the years, and the early rebuilds were a bit like this. Happy days!
Brilliant film. I love the riding at the end. Racing each other, airborne over the hump back bridge. The technology has improved over the years but riders still wanted then what we want now - the speed, freedom and exhilaration of riding a motorcycle. Thanks for posting
Great to see these films still survive. The days when this country actually made things. Would love to know where the locations were and what they are like now.
What a treasure of a film. Fantastic
I used to do that sand casting in 8th grade metal shop. And ended up a machinist for 22 years.
Those 2 test guys getting air was great. I think I saw them on X games.
You can just feel their excitement motorcycles have brought so much joy to people's lives.
I really enjoyed this film and really showed the simplicity of how things used to be before we all went nuts~!!!! Thanks for the show.
yes agreed its first thing tht I noticed while watching the video
Before the world went money mad :)
Rasman?
Crazy people simple.
When people used there hands AND brains and not just there finger tips......
Excellent, shows us just how far we have come.
Really satisfied to watch the real hard working people and one damn real engine
Thank you for sharing this piece of history!
@8:10 I thought they must have fired up a couple of smoke generators but then realized that was truly the first startup and assembly lube burning off. Looked like 3 kicks for one nearest and 2 kicks for one in back on first startup, amazing!
Never underestimate the protective power of a flat cap.
And the power of a FIRE bucket with sand ! You Tube STANLEY WOODS WINS SENIOR TT RACE 1926 -----@3-10 King Dick adjustable spanners/check
Empire steel "box" spanners in a canvas roll, Medium weight lump hammer sac of oily rags/tick Endless packets of unfiltered cigarettes/Double tick
Flat caps,flat tanks and men of steel. One of the testers even completed the look with a lit pipe.
Not quite as safe as the Tam O Shanter....but close.
Modern day Yorkshire men still appreciate the safety afforded by the flat cap!
Still wear mine. No Woodbines or pipe these days....
I just looked back in time! Those guys at the end were having a lot of fun 🤩
I got to work with mechanics who serviced R-2800 aircraft engines. I came to recognize I also loved that engine. 18 cylinders. Big cylinders. Then there were the jet engines of the early Learjets. Way I learned it was that you designed the airplane around the engine, and I see Rolls Royce Merlin was what made the P-51 great. It was still heartbreaking to see what an Me 262 could do to Allied bombers and fighters. Pilots are wise to understand that mechanics are watching them to see if they are making them work harder. I had a mechanic ask me if I rode my motorcycle hard. "It's a motor-cycle." is what I answered.
Real Pioneer,Real man,Real mechanic.
What a brilliant piece of nostalgia.I'd never heard of Rover Motorcycles.Thanks for posting.
Probably the best Video I've ever seen on CZcams.
Thank you.
It's the same Rover company that went on to build automobiles. I rode Rover #1, a three wheeled bicycle with a pair of 48" wheels up front which the rider sat between and a 16 incher behind that did the steering. Guessing this film was made in '03 or '04 based on the similarities to the 1903' Kery I had the pleasure of riding some time ago. The Rover must have been at least 500cc, judging by the rate of knots these ones were making.
Crap like Rover cars
Absolutely great... a piece of history!!!
This is the greatest biker build off episode ever!
Proper old engineering and not a gasket to be seen.
I was thinking the same thing! Gaskets?
The Lathe really is the Queen of the workshop
honestly test driving those bikes looks like a lot of fun, I'm thoroughly delighted.
What a glorious film. Barely into the twentieth century, and these guys had it all going on. Great stuff.
Lovely this is a display of the mechanical engineering history, I really enjoyed it.
They jumped those suckers!!! Wow! Man. The motor was part of the frame and they jumped it. Lol
Awesome!
Tanks you for this very old pictures of starting motocycles 🚵
rare video, rare engineering, rare engine.
truly enjoyed this, thank you
That's why we have the greatest machines as of this days.. and still we're aiming for greatness.
what a beautiful thing to see.
What a blast from the past. Simply loved the video. Thank you for sharing this.
I don't think the fella that took a spill in the mud loved it though. Thanks again.
That is real testing, those guys were fearless.
Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end.
Love how the spark plug is in the cylinder during assembly lol
@lust master I noticed that too. Would have been easily broken. Perhaps an equal point was to block the hole so no stray debris could get in. So - might as well use the spark plug.
What a great old film .
I think we often forget what an effort it was back then to produce a motorcycle from scratch, especially since there was nobody to copy like today. It's amazing to see all those industrial lathes and hand-made tooling, designed and built to strict specifications. We take a lot for granted today, but their genius laid the groundwork for everything we have.
Roadghost88 well said absolutely they were the pioneers god bless.
WOW!!!! I want one!!!!! that was wonderful, watching those craftsmen building these, with their bare hands, truly inspiring
Awesome footage, I love history stuff like this. Thanks for posting, please post more if you can find them.
Dam those crazy young fools on those fancey fangdangled machines wipping up all that noise and dust .
Where will it end....
bjofuruh Watch beginning and end of Lawrence of Arabia.
Real PURE MAGIC......Those boys looked like they were having great fun.
Loved the nostalgic buildings, country roads and the hump back bridge.
Awesome video! Footage from that era is so rare. Such simpler times, but impressive nevertheless.
07:37 Child at work. Love it.
Kids used to do things, build things...took a pride in it. I know I did and do.
Pure pleasure waching old true engineering and people working 💕👍
Amazing how they Jump over! Tha last scene 😳😳🤣👍!
I rebuilt my Norton 850 Commando recently very simular bar the Magnito and one less cylinder. Best vid On CZcams!
Fantastic video, fantastic a wonderful time, thank you.
Why would anyone thumbs down this Video?.....Very Strange
You'd be surprised how many ding-a-lings out there despise motorcycles.
Hate the biker, not the bike.
super rare film thanks a lot
Them boys got down back in them days, racing.
No torque wrenches were hurt or bothered during the making of this motorcycle :-)
this is how torque was done, chief engineer put one together, junior comes along and measures how tight it was, writes it down into book for the rest of us. chief didnt use a torque wrench but his experience and feel
In the wla manual for head bolts, tighten in a cross pattern until tight unless you have a torque wrench then tighten to 65 ftlbs
check this out...czcams.com/video/m6AZ7_mACUg/video.html
The best mechanics could feel the proper approximate torque settings, unlike modern dummies.
Abhishek Jain
About your video link...
I wonder how many roadside "mechanics" must be following these procedures 😁
The timbered houses at the bridge are in Stoneleigh in Arden, ( now just called Stoneleigh ). The bridge is over the river Sowe on the Coventry road, where it runs alongside the Deer Park.
Hey John why don't you grab a bike and a cameraman and recreate it for us?
You don't need to take a header in the river at the end - unless you really want to I guess.
Great to watch these old silent films no robots making these and most of all no music
My Grandfather was doing the same thing in Edinburgh at the same time. He had three workshops and a garage. He was also a photographer so I've a good set of photos, somewhere.
Loved the road tests
Wow! and the enduro at the end!
Dirty bench....No gaskets.....No torque Wrenches.....I Love It
This video is priceless in my eyes.
Notice some of the men in the foundry were wearing coats and ties. amazing
It was what people wore. And sometimes showed you knew a trade.
We have pictures of my grandfather wearing a white shirt tie and Fedora with a overall and he was a teamster. I always wondered why their symbol was two horse heads.
Because they drive a team of horses.
I asked what did you haul. He said You name it we hauled it. Coal lumber hay move houses heavy equipment much like today.
He was so good with a team men would come over to watch as he sat on the porch while his team mowed the bottom with a horse drawn sickle mower with him not on it!!
He’d whistle click gee haw whatever if they stopped. And off they’d go. Back up lay down whatever he said they did. We had pictures of us kids sitting on em while they lay there.
One where he brought it up to the back of his old Buick and said up It stepped on the bumper. Up. Again other hoof on the trunk. Look at the stars and it put the first hoof up in the air reared it’s head back and look up in the sky.
Love the way the drive belt is fitted by a kid in an Eton collar. He can't be more than 12 years old.
Fantastic film. Congratulations for share.
Ya gotta love it! No helmets, no pads just guts!
Jesus I want to go back in time
Wonderful video, thanks.
Invaluable document ! Probably very few people have an idea of the engineering processes used in the early days of motorcycle. The factory (the foundry) looks like a garden shed ! On the other hand, workers are dressed with a tie ! Thank you for putting this video on line !
I celebrate 40 years in business this June operating as a sole trader in my small machine shop . There are still some of us left that still use manual machines every day . Over the years I have manufactured parts from drawings or samples ,from a wide variety of materials. For industrial locomotives, brickworks, food factories, ceramic goods factories, wind turbines , the motor industry, classic cars and bikes , to name but a few .
Sadly it’s getting really ever more difficult to earn a living with sky high fuel ,electricity bills and any profit you do make is taxed until you think , why do I bother .
"Get the kid in here to wedge the belt on. His fingers are small, plus I need mine." Ha Ha
Hahaha
1 person disliked this video, must have been the woman on the bicycle who got dusted at the end
lol
I agree
Travel to Nice
mtroy0620 i
That wasn't a women it was a Rastafarian...........
The best episode of How It's Made I have ever seen, lol. What a great film, a valuable record of the early years of what must be the biggest industry in the world. Thank you for sharing.
Danny baxter brilliant had to watch it to the end thats dont happen to often with a lot of vids thanks
Just beautiful piece of film . Clever very clever
Its 4:17AM there is a naked woman lying next to me... and watching an Edwardian guy bore-out a cylinder barrel is more interesting! It is fair to say... turning 48 is a difficult year for some men!😂😂
No idea... tell me about it? You know there is a little brass tickling screw, that should solve your problem, failing that always check for a spark! 😂
Anything with tits or tires will be a pain in the ass.☺
If that naked woman is around your age and looks like most 48 year olds, it's not surprising this vid is more interesting.
Their workshop is messier than mine haha! I wonder if it's the same Rover who later made cars, and lawn mowers. Great little film, thank you for sharing.
i guess they were that same Rover that made cars and got bought up by Ford in the end
What a wonderful video about the history of engineering
A true piece of art
Thanks! What a great time capsule that film is!
9:30 even the side car job catches air lol
The bloke, sitting on the fence is the quality control manager, ready to whip them if they fell 🤣