The 1914 Thormotorcyclewas from a company that played an instrumental character in the early years of motorcycle chronicle , not for its machines as much as its railway locomotive . In fact , many early bike manufacturers beget their start mounting Thor powerplants in frames of their own choosing .
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Owned by the Aurora Automatic Machinery Company , Thor began building engine for Indian in 1902 . afterwards client of distinction included Reading Standard and Sears , along with a host of lesser - bonk makes .
When the contract bridge with Indian ran out in 1907 , Thor set out work up its own bike .
Early deterrent example used a version of the Indian - design single Thor had been produce for five year , and when Thor introduced its first V - twin in 1910 , it was essentially the same engine with another piston chamber bolted to the cases .
But unlike most such pattern , it was cant forward so that the rear cylinder stand straight up , leaving room behind for the magneto andcarburetor .
By 1913 , Thor had introduced a new quintuplet - twin of its own design , and this one was mounted in the formal manner . Displacing 76 three-dimensional inches , it enjoy some racing succeeder , but was always in the shadow of Indian andHarley - Davidsonon the track .
Like so many other manufacturing business of the menstruation , Thor eventually succumbed to a competitive environment . Its last bike were build in 1917 , after which the parent ship’s company reduce on power tools and appliance .
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1914 Thor Pictures
The 1914 Thor bike was a well example of a transitional design , tippytoe the scales more toward a real motorcycle and away from the motorizedbicyclesthat had typify bike figure to begin with in the century .