Talk:FN Four

First production inline-4?
This blog, which appears to be well sourced, suggests that the 1903 Evart-Hall was the first inline-4. We should be careful with wording on the FN Four. I'm not even sure now that it was the first mass produced inline-4. — Brianhe (talk) 19:59, 17 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Setright (p. 38) says " A Nottingham man named Binks produced a 5.h.p. inline four in 1903, though it did not go into production. By contrast, the 363 c.c. FN of 1905...was an overwhelming success." Cyril Ayton's History of Motorcycling p. 52 says "Unlike the British Holden, Binks and Evar-Hall fours, which failed to live up to expectations, the FN Four was a great success." I'd say it was the first production inline 4. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 20:18, 17 October 2013 (UTC)
 * We should still share everything we know about the other fours in this article. It's also odd that every single source goes out of their way to mention how slow the FN Four was, but they don't say which other bike you could have had prior to 1912 that was faster. Also the start date for the FN Four looks like it should be 1905, not 1911 on List of fastest production motorcycles. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 20:24, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Brown's Ultimate History of Fast Bikes pp 12-13 says the 40mph top speed was achieved on the 1911 491cc, two-speed model, and agrees with others that a two speed was introduced in 1908; not as an aftermarket kit. Ayton, p 52, says the 1905 was capable of 40mph. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 21:13, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Transmission contradiction
Perhaps Vintagent has a clue as to the 1908-1909 contradiction on when the two-speed transmission was available. He says the 1908 item was an aftermarket kit. — Brianhe (talk) 20:09, 17 October 2013 (UTC)
 * I found numerous ads in the Motorcycle Illustrated that tout all the features of the 19081⁄2 FN Big Four, as the US version was called, which mention the engine, the shaft drive, the stronger rims and tires, and the magneto, but don't say a word about a 2 speed. Then an announcement appears for the 1909 model listing the following upgrades over the 19081⁄2 model:
 * new drum brake
 * exhaust valve lift moved from right to left
 * hand brake moved to right
 * lighter pistons
 * larger rims and tires (presumably even larger than the 19081⁄2)
 * "two-speed sliding gear transmission is furnished as an extra"
 * So I'm satisfied that the 2 speed option existed in 1908 or 1909 -- probably earlier in Europe, then following in the US. I would guess that by 1911 2 speed was standard. None of this precludes the existence of an aftermarket 2 speed kit on the market for the older FN Fours, or those that didn't get the factory option. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 18:01, 18 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Good find, see the updated citation in draft article. — Brianhe (talk) 18:23, 18 October 2013 (UTC)

Horstmann transmission
Hodgdon p. 24 shows a diagram of the aftermarket two-speed transmission created by "Sydney Horstmann of England". I suspect this might actually be Sidney Horstmann who later created the Horstmann bogie used on many 20th century tanks. — Brianhe (talk) 23:34, 19 October 2013 (UTC)

FN Timeline
There is a FN timeline found at nl:FN (motorfiets). I have translated part of it here: Talk:FN Four/Timeline. — Brianhe (talk) 21:30, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

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