Found this Steam Bike news report and now I want to build one!

[n4zou]

The steam-bike (wonder why it never caught on): Antique motorcycle expected to break world record price at auction

Expected to reach £325,000 at sale in Las Vegas in January
Top speed of 117-year-old machine was 40mph


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...world-record-price-auction.html#ixzz1cMveUaxM

This picture tells you exactly how it drives the wheel.

 

[///]

That is seriously cool.
Must have been pretty warm against the legs!

 

[kjk]

Bob Jorgensen built two copies of the Roper, and I believe son Pat still has the second one. Who knows, perhaps there are drawings around. Take a look on the Jorgensen steam sites.

 

[GreenTwin]

Bob Jorgensen built two steam Roper replicas.

See post #12 here:
https://www.classicsteamengineering.com/threads/photos-of-bobs-steam-engines.944/
Why two? He built one, and someone wanted to buy it, so he sold it and built a second one.

.

 

[jschoenly]

I bought 2 partial build Roper Steam Bikes from Paul Brodie in British Columbia. He finished at least 1. I really should get this project out and push it to a higher priority. Frames, handlebars, and a lot of big parts are done. Needs rhe engine components and wheels.

 

[GreenTwin]

Here is one a friend of my dad had built.
This may be a Brodie build; I can't recall.
Turned out pretty well.

 

[jschoenly]

That does have all the features and design of the Brodie build... Cool!

Here is one a friend of my dad had built.
This may be a Brodie build; I can't recall.
Turned out pretty well.

View attachment 136754

View attachment 136755

 

[GreenTwin]

My cousin sent me a link to this video today.
The bike above is the one Paul Brodie built for a friend of my dad's.

The back story is that my dad built a Roper Replica, and an antique motorcycle buff saw it and had to have it, so my dad sold it to him.
My dad then built a second Roper replica.

Another friend saw the first two my dad built, and he had Brodie build him one also.
I sent my dad's drawings to Brodie's friend. I am not sure to what extent they used them.

My dad started a Roper replica craze.

This was my dad's first Roper replica.

The neighbors use to say "Who is that crazy SOB riding that thing up and down the street?, and what is that thing anyway?"

 

[GreenTwin]

A few more phtosos, and some of dad's drawings.

 

[GreenTwin]

My dad also built a locomobile replica, and he drove that up and down the street too.

 

[GreenTwin]

Dad built about 38 steam and hot air engines of all types.
He was a prolific builder to say the least.

 

[GreenTwin]

Here is dad's home shop.

 

[GreenTwin]

A few more shop photos.

 

[GreenTwin]

Here is Paul Brodie's Roper replica build video:

 

[Mechanicboy]

GreenTwin
Your father had a rich life as a modeling engineer. So you have many fond memories of your father.

 

[GreenTwin]

I had an extremely busy life when dad got into the building phase during his retirement, and so unfortunately I did not get a chance to get over there and build anything with him.
He really liked to escape to his shop, and do his thing by himself, although he did build an engine with my son, which I thought was pretty neat.

He started with some extremely simple engine designs that he found in Live Steam magazine, and the next thing I knew, he was building some pretty wild stuff.

It has been very helpful to look at his work, and that gives me a bit of a head start in the hobby.

I have taken it one step further, and build my own home iron foundry.

So far I have built (cast) only one engine, but I think he would like it if he were around.
I have a lot of engines I want to build, and so it is just a matter of getting to retirement age, and then the fun will really begin.

This is my one and only engine so far, built using 3 photos of an engine in England.

 

[GreenTwin]

This is one of the photos that I saw and used to model this engine.
This photo is by Preston Services.