Description
Keller-Dorian 1906 1 ¼ HP 225 cc AIV frame # 131406 engine # 427
Albert Keller-Dorian (1846, Mulhouse – 1924, Paris), a man described as having “an extraordinarily fertile brain”, trained as a printmaker in Manchester, England, and in 1880 assumed control of his father’s business in Mulhouse, building printing machines. He established branches in Lyon, Germany and Italy. In 1908 he developed a process for colour photography, and applied the method to film making. He made his first colour film, Colomba, in 1923. His name is now in the lexicon of cinematography. The Keller-Dorian company was bought by an Anglo-American group in 1930, and his patents were used by Technicolor, Kodak and Paramount. The company is still active and is very innovative in printing and graphics.(from: cybermotorcycle.com).
A sideline of K-D’s fertile brain was his interest in combustion engines. In 1905 he patented a light four stroke engine that was extremely simple yet very innovative. The engine could be bought as a set complete with tank, oil pump and various controls to be fitted to an ordinary bicycle. In 1907 another version was marketed as the “Auto-Bicyclette” which was available as a complete motorcycle. The factory was located at the Rue du Dauphiné in Lyon.
A very special feature of K-D’s engine was that it had only one valve. It was actuated by a pushrod and controlled both the incoming and outgoing gases. The valve housing had different channels for both gas streams. There was no exhaust pipe or damper, just some small holes in the valve housing. The controls of the machine were also very rudimentary: the only brake available was a coaster brake and the engine speed was not controlled via the carburettor, but was effected by retarding or advancing the ignition. The external flywheel was webbed and contributed to the rudimentary industrial look of this fascinating design. Probably not many of these ingenious but rather delicate machines were sold, and survivors are very rare indeed.
Our K-D comes in largely original condition and had been touched up where appropriate.