Description
Werner 1906 “Modèle Grand Luxe” 4 HP 429 cc cc AIV vertical twin
The Brothers Eugene and Michel Werner start their experiments with a bought-in De Dion type petrol engine in 1896.
In 1897 they consider their machine practical enough to be put on the market.
It’s presented under the name of ‘Motocyclette” and this word will soon become the generic French word for “Motor cycle”.
The little 216 cc engine is placed in front of the steering head and has a surface carburetor and hot tube ignition.
The Motocyclette catches on and the design is perfected a little bit more each year.
The company claims that between 1898 and 1901 some 3,600 Werners are sold.
By the end of 1901 a new type of Werner is introduced with the engine in the bracket position. Werner is not the first manufacturer to place the engine in this position, but previous designs never got much publicity.
The new Werner is a sensation at the Paris Show and for a long time to come the typical position of the engine that we consider so common now will be known as “the New Werner position”.
In 1903 and 1904 the single cylinder models are further improved and at the Paris Salon at the end of that year a remarkable new model is presented, a parallel twin.
This is at that time an unusual engine configuration and considered quite a novelty: from 1905/1906 the Dutch Eysink and the Belgian Bercley also use a vertical twin in a number of their machines.
The twin is available with a choice of two engines, “La Touriste” , a 3 ¼ HP 360 cc version with bore x stroke of 55×76 mm and “Modèle Grand Luxe”, a 4 HP version with a 5 mm bigger bore giving 429 cc. Prices are 900 and 1000 Francs, with an extra 175 Francs if the customer chooses for magneto ignition instead of battery/coil.