
Millet Motorcycle
Years: 1895 – 1895
Decades before mass motorcycle production, Félix Millet engineered an audacious five-cylinder rotary engine inside the rear wheel of a bicycle-like frame. The design predated modern lubrication and materials science, yet it ran—compact, elegant, and conceptually radical. Control systems were primitive, road surfaces brutal, and safety marginal, but Millet proved internal combustion could be integrated with two wheels in surprising ways. Though the layout didn’t become mainstream, his work broadened the design space and influenced early engine packaging experiments. Historically, Millet symbolizes the fearless curiosity of the 19th-century inventors who treated propulsion as an open question. His machine is a reminder that progress often comes from improbable prototypes that reframe what’s possible.