Wisconsin Historical Society

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La Crosse's first motor-bike, 1900

Home made motor-bike, first in city, may also have been first in nation

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About this record

F.J. Wiggert built the first motorized bicycle in La Crosse in 1900. Built around the same time that William Harley and Arthur Davidson were developing their bike in Milwaukee, Wiggert produced a one cylinder engine that he attached to the heavy frame of a tandem bicycle. This article describes Wiggert's invention and the sensation he caused when he rode his motor-bike around La Crosse.

Citation

"Home made motor-bike, first in city, may also have been first in nation." La Crosse Tribune and Leader-Press. (24 November 1918);