Early motorcycles still resembled bicycles in many respects, but their engines needed a drive suited to more than one speed. Rudge-Whitworth grew from the merger of two bicycle makers and began producing motorcycles in 1911. The Rudge Multigear followed in 1912. A 1915 example made in Coventry survives in the Science Museum Group collection, capturing a period when the bicycle-like frame was meeting increasingly elaborate motor engineering.
The word “Multigear” did not describe a conventional modern gearbox. According to the museum, variable pulleys at the engine and rear wheel worked in opposite directions: as one expanded, the other contracted. This let the drive ratio change gradually to suit different riding conditions. Elements of the arrangement had been patented by the manufacturer in 1910. It is a reminder that engineers were seeking adaptable transmissions long before electronic controls appeared.
The machine was more than a workshop curiosity. The museum records achievements at Brooklands and Cyril Pullin’s victory on a Rudge Multigear in the 1914 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. Several Rudge models from this family also served with the British Army during the First World War. As gearbox manufacturing changed, Multigear production ended in 1923. The surviving motorcycle shows one of the many mechanical routes once explored to help an engine pull smoothly across different speeds.