The latest addition to the collection is a Marman/Schwinn
motorbike. Not to be confused with a moped, this
motorcycle has a horizontally opposed twin cylinder
motor, which is a radical departure from the usual single cylinder
Whizzer powered bikes. Its performance is unknown at this time,
but a twin cylinder powered bicycle should be an exciting ride,
to say the least.
Marman Products Company, Inc. of Los Angeles was a business
established in 1948 by none other than Herbert “Zeppo” Marx.
Yes, the youngest brother of the famous Marx Brothers Comedy
Team was a very clever engineer and patented quite a few
inventions, one of which was a cardiac pulse rate monitor.
With hostilities finally over, Marman purchased war surplus
motors that were used to power WWII pilotless drones from
the Jack & Heinz Aircraft Co. in Cleveland, Ohio. A clutch
mechanism was added, and it was installed in a state of the art
Schwinn bicycle.
Marman made clamping devices and like many other companies,
was involved in the war effort. The “Marman Clamp” was used
to support the atomic bombs carried on the Enola Gay. Marman
still exists today as Aeroquip and continues to make high
pressure hoses to this day.
