Last month we visited The Historic Motorcycle Club Malta exhibition and we couldn’t not share with you Malta’s oldest vehicle, a 1903 Minerva proudly owned by: Philip Camilleri
#sharingapassion #rotta #Minerva
www.rotta.mt
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This is a 1903 Minerva, an almost 120 year old motorcycle. Imagine a 120 year old motorcycle, it’s the oldest vehicle in Malta. It was sold new locally. As you can see, it’s identical to a bicycle. It’s without a gearbox. The engine is connected to the back tyre with a belt.
It’s not equipped with front brakes, It’s equipped with rear brakes only. lights are with acetylene, not electric as we know them. You need to pump the oil in the engine manually. Manual Air Horn. Approx 260cc engine. Magneto for the spark. Silencer at the bottom and to start it, one have to pedal.
Here’s a small window to see that the oil is leaking in. Side-valve engine, one of the oldest. Acetylene back lights as well, switch on the gas and light it up with a match and same goes for the front light. The controls, throttle, advance and retard
And this is the decompressor to switch it off. One seat. The tank was built locally and it’s divided in two, one section for the fuel and another for the oil.