Nationality United States Occupation Engineer and inventor | Name Lucius Copeland | |
 | ||
Residence New Jersey, United States | ||
Lucius Day Copeland was a pioneering 19th-century engineer and inventor from Phoenix, Arizona who demonstrated one of the first motorcycles, the Copeland steam bicycle, a steam-powered Star high-wheeler at the first Maricopa County Fair in 1884.
Three-wheeler
Copeland also invented the first successfully mass-produced three-wheeled car. About 200 of his "Phaeton steamers" were produced before he retired in 1891. Copeland had produced the first successful steam tricycle, with a range of 30 miles (48 km) and taking only 5 minutes to build up enough steam to average 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). Accompanied by another director of Northrop Manufacturing, Copeland successfully completed a return trip to Atlantic City of 120 miles (190 km) in one of his three-wheeled "Phaeton steamers". About 200 were produced before Copeland decided that he wasn't making enough money and retired in 1891.