Whatzit???

[NORCALLOGGER]

Maybe this has been talked about before or maybe not.

It looks like some kind of training "aid" but for what?

[Ray Dunakin]

Boy, that really is weird! Well, once again it's Google to the rescue!

Turns out it was an experimental vehicle, testing an "elliptical wheel" concept with a walking beam suspension. As you might expect, it was a dismal failure. Here's some info I found about it:

http://cyberneticzoo.com/early-mobile-robots/1950-elliptical-walking-wheels-john-kopczynski-american/

[NORCALLOGGER]

Thanks Ray,
That is interesting.  Hard to believe the claim that it rides smoother than
a round tired vehicle.

[Ray Dunakin]

Yep, that stretches the imagination! The testing proved otherwise: "It was a dismal failure in that it not only failed to provide better mobility, but operation over any but the softest soils pitched the operator around unmercifully."

[NORCALLOGGER]

Yea, I believe that,
My step Dad was raised on a ranch in S. Dakota in the 20's and told the story
that during Rodeo week they would put egg shaped tires on the rear of a model "T" then fasten a 10 foot long plank out the back with a saddle on the end.  Rides were then offered to all contenders and the prize money went to the cowboy that could stay with it for the length of the street.  He said that he doesn't remember the prize money ever being awarded. 

Having, in my youth, spent time on a device known as a "bucking barrel" (the for runner of the mechanical bull)
I can accept the above story as complete truth.
Rick