Motorbike history

A motorcycle is a two-wheeled vehicle powered byindependent of Roper.
an engine. Motorcycles are one of the cheapest andIn 1894, the Hildebrand &
most widespread forms of motorised transport inWolfmüller became
many parts of the world.the first motorcycle available for purchase.
On a typical motorcycle, the operator sits astride theIn the early period of motorcycle history there were
vehicle on a seat, with the hands on a set ofmany manufacturers as producers of bicycles
handlebars and the feet supported by footpegs.adapted their designs for the new internal
When the bike is at rest, the rider puts one or bothcombustion engine. As the engines became more
feet on the ground. Engine speed is controlled bypowerful and designs outgrew the bicycle origins, the
twisting the throttle on the right handlebar grip withnumber of motorcycle producers increased.
braking being controlled with a hand lever and footUntil the First World War, the largest motorcycle
pedal. Shifting of gear ratios is controlled by operatingmanufacturer was Indian. After that, this honour
a foot lever with the clutch being operated by awent to Harley-Davidson, until 1928 when DKW took
hand lever. Steering is accomplished by leaning theover as the largest manufacturer. BMW motorcycles
bike or moving the handlebars.came on the scene in 1923 with shaft drive and an
The inspiration for the earliest dirt bike, and arguablyopposed-twin or "boxer" engine enclosed with the
the first motorcycle, was designed and built by thetransmission in a single aluminum housing (photo right).
German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and WilhelmAfter the Second World War, the BSA Group
Maybach in Bad Cannstatt (since 1905 a city districtpurchased Triumph Motorcycles in 1951 to become
of Stuttgart) in 1885. The first petroleum-poweredthe largest producer of motorcycles in the world
vehicle, it was essentially a motorized bicycle,claiming "one in four". The German NSU was the
although the inventors called their invention thelargest manufacturer from 1955 until the 1970s when
Reitwagen ("riding car"). They had not set out toHonda became the largest manufacturer -- a title it
create a vehicle form but to build a simple carriageholds to this day. British manufacturers (Triumph,
for the engine, which was the focus of theirBSA, Norton) retained a dominant position in some
endeavours.markets until the rise of the Japanese manufacturers
However, if one counts two wheels with steam(led by Honda) in the late 1960s and early 1970s, who
propulsion as being a motorcycle, then the first onewere able to produce designs more quickly, more
may have been American. One such machine wascheaply, and of better quality than their competitors.
demonstrated at fairs and circuses in the eastern USThe British manufacturers became defunct as
in 1867, built by Sylvester Howard Roper of Roxbury,mass-market producers.
Massachusetts. There is an existing example of a1948/1949 German Imme R100Today the Japanese
Roper machine dated 1869. It's powered by amanufacturers, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha
charcoal-fired two-cylinder engine, whose connectingdominate the motorcycle industry, although
rods directly drive a crank on the rear wheel. ThisHarley-Davidson still maintains a high degree of
machine predates the invention of the safety bicyclepopularity in the United States. Recent years have
by many years, so its chassis is also based on thealso seen a resurgence in the popularity of many
"boneshaker" bike. In 1868, the Frenchmanother brands including BMW, Triumph and Ducati, and
Louis-Guillaume Perreaux patented a similarthe emergence of Victory as a second successful
steam-powered motorcycle, probably inventedmass-builder of big-twin American cruisers.