History of the motorcycle

The history of the motorcycle begins in the second half of the 19th century. Motorcycles are descended from the "safety bicycle," a bicycle with front and rear wheels of the same size and a pedal crank mechanism to drive the rear wheel.[1] Despite some early landmarks in its development, the motorcycle lacks a rigid pedigree that can be traced back to a single idea or machine. Instead, the idea seems to have occurred to numerous engineers and inventors around Europe at around the same time.

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Early steam-powered cycles

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Lucius Copeland

In the s Pierre Michaux, a blacksmith in Paris, founded 'Michaux et Cie' ("Michaux and company"), the first company to construct bicycles with pedals called a velocipede at the time, or "Michauline".[2] The first steam powered motorcycle, the Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede, can be traced to , when Pierre's son Ernest Michaux fitted a small steam engine to one of the 'velocipedes'.[3]

The design went to the United States when Pierre Lallement, a Michaux employee who also claimed to have developed the prototype in , filed for the first bicycle patent with the US patent office in .[4] In an American, Sylvester H. Roper of Roxbury, Massachusetts, developed a twin-cylinder steam velocipede, with a coal-fired boiler between the wheels. Roper's contribution to motorcycle development ended suddenly when he died demonstrating one of his machines in Cambridge, Massachusetts on June 1, .[3]

Also in , a French engineer Louis-Guillaume Perreaux patented a similar steam powered single cylinder machine, the Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede, with an alcohol burner and twin belt drives, which was possibly invented independently of Roper's. Although the patent is dated , nothing indicates the invention had been operable before .[3]

In , Lucius Copeland of Phoenix, Arizona designed a much smaller steam boiler which could drive the large rear wheel of an American Star high-wheeler at 12 mph. In Copeland formed the Northrop Manufacturing Co. to produce the first successful 'Moto-Cycle' (actually a three-wheeler).[3]

Experimentation and invention

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Butler's Patent Velocycle

The very first commercial design for a self-propelled bicycle was a three-wheel design called the Butler Petrol Cycle, conceived of and built by Edward Butler in England in .[5] He exhibited his plans for the vehicle at the Stanley Cycle Show in London in , two years earlier than Karl Benz, who is generally recognized as the inventor of the modern automobile. Butler's vehicle was also the first design to be shown at the International Inventions Exhibition in London.

The vehicle was built by the Merryweather Fire Engine company in Greenwich, in .[6] the Butler Petrol Cycle (first recorded use of the term)[6] It was a three-wheeled vehicle, with the rear wheel directly driven by a 5/8hp (466W) 600 cc (40 in3; 2¼×5-inch {57×127-mm})[6] flat twin four stroke engine (with magneto ignition replaced by coil and battery),[6] equipped with rotary valves and a float-fed carburettor (five years before Maybach),[6] and Ackermann steering,[7] all of which were state of the art at the time. Starting was by compressed air.[6] The engine was liquid-cooled, with a radiator over the rear driving wheel. Speed was controlled by means of a throttle valve lever. No braking system was fitted; the vehicle was stopped by raising and lowering the rear driving wheel using a foot-operated lever; the weight of the machine was then borne by two small castor wheels. The driver was seated between the front wheels.[6] It wasn't, however, a commercial success, as Butler failed to find sufficient financial backing.

Replica of the Daimler-Maybach Reitwagen

Another early internal combustion, petroleum fueled motorcycle was the Petroleum Reitwagen. It was designed and built by the German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Bad Cannstatt, Germany in .[8] This vehicle was unlike either the safety bicycles or the boneshaker bicycles of the era in that it had zero degrees of steering axis angle and no fork offset, and thus did not use the principles of bicycle and motorcycle dynamics developed nearly 70 years earlier. Instead, it relied on two outrigger wheels to remain upright while turning.[9] The inventors called their invention the Reitwagen ("riding car"). It was designed as an expedient testbed for their new engine, rather than a true prototype vehicle.[10][11]

First commercial products

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In the decade from the late s, dozens of designs and machines emerged, particularly in Germany and in England, and soon spread to America.[12] During this early period of motorcycle history there were many manufacturers, since bicycle makers were adapting their designs for the new internal combustion engine.

Diagram of Hildebrand & Wolfmüller.

In Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle, and the first to be called a "motorcycle" (German: Motorrad).[10][11][13][14] However, only a few hundred examples of this motorcycle were ever built. The first instance of the term "motor cycle" also appears in English the same year in materials promoting machines developed by E.J. Pennington,[15] although Pennington's motorcycles never progressed past the prototype stage.[16]

Excelsior Motor Company, originally a bicycle-manufacturing company based in Coventry in Warwickshire (England), began production of their first motorcycle model in , available for purchase by the public. The first production motorcycle in the US was the Orient-Aster, built by Charles Metz in at his factory in Waltham, Massachusetts.

In , Peugeot Motocycles presents at the Paris Motorshow the first motorcycle equipped with a Dion-Bouton motor. Peugeot Motocycles remains the oldest motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

In the early period of motorcycle history, many producers of bicycles adapted their designs to accommodate the new internal-combustion engine. As the engines became more powerful and designs outgrew the bicycle origins, the number of motorcycle producers increased. Many of the nineteenth-century inventors who worked on early motorcycles often moved on to other inventions. Daimler and Roper, for example, both went on to develop automobiles.

At the turn of the 20th century the first major mass-production firms emerged.

A FN (Fabrique National), Belgium, 4 cylinders and shaft drive

In English quadricycle- and bicycle-maker Royal Enfield introduced its first motorcycle, with a 239 cc engine mounted in the front and driving the rear wheel through a belt. In English bicycle-maker Triumph decided to extend its focus to include motorcycles, and by the company had produced its first motorcycle&#;a bicycle fitted with a Belgian-built engine. A year later it was the largest motorcycle-manufacturer, with an annual production of over 500 units. Other British firms included Norton and Birmingham Small Arms Company who began motorbike production in and , respectively.[17]

In the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company, which had been founded by two former bicycle-racers, designed the so-called "diamond framed" Indian Single, whose engine was built by the Aurora Firm in Illinois per Indian's specifications. The Single was made available in the deep blue. Indian's production was up to over 500 bikes by , and would rise to 32,000, its best ever, in .[18][19] Indian produced over 20,000 bikes per year.[20] The oldest surviving Russian-manufactured motorcycle, the Rossiya, dates from .[21] The American company Harley-Davidson started producing motorcycles in .

During this period, experimentation and innovation were driven by the popular new sport of motorcycle racing, with its powerful incentive to produce tough, fast, reliable machines. These enhancements quickly found their way to the public's machines.[12]

Chief August Vollmer of the Berkeley, California Police Department is credited with organizing the first official police motorcycle-patrol in the United States in .[22] By , motorcycles were no longer just bicycles with engines; they had their own technologies, although many still maintained bicycle elements, like the seats and suspension.

The First World War

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Triumph Motorcycles Model H, was mass-produced for the war effort and notable for its reliability.

During the First World War, motorbike production was greatly ramped up for the war effort to supply effective communications with front line troops. Messengers on horses were replaced with dispatch riders on motorcycles carrying messages, performing reconnaissance personnel and acting as a military police. American company Harley-Davidson was devoting over 50% of its factory output toward military contract by the end of the war. The British company Triumph Motorcycles sold more than 30,000 of its Triumph Type H model to allied forces during the war. With the rear wheel driven by a belt, the Model H was fitted with a 499 cc air-cooled four-stroke single-cylinder engine. It was also the first Triumph not to be fitted with pedals, so was a true motorcycle.[23]

The Model H in particular, is regarded by many as having been the first "modern motorcycle".[24] Introduced in it had a 550cc side-valve four-stroke engine with a three-speed gearbox and belt transmission. It was so popular with its users that it was nicknamed the "Trusty Triumph."[25]

Postwar

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An historic V-twin American motorcycle &#; a Crocker

Postwar

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By , Harley-Davidson became the largest manufacturer,[26] with their motorcycles being sold by dealers in 67 countries.[27][28]

By the late s or early s, DKW in Germany took over as the largest manufacturer.[29][30][31] BMW motorcycles came on the scene in with a shaft drive and an opposed-twin or "boxer" engine enclosed with the transmission in a single aluminum housing.

By , Indian and Harley-Davidson were the only two American manufacturers producing commercial motorcycles.[32] This two-company rivalry in the United States remained until , when the Indian Motorcycle factory in Springfield, Massachusetts closed and Royal Enfield took over the Indian name.[33]

There were over 80 different makes of motorcycle available in Britain in the s, from the familiar marques like Norton, Triumph and AJS to the obscure, with names like New Gerrard, NUT, SOS, Chell and Whitwood,[34] about twice as many motorcycle makes competing in the world market during the early 21st century.

In , Joe Petrali set a new land speed record of 136.183 mph (219.165 km/h) on a modified Harley-Davidson 61 cubic inch (1,000 cc) overhead valve-driven motorcycle.[32] The same day, Petrali also broke the speed record for 45 cubic inch (737 cc) engine motorcycles.

In Europe, production demands, driven by the buildup to World War II, included motorcycles for military use, and BSA supplied 126,000 BSA M20 motorcycles to the British armed forces, starting in and continuing until . Royal Enfield also produced motorcycles for the military, including a 125 cc lightweight motorcycle that could be dropped (in a parachute-fitted tube cage) from an aircraft.

After World War II

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An original Vespa with sidecar

After the World War II, some American veterans found a replacement for the camaraderie, excitement, danger and speed of life at war in motorcycles. Grouped into loosely organized clubs, motorcycle riders in the US created a new social institution&#;the motorcyclists or "bikers"&#;which was later skewed by the "outlaw" persona Marlon Brando portrayed in the film The Wild One.[35]

In Europe, on the other hand, post-war motorcycle producers were more concerned with designing practical, economical transportation than the social aspects, or "biker" image.[35] Italian designer Piaggio introduced the Vespa in , which experienced immediate and widespread popularity. Imports from the UK, Italy and Germany, thus found a niche in US markets that American bikes did not fill.

The German NSU was the largest manufacturer from [citation needed] until when Honda became the largest manufacturer.[36][37]

A Triumph Bonneville represents the popularity of British motorcycles at that time

British manufacturers Triumph, BSA, and Norton retained a dominant position in some markets until the rise of the Japanese manufacturers, led by Honda, in the late s and early s. The role of the motorcycle shifted in the s, from the tool of a life to a toy of a lifestyle. It became part of an image, of status, a cultural icon for individualism, a prop in Hollywood B-movies.[12]

The motorcycle also became a recreational machine for sport and leisure, a vehicle for carefree youth, not essential transportation for the mature family man or woman, and the Japanese were able to produce modern designs more quickly, more cheaply, and of better quality than their competitors. Their motorbikes were more stylish and more reliable, so the British manufacturers fell behind as mass-market producers.

Honda established the across-the-frame-four engine configuration as a design with huge potential for power and performance. Shortly after the introduction of the SOHC, Kawasaki demonstrated the potential of the four-stroke four-cylinder engine with the introduction of the KZ900.

Suzuki, Kawasaki and the Yamaha each started producing motorcycles in the s. Meanwhile, the sun was setting on British dominion over the big-displacement motorbike market.

Japanese dominance

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The Honda CB750 revolutionized motorcycle marketing and was emblematic of Japanese dominance

The excellence of Japanese motorcycles caused similar effects in all Western markets: many Italian bike firms either went bust or only just managed to survive. As a result, BMW's worldwide sales sagged in the s, but came back strongly with the introduction of a completely redesigned "slash-5" series for model year .

From the s through the s, small two-stroke motorcycles were popular worldwide, partly as a result of the pioneering work of the East German Daniel Zimmermann (rotary disc valve) and MZ's Walter Kaaden who developed the two-stroke expansion chamber in the s. These ideas were taken up by Suzuki when Ernst Degner, the MZ engineer and rider, defected to the West on 13 September after retiring from the 125cc Swedish Grand Prix at Kristianstad. Degner, an excellent engineer, immediately joined Suzuki and his knowledge became their technology springboard.

Harley-Davidson in the US at the time suffered from the same problems as the European firms, but its unique product range, American tariff laws and nationalism-driven customer loyalty allowed it to survive. One alleged flaw, however, was retaining the characteristic Harley-Davidson 45° engine vee-angle, which causes excess vibration as well as the loping Harley-Davidson sound.

A factory full fairing was introduced by BMW motorcycle in the R100RS of , the first factory fairing produced in quantity.[38]

The present

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In November , the Dutch company E.V.A. Products BV Holland announced that the first commercially available diesel-powered motorcycle, its Track T-800CDI, achieved production status.[39]

The Track T-800CDI uses an 800 cc three-cylinder Daimler Chrysler diesel engine. However, other manufacturers, including Royal Enfield, had been producing diesel-powered bikes since at least .[40]

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In the developing world

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Motorcycle traffic in Bangkok

There is a large demand for small, cheap motorcycles in the developing world, and many of the firms meeting that demand now also compete in mature markets, such as China's Hongdou which makes a version of Honda's venerable CG125.[41]

Motorcycle taxis are commonplace in the developing world. Scooters, mopeds and motorcycles offer a fast, cheap and risky way around snarled traffic and scarce mass transit, as they can easily squeeze through jams.[42]

The first ethanol flex fuel motorcycle in the world was launched to the Brazilian market by Honda in March , the CG 150 Titan Mix[43][44] During the first eight months after its market launch the CG 150 Titan Mix had captured a 10.6% market share, and ranking second in sales of new motorcycles in the Brazilian market in .[45] In September , Honda launched a second flexible-fuel motorcycle,[46] and by December both Honda flexible-fuel motorcycles had reached cumulative production of 515,726 units, representing an 18.1% market share of the Brazilian new motorcycle sales in that year.[47][48] As of January there were four flex-fuel motorcycle models available in the market,[49] and production reached the one million milestone in June .[47][48][50]

See also

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Further reading

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Early history and use in the United Kingdom

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Early history and use in the United States

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References

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How old is Harley-Davidson®? The answer may surprise you. 

Harley-Davidson® is an American motorcycle manufacturer with more than 100 years of history. It was founded in the early 20th century by William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson. With more than a century of motorcycle manufacturing to its credit, it has become one of the most iconic brands in the world.

How old is Harley-Davidson?

Harley-Davidson® was founded in , making the company just over 116 years old. However, it can trace its roots back even further. 

In , William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson began working on a motor-assisted bicycle. The two men eventually succeeded in creating a prototype. In , they founded the Harley-Davidson® Motor Company. Since then, Harley-Davidson® has become synonymous with American motorcycles.

The first Harley-Davidson

The first Harley-Davidson® was built in  by William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Motorcycle.com reminds us.

This prototype motorcycle was created in a backyard shed by William and Arthur. The company sold those production models in -. Then, they began working on a new bike with a bigger engine, which they completed in . This bike was raced at the Milwaukee State Fair Park that year.

The first Harley-Davidsons® were named Model 0 and Model 1. They were built on a bicycle-like frame with a rear coaster brake. These old Harley-Davidsons® were simple machines, but they laid the foundation for the powerful and stylish motorcycles that have become synonymous with freedom and adventure.

The oldest motorcycle company isn&#;t actually Harley-Davidson

In fact, Peugeot Motocycles is the oldest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. 

Founded in , Peugeot presented at the Paris Motorshow the first motorcycle equipped with a Dion-Bouton motor. Today, Peugeot Motocycles offers a range of traditional and electric motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds. 

Old Harley-Davidson® fans will appreciate the vintage design of the Peugeot 103 moped, while those looking for something more modern can check out the sleek Peugeot Metropolis scooter.

The oldest known Harley-Davidson motorcycle

When you ask, &#;what is the oldest Harley bike?&#;, You just have to look at how old Harley-Davidson® is as a company. They&#;ve been producing Harleys since the company&#;s inception in . 

So, the oldest Harley-Davidson® is the first prototype &#; model 0 &#; that they produced. It looks a lot like a cruiser bike with a motor attached. But, despite its small engine, it could reach speeds of 35 miles per hour. However, it couldn&#;t climb up the Milwaukee hills without the rider pedaling. They immediately began production on newer, more modern motorcycles. 

The Harley-Davidson® Model 1 was the first actual motorcycle &#; not just a prototype &#; created by Harley-Davidson®. They sold the old Harley for $200 and created 38 copies. Models 2 and 3 came next, sold &#;. 

These old Harley-Davidsons® had a dual-spring front-end suspension. The partners were experimenting more and more with motorcycle innovations, cementing a name for themselves as forerunners in the industry. Little did they know it at the time, but they were laying down the roots for American motorcycle culture. 

Harley-Davidson and WW1 and WW2 

During both World War I and World War II, Harley-Davidson® manufactured motorcycles for the US military. In fact, during World War II, the company produced over 88,000 motorcycles for the war effort, as well as provided training for soldiers on how to maintain and repair them. 

Harley-Davidson 100-year anniversary 

In , Harley-Davidson® turned 100 years old. This historic event was commemorated by biker parties across the USA, but the official anniversary party was a four-day long bash in Milwaukee. 

Thousands of people came to enjoy the festivities, which included music, food, and of course, plenty of motorcycle riding. There were plenty of old Harley-Davidsons® to look at! It was a truly memorable event for all who attended. 

The anniversary was commemorated with a 100-year anniversary bike. Like the other Harley-Davidson® anniversary bikes, the centennial is displayed on the engine. But this bike has a special insignia and new paint schemes, with a liquid metal effect. The Harley-Davidson® 100-year anniversary bike retails for $18,695. 

If the 100-year anniversary bike is up your alley, be sure to check out the 105th year Harley-Davidson® anniversary motorcycle and similar model. Bikes like the Road King® Screamin' Eagle® offer a unique experience.

Harley-Davidson® may be old &#; they have been an American icon for over 100 years &#; but they show no signs of slowing down. 

Harley-Davidson today 

Today, Harley-Davidson® is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The company offers a wide range of motorcycles, including cruisers, sportbikes, and touring bikes. 

They also offer a wide range of clothing and accessories, making them a one-stop shop for motorcycle enthusiasts. Whether you're looking for a Harley-Davidson bike or just some new gear, we&#;re sure to have what you're looking for. Check out our wide selection of new Harleys.

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