ENGLISH

Lucius Copeland 1894

In the 1860s 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 1867, 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 1863, filed for the first bicycle patent with the US patent office in
1866.[4] In 1868 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, 1896.[3]

Also in 1868, 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 1868,
nothing indicates the invention had been operable before 1871.[3]

In 1881, 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 1887 Copeland formed
the Northrop Manufacturing Co. to produce the first successful 'Moto-Cycle' (actually a three-
wheeler).[3]

Experiment and invention

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 1884.[5] He exhibited his
plans for the vehicle at the Stanley Cycle Show in London in 1884, two years earlier than Karl Benz
invented his first automobile who is generally recognized as the inventor of the modern automobile.
Butler's vehicle was also the first design to be shown at the 1885 International Inventions Exhibition
in London.

The vehicle was built by the Merryweather Fire Engine company in Greenwich, in 1888.[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 1885 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 1885.[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.

First Commercial Product

In 1894 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

In 1898, 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 1913 FN (Fabrique National), Belgium, 4 cylinders and shaft drive

In 1901 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 1898 English
bicycle-maker Triumph decided to extend its focus to include motorcycles, and by 1902 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 1902
and 1910, respectively.[17]

In 1901 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 1902, and would rise to 32,000, its best ever, in
1913.[18][19] Indian produced over 20,000 bikes per year.[20] The oldest surviving Russian-
manufactured motorcycle, the Rossiya, dates from 1902.[21] The American company Harley-
Davidson started producing motorcycles in 1903.

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 1911.[22] By 1914, 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

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 1915 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

By 1920, Harley-Davidson became the largest manufacturer,[26] with their motorcycles being sold
by dealers in 67 countries.[27][28]

Amongst many British motorcycle manufacturers Chater-Lea with its twin-cylinder models followed
by its large singles in the 1920s stood out. Initially, using converted a Woodmann-designed OHV
Blackburne engine it became the first 350 cc to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h), recording 100.81 mph
(162.24 km/h) over the flying kilometre during April 1924.[7] Later, Chater-Lea set a world record for
the flying kilometre for 350 cc and 500 cc motorcycles at 102.9 mph (165.6 km/h) for the firm.
Chater-Lea produced variants of these world beating sports models and became popular among
racers at the Isle of Man TT. Today, the firm is probably best remembered for its long-term contract
to manufacture and supply AA Patrol motorcycles and sidecars.[citation needed]

By the late 1920s or early 1930s, DKW in Germany took over as the largest manufacturer.[29][30]
[31]BMW motorcycles came on the scene in 1923 with a shaft drive and an opposed-twin or "boxer"
engine enclosed with the transmission in a single aluminum housing.

By 1931, Indian and Harley-Davidson were the only two American manufacturers producing
commercial motorcycles.[32] This two-company rivalry in the United States remained until 1953,
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 1930s, 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 1937, 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
1937 and continuing until 1950. 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.

Motorcycle now