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Invention
American Sylvester Howard Roper invented a steam cylinder engine -
1885
The Germans Wilhelm Maybach and Gottlieb Daimler built a moto with a frame and four wooden wheels and an internal combustion engine -
The Hildebrand and Wolfmüller
Hildebrand and Wolfmüller present in Munich the first motorcycle that was manufactured in series and with clear commercial purposes -
A motor in a bicycle
The Russian brothers Eugéne and Michel Werner, in Paris mounted a motor on a bicycle. The initial model with the engine on the front wheel began to be manufactured. -
Scooter
The moped or scooter was invented, also known at the time as "autosillón", by the French Georges Gauthier. -
The First World War
Motorbike production was greatly ramped up for the war effort to supply effective communications with front line troops. -
Postwar
BMW motorcycles came on the scene.
By 1931, Indian and Harley-Davidson were the only two American manufacturers producing commercial motorcycles. -
World War II
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. 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 EXPANSION
-Italian designer Piaggio introduced the Vespa in 1946
-1949 Honda became manufacture
- Suzuki, Kawasaki and the Yamaha each started producing motorcycles in the 1950s
-Japanese dominance From the 1960s through the 1990s. -
"Bikers"
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 present
Today the Japanese manufacturers, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha dominate the large motorcycle industry, although Harley-Davidson still maintains a high degree of popularity, particularly in the USA.
The popularity around the world of many other motorcycle brands, including BMW, Triumph, Ducati, -
In the developing world
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.
mopeds and motorcycles offer a fast, cheap and risky way around snarled traffic and scarce mass transit, as they can easily squeeze through jams.