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Todays motorcycles are everywhere and there are lots of
different classes or kinds of motorcycles as well. But the
motorcycle, like the automobile, is a relative newcomer to the
world stage.
The first motorcycle ever assembled was built by the German
inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in 1885 in Bad
Cannstatt in Germany. They were actually focusing more on the
motor that was installed to power the two-wheeled contraption
and not so much on creating a new kind of vehicle, but the
resulting impact on motorized travel would be tremendous. There
were earlier versions of steam powered bicycles, but this was
the first petroleum powered motorcycle.
Not long afterward in 1894 the very first production motorcycle
went on sale as the Hildebrand & Wolfmüller motorcycle. It
wasn't long after that before several of the bicycle companies
of that time got into the act and started selling versions of
what was essentially motorized bicycles. However, as horsepower
increased, the engines started to outgrow the bicycle frames
that were used as their carriage.
The most popular motorcycle company before World War 1 was
Indian motorcycle. After the war, Harley Davidson took over the
number one spot until 1928 when DKW became the leading
motorcycle manufacturer in the world. For a few years after
World War 2 BSA took over as the largest motorcycle producer
until 1955 when NSU Motorworks who had started out as a knitting
machine company in 1884 became the dominant manufacturer for the
next couple of decades.
Then in the 1970s the Japanese companies Honda, Kawasaki,
Yamaha, and Suzuki made their entrance into this field, changed
the face of the industry, and quickly became the dominant
motorcycle suppliers to the world from then on. Since the 70s
Honda has held the title of the world's largest motorcycle
maker. Today, the big four motorcycle makers have penetrated
practically every motorcycle market in the world, and they are
highly regarded as makers of high quality motorcycle products.
In recent years some of the older motorcycle brands like the
Indian have regained popularity with Harley Davidson being the
most successful by far.
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Jim Johnson writes on many consumer related topics. You can find
out more about indian motorcycle sale or getting a motorcycle lift table by visiting our
motorcycle website.
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