Editing Motorcycle (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of the motorcycle}}

===Experimentation and invention===
[[File:Daimler-1-motorcycle-1.jpg|thumb|Replica of the Daimler-Maybach ''Reitwagen'']]
The first [[internal combustion engine|internal combustion]], [[petroleum]] fueled motorcycle was the [[Daimler Reitwagen|Daimler ''Reitwagen'']]. It was designed and built by the German inventors [[Gottlieb Daimler]] and [[Wilhelm Maybach]] in [[Bad Cannstatt]], Germany, in 1885.<ref name="ThePast1800s">{{cite web |title=The Past – 1800s: First motorcycle |work=The History and Future of Motorcycles and motorcycling – From 1885 to the Future, Total Motorcycle Website |url=http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/future.htm#1800s |access-date=28 June 2007 |archive-date=8 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608130856/http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/future.htm#1800s |url-status=live }}</ref> This vehicle was unlike either the [[safety bicycle]]s or the [[Boneshaker (bicycle)|boneshaker]] bicycles of the era in that it had zero degrees of [[Bicycle and motorcycle geometry#Steering axis angle|steering axis angle]] and no [[Bicycle and motorcycle geometry#Fork offset|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.{{sfn|Lienhard |2005|pp=120-121}}

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.{{sfn|Setright |1979}}{{sfn|Falco|1998}}

[[File:Butler's Patent Velocycle.jpg|thumb|Butler's Patent Velocycle]]
The first commercial design for a self-propelled cycle was a three-wheel design called the Butler Petrol Cycle, conceived of [[Edward Butler (inventor)|Edward Butler]] in [[England]] in 1884.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/394358/motorcycle|title=motorcycle (vehicle)|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=23 June 2022|archive-date=1 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901010157/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/394358/motorcycle|url-status=live}}</ref> He exhibited his plans for the vehicle at the [[Stanley Cycle Show]] in London in 1884. The vehicle was built by the [[Merryweather & Sons|Merryweather Fire Engine]] company in [[Greenwich]], in 1888.{{sfn|Georgano|2002|p=22}}

The Butler Petrol Cycle was a three-wheeled vehicle, with the rear wheel directly driven by a {{cvt|5/8|hp}}, {{cvt|40|cc}} displacement, {{cvt|2 + 1/4|×|5|in}} bore × stroke, [[Flat twin engine|flat twin]] [[four-stroke engine]] (with [[magneto ignition]] replaced by coil and battery) equipped with [[rotary valves]] and a float-fed [[carburettor]] (five years before [[Wilhelm Maybach|Maybach]]) and [[Ackermann steering geometry|Ackermann steering]], all of which were state of the art at the time. Starting was by compressed air. 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. It was not, however, a success, as Butler failed to find sufficient financial backing.{{sfn|Georgano|2002|pp=20-22}}

Many authorities have excluded [[steam engine|steam powered]], [[electric motorcycles]] or diesel-powered two-wheelers from the definition of a 'motorcycle', and credit the Daimler ''Reitwagen'' as the world's first motorcycle.<ref name=OED>{{Cite book |title=Oxford English Dictionary Online |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=March 2009 |chapter=motorcycle, n. |quote= 1. A two-wheeled motor-driven road vehicle, resembling a bicycle but powered by an internal-combustion engine; (now) spec. one with an engine capacity, top speed, or weight greater than that of a moped.}}</ref><ref name="Wired20110830">{{Cite news |last=Long |first=Tony |date=30 August 2007 |title=Aug.&nbsp;30, 1885: Daimler Gives World First 'True' Motorcycle |url=https://www.wired.com/2011/08/0830daimler-first-true-motorcycle/ |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |issn=1059-1028 |access-date=10 March 2017 |archive-date=22 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222102357/https://www.wired.com/2011/08/0830daimler-first-true-motorcycle/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Kresnak|2008}} Given the rapid rise in use of electric motorcycles worldwide,<ref name=MotorBikeWriter.com>{{Cite web |url=http://motorbikewriter.com/electric-bikes-drive-global-sales/ |title=Electric Bikes Drive Global Sales |date=24 December 2014 |access-date=5 March 2015 |archive-date=20 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320231126/http://motorbikewriter.com/electric-bikes-drive-global-sales/ |url-status=live }}</ref> defining only internal-combustion powered two-wheelers as 'motorcycles' is increasingly problematic. The first (petroleum fueled) internal-combustion motorcycles, like the German ''Reitwagen'', were, however, also the first practical motorcycles.<ref name="Wired20110830" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Barnum|first=Merritt H.|date=August 1963|title=New Image in Motorcycling|journal=American Motorcyclist|volume=17|pages=5|issn=0277-9358}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wineland|first=Lynn|title=The Complete Book of Motorcycling|publisher=Petersen Publishing Company|year=1964|pages=7|asin=B0007E0SN8}}</ref>

If a two-wheeled vehicle with steam propulsion is considered a motorcycle, then the first motorcycles built seem to be the French [[Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede]] which patent application was filed in December 1868,{{sfn|Setright |1979}}{{sfn|Falco|1998}} constructed around the same time as the American [[Roper steam velocipede]], built by [[Sylvester H. Roper]] of [[Roxbury, Massachusetts]],{{sfn|Setright |1979}}{{sfn|Falco|1998}}
who had been demonstrating his machine at fairs and circuses in the eastern U.S. since 1867.<ref name="ThePast1800s"/> Roper built about 10 steam cars and cycles from the 1860s until his death in 1896.{{sfn|Kresnak|2008}}

====Summary of early inventions====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Vehicle !! Number of wheels !! Inventor !! Engine type !! Notes
|-
| 1867–1868 ||  [[Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede]] || 2 || Pierre Michaux<br>Louis-Guillaume Perreaux || Steam || 
*One made
|-
| 1867–1868 || [[Roper steam velocipede]] || 2 || Sylvester Roper || Steam || 
*One made
|-
| 1885 || [[Daimler Reitwagen]] || 2 (plus 2 outriggers) || Gottlieb Daimler<br>Wilhelm Maybach || Petroleum internal-combustion || 
*One made
|-
| 1887 || [[Edward Butler (inventor)|Butler Petrol Cycle]] || 3 (plus 2 castors)|| Edward Butler || Petroleum internal-combustion ||
|-
| 1894 || [[Hildebrand & Wolfmüller]] || 2 || Heinrich Hildebrand<br>Wilhelm Hildebrand<br>Alois Wolfmüller || Petroleum internal-combustion || 
*Modern configuration
*First mass-produced motorcycle
*First machine to be called "motorcycle"
|}

===First motorcycle companies===
[[File:1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller diagram.png|thumb|left|Diagram of 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller]]
In 1894, [[Hildebrand & Wolfmüller]] became the first series production motorcycle, and the first to be called a motorcycle ({{langx|de|Motorrad}}).{{sfn|Setright |1979}}{{sfn|Falco|1998}}{{sfn|Kresnak|2008}}<ref name="Brief History of the Marque: Hildebrand & Wolfmuller">{{cite web |title=Brief History of the Marque: Hildebrand & Wolfmuller |work=Hildebrand & Wolfmuller Motorad, European Motorcycle Universe |url=http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/euro/brands/hildebrand_wolfmuller.htm |access-date=28 June 2007 |archive-date=10 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210063248/http://cybermotorcycle.com/euro/brands/hildebrand_wolfmuller.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Excelsior Motor Company]], originally a bicycle manufacturing company based in [[Coventry]], England, began production of their first motorcycle model in 1896.

The first production motorcycle in the US was the Orient-Aster, built by [[Metz Company|Charles Metz]] in 1898 at his factory in [[Waltham, Massachusetts]].

In the early period of motorcycle history, many producers of [[bicycle]]s 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.

[[File:1902 Orient motocycle.jpg|thumb|1902 Orient motocycle]]
At the end of the 19th century the first major mass-production firms were set up. In 1898, [[Triumph Engineering|Triumph Motorcycles]] in England began producing motorbikes, and by 1903 it was producing over 500 bikes. Other British firms were [[Royal Enfield]], [[Norton Motorcycle Company|Norton]], [[Douglas (motorcycles)|Douglas Motorcycles]] and [[Birmingham Small Arms Company]] who began motorbike production in 1899, 1902, 1907 and 1910, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bikes4sale.in/wp/756/history-of-motorbikes/|title=History of Motorbikes|website=Bikes4Sale|access-date=25 February 2020|archive-date=25 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225233336/https://www.bikes4sale.in/wp/756/history-of-motorbikes/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Indian (motorcycle)|Indian]] began production in 1901 and [[Harley-Davidson]] was established two years later. By the outbreak of World War I, the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world was Indian,{{sfn|Walker|2006|p=66}}<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum |title=George Hendee |url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=68&lpos=-410px&letter=H&txtFname=&rblFname=S&txtLname=&rblLname=S&discipline=0 |access-date=8 August 2009 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313102045/http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=68&lpos=-410px&letter=H&txtFname=&rblFname=S&txtLname=&rblLname=S&discipline=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>
producing over 20,000 bikes per year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Youngblood |first=Ed |title=The Rise and Fall |periodical=American Motorcyclist |date=June 2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FPsDAAAAMBAJ&q=20,000&pg=PA30 |volume= 55 |issue=6 |publisher=American Motorcyclist Assoc}}</ref>

===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 [[despatch rider]]s on motorcycles carrying messages, performing reconnaissance 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 [[Triple Entente|allied forces]] during the war. With the rear wheel driven by a belt, the Model H was fitted with a {{convert|499|cc|abbr=on}} air-cooled [[four-stroke]] single-cylinder engine. It was also the first Triumph without [[Bicycle pedal|pedals]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.triumph1.com/triumph_history.htm|title=Triumph history |access-date=20 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908002718/http://www.triumph1.com/triumph_history.htm |archive-date=8 September 2008 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2014}}

The Model H in particular, is regarded by many as having been the first "modern motorcycle".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/689/2598/Motorcycle-Article/Triumph-Motorcycle-History.aspx|title=Triumph Motorcycle History|access-date=18 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321013937/http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/689/2598/Motorcycle-Article/Triumph-Motorcycle-History.aspx|archive-date=21 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Introduced in 1915 it had a 550&nbsp;cc 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".<ref>{{cite web|title=Triumph Motorcycles timeline|url=http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/triumph/time01.html|first=Ian|last=Chadwick|access-date=18 November 2013|archive-date=2 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402200355/http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/triumph/time01.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Postwar===
[[File:Male Motorcycle rider posing with a Rudge racing bike, No. 45.jpg|thumb|Motorcycle rider on his [[Rudge-Whitworth]] motorbike, Australia, {{Circa|1935}}]]
By 1920, Harley-Davidson was the largest manufacturer,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pcmotors.com/harley.html|title=History of Harley-Davidson Motor Company|website=pcmotors.com|access-date=25 February 2020|archive-date=25 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225233333/https://pcmotors.com/harley.html|url-status=live}}</ref> with their motorcycles being sold by dealers in 67 countries.<ref>{{Cite news |title=HOG WILD; U of T professor Brendan Calder is one of the legions of baby boomers who have helped to ensure the success of the Harley-Davidson brand name, not to mention its bottom line. |first=Sharda |last=Prashad |periodical=Toronto Star |location=Toronto, Ont. |date=16 April 2006 |page=A.16 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/438968474 |access-date=7 July 2017 |archive-date=30 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630220939/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/doc/438968474.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=&author=&pub=&edition=&startpage=&desc= |id={{ProQuest|438968474}} |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Harley-Davidson at 100 |first=Jeremy |last=Cato |periodical=Vancouver Sun|location=Vancouver, B.C. |date=8 August 2003 |page=E.1.Fro }}</ref>

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 {{convert|100|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, recording {{convert|100.81|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} 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 {{convert|102.9|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} 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|date=November 2019}}

By the late 1920s or early 1930s, [[DKW]] in Germany took over as the largest manufacturer.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vance |first=Bill |url=http://www.autos.ca/classic-cars/motoring-memories-dkw-auto-union-1928-1966/ |work=Canadian Driver |title=Motoring Memories: DKW/Auto Union, 1928–1966 |date=24 April 2009 |access-date=17 May 2014 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225174552/http://www.autos.ca/classic-cars/motoring-memories-dkw-auto-union-1928-1966/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|de Cet |2002|p=128}}{{sfn|Walker|1999|p=61}}

[[File:ZweiRadMuseumNSU NSU-SportMax 1955.JPG|thumb|left|NSU Sportmax streamlined motorcycle, 250&nbsp;cc class winner of the [[1955 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1955 Grand Prix season]]]]

In the 1950s, streamlining began to play an increasing part in the development of racing motorcycles and the "dustbin fairing" held out the possibility of radical changes to motorcycle design. [[NSU Motorenwerke|NSU]] and [[Moto Guzzi]] were in the vanguard of this development, both producing very radical designs well ahead of their time.{{sfn|Willoughby |1982}}
NSU produced the most advanced design, but after the deaths of four NSU riders in the 1954–1956 seasons, they abandoned further development and quit [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ms&n=1418 |work= Motorsport Memorial |title= Rupert Hollaus |access-date= 3 April 2008 |archive-date= 19 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190119053014/http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ms&n=1418 |url-status= live }}</ref>

Moto Guzzi produced competitive race machines, and until the end of 1957 had a succession of victories.<ref>{{cite web |title=Moto Guzzi History |url=http://www.motoguzzi.com/us_EN/passion/History/ |website=Moto Guzzi |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-date=24 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224002017/http://www.motoguzzi.com/us_EN/passion/History/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The following year, 1958, full enclosure fairings were banned from racing by the [[Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme|FIM]] in the light of the safety concerns.

From the 1960s through the 1990s, small two-stroke motorcycles were popular worldwide, partly as a result of [[German Democratic Republic|East German]] [[MZ Motorrad- und Zweiradwerk|MZs]] Walter Kaaden's engine work in the 1950s.<ref name="Motocross goes International, 1947 through 1965">{{cite web |title=Motocross goes International, 1947 through 1965 |first=Ed |last=Youngblood |work=The History of Motocross, Part Two, Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum |url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/exhibits/mx/history2.asp |access-date=29 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113185300/http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/exhibits/mx/history2.asp |archive-date=13 November 2007}}</ref>
{{clear right}}

===Today===
[[File:Royal Enfield Bullet, Rewalsar 2010.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Enfield Bullet]]]]
In the 21st century, the motorcycle industry is mainly dominated by Indian and Japanese motorcycle companies. In addition to the large capacity motorcycles, there is a large market in smaller capacity (less than 300&nbsp;cc) motorcycles, mostly concentrated in Asian and African countries and produced in China and India.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} A Japanese example is the 1958 [[Honda Super Cub]], which went on to become the biggest selling vehicle of all time, with its 60 millionth unit produced in April 2008.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2008/05/honda-sells-its/ |title=Honda Sells Its 60 Millionth – Yes, Millionth – Super Cub |magazine=Autopia |publisher=Wired |date=23 May 2008 |access-date=28 January 2010 |last=Squatriglia |first=Chuck |archive-date=27 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427001611/http://www.wired.com/2008/05/honda-sells-its |url-status=live }}</ref>
Today, this area is dominated by mostly [[:Category:Motorcycle manufacturers of India|Indian companies]] with [[Hero MotoCorp]] emerging as the world's largest manufacturer of two wheelers. Its [[Hero Honda Splendor|Splendor]] model has sold more than 8.5&nbsp;million to date.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hero Honda splendor sells more than 8.5 million units |url=http://www.indiacar.net/news/n60044.htm |publisher=indiacar.net |access-date=10 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221200612/http://www.indiacar.net/news/n60044.htm |archive-date=21 February 2008 }}</ref> Other major producers are [[Bajaj Auto|Bajaj]] and [[TVS Motors]].<ref>{{cite web |last=O'Malley Greenburg |first=Zack |url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/08/05/india-autos-cheapest-oped-cz_zog_0813indiaauto.html |title=World's Cheapest Car |magazine=[[Forbes]] |date=13 August 2007 |access-date=28 January 2010 |archive-date=6 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906054558/http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/05/india-autos-cheapest-oped-cz_zog_0813indiaauto.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:"Jungle" motorbike.jpg|thumb|Yamaha Troops motorbike]]