First Motor Cycle

The future of motorcycling is really anyone's best guess. Since there are very few opinions on this subject on the internet (believe it or not) I thought I would write this section and I'll give you my best guess on the future of motorcycling.

I've studied motorcycle history, trends, sales, model failures and successes over the years for many different manufacturers and here is what I think...

Before we get to the future though, we have to understand the past.

1800's --- First motorcycle

Sylvester Howard Roper 1869 Steam Cycle

Motorcycles are descended from the "safety" bicycle, bicycles with front and rear wheels of the same size, with a pedal crank mechanism to drive the rear wheel.

The first motorbike was built in 1868. It was not powered by a gasoline engine, but by a steam engine. Its builder was Sylvester Howard Roper. His steam-powered bike was demonstrated at fairs and circuses in the eastern US in 1867 and did not catch on, but it anticipated many modern motorbike features, including the twisting-handgrip throttle control. There is an existing example of a Roper machine, dated 1869. It's powered by a charcoal-fired two-cylinder engine, whose connecting rods directly drive a crank on the rear wheel. This machine predates the invention of the safety bicycle by many years, so its chassis is also based on the "bone-crusher" bike. "Bone-Crusher's" appeared around 1800, used iron-banded wagon wheels, and were called "bone-crushers," both for their jarring ride, and their tendency to toss their riders.

World's first gasoline-driven motorcycle, the 1885 Daimler Reitwagen

1900-1955 --- Creation of Current Large Motorcycle Companies

1902 - Triumph
1903 - Harley-Davidson (Harley-Davidson Motor Company)
1946 - Honda (The Honda Motor Company)
1952 - Suzuki (Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd.,)
1954 - Kawasaki (Kawasaki Heavy Industries)
1955 - Yamaha (Yamaha Motor Corporation)

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