Single track, two-wheeled vehicles first appeared in the late eighteenth century. They intially had no steering and were propelled by the rider pushing on the ground with his feet. In 1817 steering was added to the front wheel. These devices were known as "Hobby-horses" but most people viewed them as toys rather than a mean of transportation. In 1843 a Scotish blacksmith named Kirkpatrick MacMillan created a cycle with pedals and cranks that drove the rear wheel. Two decades later a French man named Pierre Michaux installed cranks to the front wheel of the cycle, and increased the wheel's size to improve gearing. Innovations such as metal-spoked wheels, ball bearings, solid rubber tires, free wheels, and gears made bikes more practical. By the year 1869 the steam engine was known worldwide to be a successful means of propulsion. In France, Michaux began working with the an engineer named Louis Perreaux. Together they attached a small steam engine to a bicycle. They called it the "Velocipede" and the first motorcycle was born. At the same time in America, two brothers in Philadelphia has created a steam powered tricycle. Other bicycle inventions at this time included a tricycle two round cages as the rear wheels. Dogs were then put in the cages amd as tjeu ram, the bike was propelled forward! Another invention used clockwork gears but the motor needed to be rewound every few hundred yards. The steam engine established the idea of tuming gas pressure into circular motion by use of the cylinder, pistons, connecting rod, and crankshaft. At this point, replacing steam pressure with a controlled explosion was a logical move. In 1876 a German named Dr. Nicholas Otto patented the concept of the "four-stroke" principle. Otto had an assistant named Gottlieb Daimer who decided to begin seperate work on an internal combustion engine. By 1883 Daimler had created his own successful design. By the year 1885 Daimler had developed a wooden frame for the engine and when he mounted the engine on the new frame, the first gas powered motorcycle was born. In 1885 an American named John Starley designed and built the Rover Safety Bicycle. This was the first bicycle to utilize a tubular cradle. It was this bike that inspired the motorcycle chassis that is commonly used today. In 1887 a man from England named Edward Butler built a tricycle with electric ignition and a float-feed carburetor. In 1888 the inflatable tire was invented by John Dunlop. Several other experiments and innovations helped bring motorcycle manufacturing into the eighteenth century. By the year 1914 over thirty different makes of motorcycles were in production. Sales were booming and the future seemed bright for the industry. At this point Indian whose products were being distributed worldwide, was the biggest manufacturer in the world. Other manufacturers were FN, Scott, Terrot, and Rudge.
Other important manufacturing dates
1898 Gillet (F)
1899 Matchless (B)
1899 Victoria (G)
1901 NSU (G)
1902 Terrot (F)
1902 Yale (U)
1902 (Triumph) (B)
1903 Harley (U)
1903 Puch (A)
1904 Indian (U)
1904 Velocette (B)
1906 BSA (B)
1907 Norton (B)
1907 Deron (F)
1909 Scott (B)
1909 Gilera (I)
1910 Rudge (B)
1912 Henderson (U)
1913 Sunbeam (B)
1915 Cleveland (U)
1917 Excelisor (U)
1919 DKW (G)
1920 Moto Guzzi (I)
1921 Brough (B)
1921 BMW (G)
1921 Benelli (I)
1923 Ace (U)
1928 HRD (B)
A - Austria
B - Britain
F - France
G - Germany
I - Italy
U - United States
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