Early Motorcycle History
In Modern
America, Indian was the only motorcycle manufacturer among the crowd of 20
odd which was competing with Harley Davidson. Indian Motorcycle was invented
by a young self-taught engineer and builder of racing bicycles named Oscar
Hedstrom. Oscar and entrepreneur George Hendee came together to build the
first Indians out of the Hedstrom's design. This Indian motorcycle invented
by Hedstrom was powered by copy of DeDion-Buton engine and an excellent
carburetor rolled out in 1901. At one time Indian was largest motorcycle
manufacturer in the world rolling out 20,000 motorcycles per year. Indian
motorcycles strongly supported racing during this period as a way to improve
their product and to present it to the buying public. The Indian factory
motorcycles dominated all forms of racing in the US, and in 1912, Indians
won first, second and third at the Isle of Man TT. Indian motorcycle
engineering department invented new models and variants of motorcycles and
continued to roll out excellent motorcycles off production lines. Model such
as the much-beloved model 101 Scout of 1919, the original Chief of 1920, and
the highly successful Sport Scout of 1935. Indian also acquired a
magnificent four-cylinder bike in 1927 by buying the tools, dies, and assets
of the Ace Motorcycle Company.
In 1903, 21-year old William S. Harley and 20-year old Arthur Davidson
invented the first production Harley-Davidson® motorcycle. The newly
invented Harley Davidson motorcycle was built to be a racer, with a 3-1/8
inch bore and 3-1/2 inch stroke. The factory in which they worked was a 10 x
15-foot wooden shed with the words "Harley-Davidson Motor Company" crudely
scrawled on the door. The only American motorcycle manufacturer still in
existence from the early days is the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, which
celebrated its centennial in 2003.
In 1910 The Belgian arms company FN invented the first 4-cylinder
motorcycle. This newly invented motorcycle was named FN and it had a shaft
drive.
In 1914 Triumph Tourist Trophy-Type G motorcycle was invented and
manufactured specifically for the dirt track at IOM. This newly invented
motorcycle was a single cylinder, 4 horsepower, 4 stroke engine of 550cc
with a 3 speed transmission. It featured adjustable tappets and a side by
side valve placement. This motorcycle used an Aster engine that was copy of
the DeDion-Buton.
In 1918 Cleveland Motorcycle Company built a 2 stroke lightweight
motorcycle- almost an exact copy of Triumph's Junior model. It continued
production of the motorcycle until 1924.
This motorcycle sported a coil producing spark, a two speed lever hand
operated transmission that could reach a speed of 45mph.
Who Invented The Motorcycle?
