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For the last century, motorcycles have been a major influence to international culture. Back in 1885 Gottlieb Daimler created the first gas-powered motorcycle, with the mindset of function over form. It was nothing but a wooden bicycle frame, with a simple four stroke engine attached (Solomn R. Guggenheim Museum). At that point motorcycles were very experimental. While in the beginning they werent much to look at, they truly proved their usefulness in both World Wars.
For instance, Harley Davidson created motorcycles for the United States in World War I and World War II, BMW for the Axis in World War II and Honda for Japan in World War II (Solomn R. Guggenheim Museum). After playing their parts in the major wars, one at a time each major motorcycle company gradually moved towards racing (that is with the exception of Honda which was originally created with racing in mind) (Solomn R. Guggenheim Museum).
They each took their part in different racing categories and were all quite successful. In present day the motorcycle industry is a broad one. Motorcycles satisfy everyone, from people who like to tour, to off-readers, to those who like to race. They even play a big part in law enforcement.
The motorcycle industry can easily be split into two main categories: domestics and imports. The domestic market tends to lean more towards big body style bikes or hogs, with a lot of power and size. However, non-US countries lead the biggest portion of the industry. Imports encompass all other styles of bikes but are usually stereotyped by caf racers; bikes with high power to weight ratios. The domestic market is a small yet powerful portion of the world market for motorcycles. The only well known player in the domestic market is Harley Davidson.
The domestic market of motorcycles has become a major part of American culture. It has created a large and very cult-like following with a ride or die mentality. Harley Davidson Harley Davidson was started in 1901 by a couple of entrepreneurs named William Harley and Arthur Davidson, who wanted to take the work out of bicycling. They started out slow but by 1909 the company produced what later became their trademark engine: a 45 degree V-Twin (Bacon 14). This new motorcycle was nearly 800 cc, produced 7 hp and could reach a top speed of 60 mph. Within the next several years, Harley Davidson truly started to boom (Bacon 15).
They were manufacturing over 12, 000 bikes per year and their products were dominating racing events. After helping the United States in border skirmishes with the Poncho Villa, Harley Davidson was called to duty to create motorcycles for the US during World War I (Harley Davidson). Before the wars end, they had created over 20, 000 motorcycles for the war effort (Bacon 16). In 1920, Harley Davidson became the worlds largest motorcycle manufacturer (Harley Davidson).
This however, did not make them invincible to the stock market crash in 1929. That knocked them down to a production of just fewer than 4, 000 motorcycles in a year (Bacon 16). However, Harley built up steam once again; enough to build and ship out 90, 000 army-version motorcycles for World War II. After the war the desire for motorcycles skyrocketed and soon after, Harley Davidson's biggest competitor, Indian, went out of business (Bacon 17). Following that, Harley Davidson made massive advances in motorcycle performance. Their bikes made land speed records (177. 225 mph in a 250 cc motorcycle), won world championships and one of them was the first to break a 9 second quarter mile (Bacon 21).
Now they are known for their cruisers and Harley Davidson has enveloped the local market for motorcycles and now holds a respectable 20 % of the world market (Harley Annual Report 4). The import market is much broader than the domestic market and makes up for most of the world market. This markets major players are Honda, BMW, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki. Between these five companies, we are presented with everything from caf racers to touring bikes to dual-purpose bikes. BMW BMW originally started as a manufacturer of aircraft engines but because of post World War I restrictions, they were forced to shift their efforts (Prestin 8). Before making BMW brand bikes, the company simply sold engines to other companies.
In 1923, when they started making bikes under the BMW name, they started with an air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine whose engine was based off of that of an aircraft (Prestin 8). Unfortunately with multiple innovations throughout the years, BMW had a product too expensive for the market. However, BMW continued to better their bikes with bigger engines. They also started a line of motorcycles with sidecars for use in World War II (BMW Motorcycles). These same bikes won world championship races for nearly two decades in the mid 1900 s (Prestin 9). In the years following BMWs bikes became more powerful, lighter and a more comfortable ride with innovations in engines and suspension.
BMWs bikes continue to be among the fastest and most sought after in the world. They have the bragging rights that of all its original boxer powered motorcycles are still in use today in addition to the fact that they hold 21 % of the world market in motorcycle sales (BMW Motorcycles). Honda Honda was originally created by So ichiro Honda, a prominent businessman (Honda History). In October of 1946 Honda had produced its first makeshift motorcycle, using a proprietary cycle frame with a two-stroke electric generator for a motor (Honda History).
The first Honda motorcycle was a war transportation machine (Honda History). It was used during World War II in Japan, where public transportation was desperately overcrowded and gasoline severely restricted. Hondas first bikes were quite successful, and soon Honda Motors was manufacturing its first motorcycle and selling it as a complete motorbike (Honda History). Honda was established as a major player in the motorcycle industry when they came out with the classic motorcycles the CB 72 and the CB 77 (Honda History). These bikes fueled the interest in riding and truly opened up the motorcycle industry in America. In 1962 Hondas breakthrough advertising slogan You meet the nicest people on a Honda altered the belief that motorcycles were only for rebels (Honda History).
It reached out and made Honda and motorcycling in general, appealing to a wider array of people. Besides helping the motorcycle industry overall, Honda has also helped itself flourish. Honda Motors now holds 24 % of the world market for motorcycles with its wide array of bikes including caf racers, cruisers and touring bikes (Honda History). Suzuki Possibly one of the least likely companies to end up producing motorcycles is Suzuki. They started out about 65 years ago making spinning looms (Suzuki History); a far cry from motorcycles. Although now best known for their motorcycles, Suzuki also manufactures cars, vans, trucks and outboard boat motors.
Suzuki began producing motorcycles in 1952 (Suzuki History). Its first motorcycle was dubbed the Power Free for good reason (Suzuki History). The most noteworthy point about this bike is that it could be pedaled not using the motor, pedaled with the assistance of the motor or simply driven by the motor. Soon after, Suzuki created its first true motorcycle. It became an instant success after winning a national Japanese race within a year of being produced (Suzuki History).
In June of 1954, Suzuki changed its name from Suzuki Jidosha Kogyo (Suzuki Automotive Industries) to Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd; (Suzuki History) an obvious move towards the US markets. They continued with advances in power. Suzuki was able to do wonders with small displacement engines.
They managed to win many races in Japan and around the world during the 1960 s. After trying and failing to create a rotary powered motorcycle, Suzuki made an attempt at a...
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