A Brief History Of Motorcycle Development

Since Daimler invented and manufactured the world's first motorcycle powered by a gasoline engine in 1885, the development of motorcycles has undergone more than 100 years of ups and downs.
The original motorcycle, which is a realistic design existing at the Science and Technology Museum in Munich, Germany, is the world's first motorcycle patented by German Daimler on August 29, 1885.
More than 100 years ago, gasoline engines were still in a primitive and immature state, and vehicle manufacturing was still in the stage of carriage technology. There were significant differences in appearance, structure, and performance between primitive motorcycles and modern motorcycles. The frame of the original motorcycle was made of wood. From the wood grain, it can be seen that it is processed by a carpenter, and the wheels are also made of wood. The outer layer of the wheels is wrapped in a layer of iron sheet. There are several square wooden frames below the frame, on which the engine is placed. There are small support wheels on both sides of the wooden frame, which are used to prevent tipping when stationary. Therefore, this car is actually landing on all four wheels. A single cylinder fan cooled engine outputs power through two stages of belt and gear reduction transmission, driving the rear wheels forward. The seat of the car is made into a saddle shape and wrapped in a layer of leather. The working volume of its engine cylinder is 264mL, with a maximum power of 0.37kW (700r/min), which is only 1/5 of that of modern simple motorcycles. At a speed of 12km/h, it's not much faster than walking. Due to the lack of buffering devices such as springs at that time, this car was called a "shockbone vehicle". It can be imagined that driving on the stone streets of the 19th century was even more painful than execution. Despite the primitive simplicity of motorcycles, they have since undergone continuous transformation and improvement, resulting in the descendants of hundreds of millions of modern motorcycles for over 100 years.
The American motorcycle stands out against the German motorcycle, among which the Harley Davidson company is famous worldwide. In 1903, the first commercially available motorcycle model (the earliest commercial motorcycle in the United States) produced by Harry Company in the United States, had an engine cylinder working volume of 409mL and a power of 2.94kW, using a bicycle frame. Motorcycles are a product of the times and a model that reflects the level of science and technology at that time, that is, motorcycles at different stages bear the imprint of technological development from different eras. The reason why the original motorcycle could not be used was because the science and technology at that time could not meet the basic components required for its normal operation, so it could only be placed in the laboratory. From the 1890s to the beginning of the 20th century, early motorcycles began to have practical value due to the adoption of new inventions and technologies at that time, such as inflatable rubber tires, ball bearings, clutches and transmissions, front suspension suspension suspension systems, spring seats, etc. They were mass-produced in factories and became commodities. This was the second generation of motorcycles, also known as commodity generation motorcycles. In 1912, the X-8A single cylinder motorcycle produced by Harley Company in the United States. At that time, there was no solution to the transmission and transmission system, but instead a large pulley attached to the rear wheel was driven by a belt, and braking was achieved by pulling the rear brake shoe through the handle. At that time, the problem of rear shock absorbers was not solved, and the front shock absorbers had a simple ring type shock absorber attached to the front fork.
After the 1930s, with the continuous progress of science and technology, motorcycles