History of motorcycles

Main article: Hystory of motorcycle

Motorcycle pioneers

First motorcycle ride – it is generally accepted that the first motorcycle ride was by Gottlieb Daimler's son Paul on a new machine called Einspur ("one track") near Stuttgart in Germany on 10 November 1885. However, several pioneering engineers and inventors preceded Daimler, mostly with steam engines powering their cycles. These include:

• Lucius Copeland – 19th-century engineer and inventor from Phoenix who demonstrated one of the first motorcycles in 1884
• Louis-Guillaume Perreaux – French inventor and engineer who submitted one of the first patents for a working motorcycle in 1869, the Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede

Motorcycle innovators

• Max Friz – German mechanical engineer and contributor of engine design that led to the founding of BMW in 1917
• Harry Ricardo – pioneering motorcycle engine designer influential in the early years of the development of the internal combustion engine
• Edward Turner – motorcycle designer and General Manager of Triumph where he led the development of many important technical ideas found on 

Motorcycle industrialists

• George Brough – world record holding motorcycle racer and founder of Brough Superior motorcycles
• Arthur Davidson – co-founder of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company
• Walter Davidson, Sr. – co-founder of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company
• Eugene Goodman – co founder of the Velocette motorcycle company with his father John Goodman in 1913
• William S. Harley – co-founder of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company
• Bert Hopwood – a British motorcycle designer who influenced development of the British motorcycle industry and worked for Ariel, Norton, BSA and Triumph
• Frantisek Janeček – founder of the Czech Jawa Motors
• James Lansdowne Norton – motorcycle designer, inventor and manufacturer of the Norton motorcycles
• Val Page – motorcycle designer and worked for most of the leading marques, including Ariel, Triumph and BSA
• Jack Sangster – industrialist who became an important figure in the history of the British motorcycle industry
• Phil Vincent – Founder of Vincent Motorcycles, his designs influenced the development of motorcycles around the world