His engineering credo was simple: more horsepower, less weight. To hell with the buggy.ĬURTISS (1901–1913) Hammondsport, New York – Before Glenn Curtiss became an aviation pioneer he was a bicycle builder, racer, and motorcycle designer. ![]() The few companies that made it through the second half of the 20th century were lucky enough to have excellent engineers and designers with persistence and vision – and it helped to have a belief that the motorcycle was God’s own choice to replace the horse and the bicycle. They held fast to the certainty that the need for speed and the thrill of riding solo with the wind in their face, would ultimately lead to success in the expanding motorcycle marketplace. But the core group of bicycle riders – racers especially – would persist. ![]() As the rational replacement for the horse and buggy, the automobile became the sensible option. ![]() Capitalism was on a roll.Įconomical transportation was the key focus for most of the early builders the notion of motorcycles as recreational devices gathered momentum in the States only after Henry Ford made cars the more affordable choice. ![]() The scramble to secure a share of the rapidly emerging market for two wheelers was especially keen in the United States, with its growing economy, industrial resources, and expanding immigrant labor force. The original motorcycle boom of 1890 - 1930, saw hundreds of ambitious manufacturers rise and fall around the world.
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