The following antique vintage photographs were acquired during a house clearance & unwanted by the families or owners of the properties cleared.
Motorbike facts/ history
Motorbikes are a descendant from the safety bicycle.
In 1867 Sylvester Howard Roper invented a two-cylinder velocipede that was steam powered.
In the 1860’s a company called Michaux and Company were the first to construct a bicycle with pedals, this was called a Velocipede at the time.
In 1867 Ernest Michaux fitted a small steam engine to one of the Velocipede’s, this was the construction of the first motorbike.
In the 1880’s in Germany and England, dozens of machines and different designs emerged.
In 1885 German Gottlieb Daimler invented the first gas engined motorbike.
The production in 1894 from Hildebrand & Wolfmuller was the first production to be called a motorcycle.
During the First World War the production of motorbikes increased rapidly to supply effective communications with front line troops. These motorbikes replaced messengers on horses and were named ‘dispatch riders’.
In 1903 William harley, Arthur and Walter Davidson created the Harley-Davidson company.
The first official distributed Harley-Davidson motorbike was sold in Chicago
By 1920 Harley Davidson became the largest manufacture of motorbikes, producing them to 67 countries.
In 1948 biker gangs began to form, these groups shared common identities and travelled in packs on their motorbikes. One of the earliest groups to for was Hell’s Angels.
1962 was one of the most famous years for motorbikes when a campaign was launched from Honda, this led the number of registered motorcycles to double.
In 1962 the average motorbike buyer was 16-18 years old.
Plastic and rubber were the most common raw materials used in the construction of the motorbike.
The first motorbike ever built was revealed by a private collector and sold at auction for £100,000.