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A Motorcycle (also called a motorbicycle, motorbike, bike, or cycle) is a single-track two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.
Motorcycles are the most affordable form of motorised transport in many parts of the world, and for most of the world's population, they are also the most common type of motor vehicle. are around 200 million motorcycles (including mopeds, motor scooters and other powered two- and three-wheelers) in use worldwide, or about 33 motorcycles per 1000 people. This compares to around 590 million cars, or about 91 per 1000 people. Most of the motorcycles, 58%, are in the developing countries of Asia, while 33% of the cars (195 million) are concentrated in the US and Japan. In the two countries of India and China, there are a total of only 6 million cars, but 71 million motorcycles. These numbers, worldwide, are dwarfed by the number of bicycles in use, estimated to be near twice the number of cars, or close to five times the number of motorcycles.
Arguably, the first motorcycle was designed and built by the German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Bad Cannstatt (since 1905 a city district of Stuttgart) in 1885. The first petroleum-powered vehicle was essentially a motorised bicycle, although the inventors called their invention the Reitwagen ("riding car"). It was designed as an expedient testbed for their new engine, rather than a true prototype vehicle.[citation needed] However, if a two-wheeled vehicle with steam propulsion is considered a motorcycle, then the first one may have been American. One such machine was demonstrated at fairs and circuses in the eastern U.S. in 1867, built by Sylvester Howard Roper of Roxbury, Massachusetts.
In 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first motorcycle available for purchase. In the early period of motorcycle history, many producers of bicycles adapted their designs to accommodate the new internal combustion engine. As the engines became more powerful and designs outgrew the bicycle origins, the number of motorcycle producers increased.
Until the First World War, the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world was Indian over 20,000 bikes per year. 1920, this honour went to Harley-Davidson, with their motorcycles being sold by dealers in 67 countries. the late 1920s or early 1930s, DKW took over as the largest manufacturer.
