A motorcycle, often called a bike, motorbike, or cycle, is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport including racing, and off-road riding. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and related social activity such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rallies.
Indian is an American brand of motorcycles originally produced from 1901 to 1953 in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Hendee Manufacturing Company initially produced the motorcycles, but the name was changed to the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company in 1928.
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is an American nonprofit organization of more than 200,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights. Its mission statement is "to promote the motorcycling lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling." The organization was founded in 1924 and as of October 2016 had more than 1,100 chartered clubs.
Brough Superior motorcycles, sidecars, and motor cars were made by George Brough in his Brough Superior works on Haydn Road in Nottingham, England, from 1919 to 1940. The motorcycles were dubbed the "Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles" by H. D. Teague of The Motor Cycle newspaper. Approximately 3048 motorcycles were made in the 21 years of production; around a third of that production still exists. T. E. Lawrence owned eight of these motorcycles and died from injuries sustained when he crashed number seven; the eighth was on order. Moving forward to 2008, vintage motorcycle enthusiast Mark Upham acquired the rights to the Brough Superior name. In 2013 he met motorcycle designer Thierry Henriette and asked him to design a new Brough Superior motorcycle. Three months later a prototype of a new SS100 was shown in Milan.
The Crocker Motorcycle Company is an American manufacturer, based in Los Angeles, California, of single-cylinder speedway racing motorcycles from 1932, powerful V-twin road motorcycles from 1936, and the "Scootabout," one of the first modern styled motor scooters, in the late 1930s. Production ceased in 1942. In 1999 Crocker Motorcycle Company was resurrected to manufacture authentic OEM replacement parts and now produces complete Small and Big Tank Crockers following the original specifications. Michael Schacht is Crocker Motorcycle company President.
Zoltan Korda was a Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, director and producer. He made his first film in Hungary in 1918, and worked with his brother Alexander Korda on film-making there and in London. They both moved to the United States in 1940 to Hollywood and the American film industry.
Motorcycle touring is a format of tourism that involves a motorcycle. It has been a subject of note since at least 1915.
A motorcycle rally is a gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts. Rallies can be large or small, and one-time or recurring. Some rallies are ride-in events, whereas some like the Iron Butt Rally involve days of riding and an actual gathering only at the end of the ride.
David L. Hough is an American writer on motorcycle rider safety, education and training. He has been a columnist for Motorcycle Consumer News, Sound RIDER! and BMW Owners News magazines. After his first book Proficient Motorcycling was published by Bow Tie Press it became one of the best selling motorcycle books. He currently has four published books and one 2nd ed. He has been recognized twice as a writer by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's (MSF) Excellence in Motorcycle Journalism award.
Dave Barr is an American veteran of the Vietnam War and a motorcyclist best known for being the first double amputee to circumnavigate the globe. He lives in Bodfish, California where he runs a motorcycle tour company. He is also the author of several books and was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000.
The Brough Superior SS 100 is a motorcycle which was designed and built by George Brough in Nottingham, England in 1924. Although every bike was designed to meet specific customer requirements—even the handlebars were individually shaped—sixty-nine SS100s were produced in 1925 and at £170 were advertised by Brough as the "Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles". The term was coined by a magazine road tester in his review of the bike, and Brough eventually obtained explicit permission to use it after a Rolls-Royce executive toured the Brough Superior factory. All bikes had a guarantee that they were capable of 100 mph (160 km/h).
The Indian Four was a motorcycle built by the Indian Motocycle Company from 1928 to 1942. It was based on the Ace motorcycle, which Indian bought as part of the assets of the Ace Motor Corporation in 1927.
The Indian Scout is a motorcycle built by the Indian Motocycle Company from 1920 to 1949. It rivaled the Chief as Indian's most important model. The 101 Scout, made from 1928 to 1931, has been called the best motorcycle Indian ever made. A second line of Scouts, with heavier frames, was introduced in 1932 alongside the Standard Scout, which replaced the 101 Scout and shared its frame with the Chief and the Four. The small-displacement Scout and the Sport Scout, introduced in 1934, were continued until the end of civilian production in 1942. Military versions of both models were used by US and other Allied forces during World War II.
Sjaak Lucassen is a Dutch long-distance motorcycle rider.
Kanichi Fujiwara is a Japanese long-distance motorcycle rider and writer.
Carl Stearns Clancy was an American long-distance motorcycle rider, film director and producer. He is credited with being the first person to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle.
Andy Goldfine, is an American businessperson, founder of Aerostich, and founder of Ride To Work nonprofit to support motorcycle commuting through its annual Ride To Work Day. In 2013, he was awarded the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award for his "generous and tireless support of motorcycling" with his business and nonprofit activities, and contributions as an AMA board member.
Helge Pedersen is a long-distance motorcyclist originally from Kristiansand, Norway, who now resides in Seattle, Washington. He traveled more than 250,000 miles (400,000 km) touring the world on a BMW R80G/S adventure touring motorcycle between 1982 and 1992. This journey is recounted in his book 10 Years on 2 Wheels. The motorcycle he rode on was placed on display at the BMW Museum in Munich.
Chris Ratay and Erin Doherty-Ratay are American long-distance motorcyclists. Their 101,322-mile (163,062 km), four year circumnavigation of the Earth on BMW F650 and BMW R100PD motorcycles between May 1999 and August 2003 set a new Guinness World Record for distance ridden by a pair of motorcyclists on two motorcycles.
