Invention of Two-Wheelers

History can't be stored or categorized in a water tight compartment; neither can some things be definitely told or strictly defined. In this section a general history of two-wheelers is being traced without trying to venture into strict classification and differentiation. Around 1840 a Scotsman named Kirpatrick Macmillan came up with an idea of a pedal driven bicycle, Macmillan a blacksmith by profession got the idea when he was asked to repair a hobby horse. The first bicycle which its inventor called velocipede slowly started catching the fancy of the people, as inquisitive minds started thinking of faster ways of getting around the town. Ind 1868 in France MIchaux-Perraux attached a small steam engine to a bicycle thus adding a little more steam to the development. Around the same time across the Atlantic a similar steam prOpelled machine was demonstrated by built by Sylvester Howard Roper of Roxbury, Massachusetts.

However the invention of the first motorcycle was done by the German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in 1885. The first petroleum-powered vehicle, it was essentially a motorized bicycle, although the inventors called their invention the Reitwagen ('riding car'). This engine was prepared more for experimentation rather than for commercial purposes.

However as early as 1894 a motorcycle was available for commercial purposes. The bike named Hildebrand and Wolfmuller was manufactured in a small scale few hundreds to be precise. These two wheelers died a natural death due to high cost and technical difficulties.

Slowly the motorcycles were improved upon and soon they become faster, reliable and more fuel efficient. For a separate history on the development of scooters check out origin of scooters.