3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue 1 & 2 Jan - Apr 2 3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue | Page 69

ADVENTURE & WILDLIFE
and belt transmission. It was so popular
with its users that it was nicknamed the
“Trusty Triumph.”
Post-war
By 1920, Harley-Davidson became the largest
manufacturer, with their motorcycles being
sold by dealers in 67 countries. By the late 1920s
or early 1930s, DKW in Germany took over as the
largest manufacturer. BMW motorcycles came
on the scene in 1923 with a shaft drive and an
opposed-twin or “boxer” engine enclosed with the
transmission in a single aluminum housing.
By 1931, Indian and Harley-Davidson were the
only two American manufacturers producing
commercial
motorcycles.This
two-company
rivalry in the United States remained until 1953,
when the Indian Motorcycle factory in Springfield,
Massachusetts closed and Royal Enfield took over
the Indian name.
An historic V-twin American motorcycle -
a 1941 Crocker
There were over 80 different makes of motorcycle
available in Britain in the 1930s, from the familiar
marques like Norton, Triumph and AJS to the
obscure, with names like New Gerrard, NUT,
SOS, Chell and Whitwood, about twice as many
motorcycle makes competing in the world market
during the early 21st century.
In 1937, Joe Petrali set a new land speed record
of 136.183 mph (219.165 km/h) on a modified
Harley-Davidson 61 cubic inch (1,000 cc) over-
head valve-driven motorcycle.The same day,
Petrali also broke the speed record for
45 cubic inch (737 cc) engine motorcycles.
A 1962 Triumph Bonneville represents the
popularity of British motorcycles at that time
In Europe, production demands, driven by the
buildup to World War II, included motorcycles
for military use, and BSA supplied 126,000 BSA
M20 motorcycles to the British armed forces,
starting in 1937 and continuing until 1950. Royal
Enfield also produced motorcycles for the
military, including a 125 cc lightweight motorcycle
that could be dropped (in a parachute-fitted tube
cage) from an aircraft.
After World War II
After the World War II, some American veterans
found a replacement for the camaraderie,
excitement, danger and speed of life at war in
motorcycles. Grouped into loosely organized clubs,
motorcycle riders in the US created a new social
institution-the motorcyclists or “bikers” - which
was later skewed by the “outlaw” persona Marlon
Brando portrayed in the 1953 film The Wild One.
Vol 4 | Issue 2 |Mar - Apr 2019
Lucius Copeland 1894.
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