A motorcycle often referred to as a motorbike, bike, cycle, or trike (if three-wheeled), is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes, including long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport (including racing), and off-road riding.
Riding a motorcycle and being involved in other related social activities, such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rallies, is known as motorcycling. It's a fun, exciting, and thrilling activity that has a long history of development, dating back to the late 1800s.
The 1885 Daimler Reitwagen, made by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Germany, was the first internal combustion, petroleum-fueled motorcycle. In 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle.
Globally, motorcycles are comparably popular with cars as a method of transport. In 2021, approximately 58.6 million new motorcycles were sold around the world, fewer than the 66.7 million cars sold over the same period.
The three top motorcycle producers globally by volume are Honda (28%), Yamaha (17%), and Hero MotoCorp (India). In developing countries, motorcycles are considered utilitarian due to lower prices and greater fuel economy.
Of all the motorcycles in the world, 58% are in the Asia-Pacific and Southern and Eastern Asia regions, excluding car-centric Japan.
However, according to the US Department of Transportation, the number of fatalities per vehicle mile traveled was 37 times higher for motorcycles than for cars. It's important to remember that motorcycles require different skills and safety precautions than cars, and proper training and protective gear are essential.
The development of motorcycling largely paralleled and often coincided with the development of automobile sports. The first international cup race took place in 1905 at Dourdan, France.
The race for the Tourist Trophy (TT) became the most famous of all European motorcycle races. The first TT race took place in 1907 on the Isle of Man, on a course that was the world’s most famous for many decades thereafter.
Motocross (or MX) is the direct equivalent of road racing but off-road. It involves a number of bikes racing on a closed circuit constructed on a variety of non-tarmac surfaces, such as dirt, sand, mud, grass, etc., and tends to incorporate elevation changes either natural or artificial.
Advances in motorcycle technology, especially suspension, have led to the predominance of circuits with added "jumps" on which bikes can get airborne.
Motocross has a plethora of classes based on machine displacement, age of competitor, the ability of competitor, sidecars, quads/ATVs, and machine age (classic for pre-1965/67, Twinshock for bikes with two shock absorbers, etc.).
Motorcycles are a thrilling and exciting mode of transportation with a rich history and diverse range of uses. However, it's important to approach them with proper safety precautions and training and to always wear protective gear when riding.
Whether you're looking to commute, tour, race, or hit the dirt tracks, there's a cool motorcycle out there for everyone.
