Motorcycles; where they came from, uses and its impacts on society.
In 1876, Nicolaus August Otto invented a “Four-Stroke-Internal-Combustion Engine” what he called the “Otto Cycle Engine”. (Nicolaus) Nine years later in 1885, one of Otto’s former employees, Gottlieb Daimler, introduced the first gas engine to a wooden bike. (So What) Although this version had an outrigger type training wheel, this was the beginning of motorcycling. In 1895, DeDion-Buton built a light, high revving four-stroke 138cc single that made mass production and the common use of motorcycles possible. (Welcome) In 1898, Charles Metz of the Waltham Manufacturing Company in Waltham, Massachusetts used a copy of the DeDion-Buton motor called an “Aster” to produce the Orient-Aster; the first United States made production motorcycle. (Motorcycles) Indian and Harley-Davidson soon followed producing motorcycles with this copied motor.

In July of 1900, Metz entered his Orient in the first recorded motorcycle speed contest at the Charles River Race Park in Boston, MA. His Orient recorded a time of seven minutes for a five-mile run. (Pioneers 1) Motorcycle racing was becoming more popular. The first races were endurance treks, often as much as 400 miles between cities. As motorcycles became more powerful, the races began to evolve; board track, road, and hill climbing were very popular. Most early races took place in bicycle Velodromes or on standard board tracks. With speeds, sizes and weights of the motorcycles increasing, purpose built tracks, which were larger and able to withstand the strain of the motorcycles, became necessary. The first of the new tracks was the Coliseum Motordrome built in 1909. It was built twice as large as standard bicycle tracks of the day at 3.5 laps per mile. This allowed more motorcycles on the track at the same time racing at faster speeds. The motorcycles being built at the time for these tracks did not have brakes or throttles. From start to finish, it was all or nothing! The fans loved watching these dare devils risk it all. (Pioneers 2) Unfortunately, with more tracks built for faster speeds, more riders were dying. Because of the dangers to riders and spectators, the authorities closed several of the motordromes. (Pioneers 4)

The Harley-Davidson WLA, based on the civilian WL model, mostly used for messenger and Military Police duties during WW2. Harley-Davidson uses letters to identify the “family” model of motorcycle. The “W” family has the newest 45 cubic inch (740cc) flathead motor. The “L” is for High Compression. A is for Army. For an unknown reason all WLA’s produced after Pearl Harbor used a serial numbering system indicating a 1942 production date. The WLA came to be known as 42WLA. A limited number of motorcycles were made for the Canadian army starting in 1943 using the 43WLC name. The 42WLA was not only used by the United States, but also by our Allies the most popular being the Soviet Union which received over 30,000 WLA’s. With no access to parts or western popular culture in the Soviet Union, these bikes remained mostly unchanged. For this reason, Russia today is a popular place to get parts for these motorcycles. Very few 42WLA’s in original condition remain in the west today. (Harley-Davidson)

After the war, most of the Allied WLA’s were sold as surplus. Returning soldiers tried to fit into polite society, some did not do as well as others. Coming from fighter planes, bombers, storming beaches, and being shot at, some of them needed the adventure that riding motorcycles brings. Wanting to ride the same bike that they did in the war, they bought these low cost motorcycles. Sharing their histories and current addiction to motorcycles, motorcyclists would gather; some formed clubs. The Boozefighters was such a club. It got its name from a non-member. When the group was forming the club in 1946 it was discussed in a bar in Los Angeles what the name should be. Another patron told them it should be Boozefighters because all they do is come in here and “fight the booze.” In 1947, the Boozefighters were in Hollister, a little town in California, for the Gypsy Tour motorcycle races. Over 4000 motorcyclists, enthusiasts and other visitors attended the races this 4th of July weekend; if not over running the town, they did over run the town’s resources. Drinking and racing on San Benito Street, the main drag in Hollister, was common. Two Boozefighters rode their motorcycles into Johnny’s Bar. If not for a staged photo by Barney Peterson, photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle, of a supposed drunk on a motorcycle with broken beer bottles all around, this motorcycle event would have had little impact on today’s society. Peterson’s photo did not make it into the Chronicle but he did manage to get it printed on page 31 in the July 21, 1947 edition of Life magazine. The staged photo ran full page with the caption:”Cyclist’s Holiday: He and his friends terrorize a town.” The event was then immortalized with the “Cyclists’ Raid” by Frank Rooney published in a January 1951 issue of Harper’s Magazine. (Hollister 1947) The “good” motorcycle association of the time, the American Motorcycle Association, was asked for a reaction after the Hollister event and was said to have come up with; “99% of motorcyclists were law abiding citizens, and the last one percent were outlaws.” Today, “outlaw biker’s” are said to be 1%’ers. (Hollister Motorcycle)

In 1953 the movie “The Wild One,” based loosely on the Harpers Magazine article, solidified “biker outlaw gang” and “biker” as part of the American anti-social scene. People were worried that just viewing this movie would incite revolt, set a bad example and copy cat acts. Black leather jackets and motorcycles sold at record levels. A poster with Marlon Brando as Johnny is still a best seller today.

Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against? What’ve you got? (Wild One)

In 1963 the American motorcycle scene changed again when Honda told us that we can meet the nicest people on a Honda! In 1962 American Honda sold about 40,000 motorcycles. For 1963 they set a goal for 200,000 motorcycles! (Honda) By 1965, the United States registered motorcycles doubled. Five years later it doubled again and again doubled in just five more years! With this one ad, the view of motorcycles as being only for outlaws changed. Mothers became willing to buy their sons a motorcycle, as long as it was a Honda. (History)

The motorcycle has come a long way with engine sizes of 1500cc and larger common and speeds of 200+ mph. It has taken many years, many people and a Japanese Motorcycle company to tell the mainstream American public that not all motorcyclists are “outlaw bikers.”

Works Cited

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