Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
The compelling chronicle of 120 years of motorcycle making in the Empire State.
The Motorcycle Industry in New York State is the first book to focus on the over 120-year history of motorcycle construction in the Empire State. Beginning with experimental motorized bicycles in the 1890s, New York's motorcycle industry experienced its golden years for innovation and production in the 1900s and 1910s. From that promising start, the state's motorcycle industry declined, when the public adopted automobiles for everyday transportation. However, since the late twentieth century, the rise of custom, one-of-a-kind motorcycles has brought a new focus toward the industry. Also, a new effort to reach mass production comes in the form of e-motorcycles and e-bicycles that are being designed in New York.
The first edition, published in 2001, was the product of nine years of research by New York State Museum (NYSM) curator Geoffrey N. Stein. This second edition has been revised and updated by NYSM Senior Historian and Curator Brad L. Utter. For anyone who loves motorcycles or for those enthusiasts/collectors that wish to know more about these unique makers and the bikes that they created, The Motorcycle Industry in New York State is the ideal companion.
"The Motorcycle Industry in New York State serves as a detailed guide to the creative minds in New York State whose work influenced the motorcycle industry, American culture, and technology of auto mechanics. Neither the American motorcyclist nor the motorcycle itself would exist if it were not for the innovators who designed and manufactured these machines. Each creator throughout the decades has influenced the evolution of motorcycle design and technology, and The Motorcycle Industry in New York State chronicles the bold and brilliant journey to the contemporary motorcycling landscape we see today." — H-Net Reviews (H-Sci-Med-Tech)
"It's easy, if incorrect, to credit Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Illinois as the only hotbeds of early American motorcycling. In fact, it was New York State that led the way with one of the first viable motor-bicycles, the first V-Twin and the first Four in the United States. From the great to the inglorious, New York's many motorcycle makers are listed here, with something new to be discovered on almost every page." — David Edwards, editor, The Antique Motorcycle, AMCA
Foreword to the Second Edition
Foreword to the First Edition
Acknowledgments
New York's Role in the American Motorcycle Industry: An Introduction to This Encyclopedia
Resources and Documentation
Organization of This Encyclopedia
Inventors, Builders, and Manufacturers
Index