Bikes

It's All About Bikes

What has two wheels, goes fast, and makes a loud noise? It’s a motorcycle, of course. Motorcycles look like bicycles, only they’re bigger and much heavier. Most motorcycles have engines that run on gasoline, just like cars.
MOTORCYCLE BASICS
On a motorcycle, the engine is bolted to a steel or aluminum frame. Two wheels are attached to the frame. Power from the engine turns the rear wheel. A fuel tank sits above the engine, just behind the front wheel. The seat is behind the fuel tank, toward the rear wheel.
Many motorcycles have a small trunk underneath or behind the seat. Typically, two people can ride a motorcycle at one time, the driver and one passenger. Some motorcycles have a sidecar (a compartment with its own wheel) attached for a passenger to ride in.
Motorcycles are ranked by engine size. The bigger the engine, the bigger and faster the motorcycle. Engines are measured in cubic centimeters, or cc’s. They can range from 50 cc, the engine size used in a small, lightweight motorcycle, to 1,500 cc or more. A 1,200 cc motorcycle is a big, powerful motorcycle—that’s the size police officers usually ride.
For comfortable riding, motorcycles have shock absorbers mounted to the front and rear wheels. This is called the suspension system. Shock absorbers cushion the rider from bumps and jolts on the road.
TYPES OF MOTORCYCLES
People use motorcycles in many different ways, so motorcycles take different forms. They include street motorcycles, off-road motorcycles, and road-racing motorcycles.
WHAT ARE STREET MOTORCYCLES?
Most motorcycles are street motorcycles. They are made to be driven on paved public roads. Street motorcycles come in all different sizes, but they have much in common. They all have lights, a horn, mirrors, and a muffler—just like cars. Many street motorcycles have a windshield, called a fairing. A fairing helps protect a rider from the wind. It also makes a motorcycle more streamlined, so it can go faster.
Street motorcycles can usually reach top speed faster than cars, and they can stop faster and make sharper turns. They also get better gas mileage than cars, and they take up less parking space, too! In the United States and Canada, you need a special driver’s license to operate a street motorcycle on public roads.
WHAT ARE OFF-ROAD MOTORCYCLES?
Compared to street motorcycles, off-road motorcycles have lightweight frames and sit higher above the ground. Motorcycles made specially for off-road use are often called dirt bikes. Trail bikes are motorcycles made for both on- and off-road use.
Off-road motorcycles have extra-wide tires with special “knobby” tread for good traction on dirt and trails. They have flat, wide handlebars to give the rider good control over bumpy ground.
In motocross, a type of off-road motorcycle competition, cyclists race each other around a dirt track. Motocross tracks often have jumps, tight turns, and a section of big bumps called whoops.
WHAT ARE ROAD-RACING MOTORCYCLES?
Most road-racing motorcycles are built to be raced on special tracks. They are light, quick-turning, and very powerful. They have stiff suspension systems for better handling through high-speed turns.
Road-racing motorcycles are among the world’s fastest motorcycles. Motorcycles built for drag racing (sprinting down a straight-line course) are the fastest of all. Some can reach 242 miles per hour (390 kilometers per hour) from a standing start in the space of a few city blocks!
HOW DO YOU RIDE A MOTORCYCLE?
You start most modern motorcycles by pressing an ignition switch. You start most older motorcycles by forcefully pushing down on a lever with your foot. This is called a kickstart. Motorcycles made for motocross racing also use a kickstart instead of an ignition switch, because it saves weight.
You’ll find some of a motorcycle’s controls on its handlebars. You twist a grip on the right handlebar to give the engine gas. That makes the motorcycle go faster. You squeeze a lever on the right handlebar to work the front brakes.
Other controls are located by the rider’s feet. A foot pedal by the rider’s right foot works the rear brakes. A pedal by the left foot lets a rider shift gears to change the motorcycle’s speed.
Most motorcycles have five gears. First gear is for starting out from a stop. You shift through the gears to go faster. In fifth gear a rider can hit top speed.
MOTORCYCLE SAFETY
It’s important to remember that motorcycles take special skill to ride. Braking and turning require special care. It can be very difficult to stop or turn a motorcycle on slick or wet surfaces.
Riding a motorcycle is more risky than driving a car because the rider is out in the open. If you have an accident on a motorcycle, you can be seriously hurt. That’s why in most U.S. states and Canadian provinces, motorcycle riders must wear helmets. It’s the law.
MOTORCYCLES THROUGH THE YEARS
The German inventor Gottlieb Daimler built the first gasoline-powered motorcycle in 1885. He bolted a small engine to a wooden frame. It worked so well that he started making fancier motorcycles.
In 1903, John Harley and his neighbor Arthur Davidson made the first American motorcycle. Harley-Davidsons are still made today. They are famous for the deep, rumbling sound their engines make.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Japanese companies such as Honda and Suzuki started building high-performance motorcycles. Today, Japanese companies make some of the world’s best-selling motorcycles:


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