At the beginning of the 20th century there were dozens of motorcycle companies headquartered in the U.S. Towards the end of the 20th century there was only one (major one that is). It's similar to what happened to the German, or British motorcycle industry. Even the United States auto industry started out with hundreds of companies, and ended with three. So what happened? It was survival of the fittest and the strongest companies came out on top. Companies that managed to survive the great depression died off from poor decisions and/or bad luck. Then foreign competition arrived and nearly eliminated the remaining player (Harley). After the 1980's the U.S. economy rebounded and so to did the U.S. demand for motorcycles. With a little help from the government and a lot of luck Harley returned to its former glory by selling freedom machines and bad-boy lifestyles.
Throughout the last few decades a handful of ambitious entrepreneurs have tried to make a place for a new motorcycle company. Some found success, some haven't. It's with these individual start-ups that the spirit of American ingenuity exists.
The following is a list of American start-ups with brief summaries. I haven't included "custom" companies like, American Ironhorse, Big Dog, and Orange County Choppers. Maybe I'll do those companies some other day.
ATK is a dirtbike builder out of Utah. They got stated in 1984 with their unique chain tension device and Rotax engines. They bought Cannondale, another American start-up, in the early 2000's and they still produce bikes today.
Buell is a name every American motorcyclist should be familiar with by now. Eric Buell got his start racing 750cc two strokes and working for Harley Davidson in the 1980's. In the late 1980's Buell built a sport bike around Harley's V twins. In 1993 Harley bought 50% of Buell (and the rest in 2003) and the company has been growing in leaps and bounds ever since.
Confederate motorcycles started in 1991 in Louisiana. The company is known for their Hellcat and Wraith models, both of which feature a radical design that not like any other custom bike, or anything else for that matter.
Fischer Motor company was dreamt-up in the mid 2000's. The initial power plant was supposed to be a 1000cc Rotax twin, but the production bike features a Korean built Hyosung 650 V twin (similar to Suzuki's SV650 twin). The bike is billed as the "American Exotic" however it is built overseas... I believe.
Motoczysz is an Oregon based company that hopes to some day compete in MotoGP with their C1 concept. The bike features some interesting innovations like a perfectly balanced engine and a desing that eliminates geoscopic forces from the crankshaft.
Roehr, like Buell, got its start building two stroke racing machines. Again like Buell the company eventually moved to building sport bikes around Harley-Davidson engines. Unlike Buell, however, Roehr chose to use Harley's liquid cooled V Rod engine. Roehr's latest model features a supercharged V Rod engine, good for 180hp.
Victory is probably the most successful American Motorcycle to come along in a very very long time. A fact due, in a very large part, to Victory's parent company Polaris Industries. Polaris's snowmobile/ATV business allowed Victory to have the funds and dealer network to get off the ground. the company is now expanding into the full-dresser touring market with the Vision.
Y2k built by MTT is a very unique American motorcycle but I'll go into more detail shortly...
One of the most popular types of motorcycles in the United States are supersports. Supersports are mid-level sport bikes that usually use 600cc four cylinder engines. These bikes are capable of incredible performance at a reasonable price. They are especially popular with younger riders who want the high performance image. The supersport category traces its roots back to the mid 1980's. Kawasaki arguably introduced the first supersport in 1985 with the Ninja 600 (ZX600R). The Ninja 600 used an aluminum frame with a relatively small engine. This created a machine that handled better and was easier to ride. Yamaha followed the Ninja with the FZ600 in 1986. Honda introduced the CB600 Hurricane in 1987. Suzuki dragged their feet and didn't come out with a 600 version of the Gixxer until 1992.
As the years went on the motorcycles go faster. The 600's began to transform in to miniature versions of their faster liter bike brothers. The Ninja got serious with its performance. Honda introduced the fourth generation of the CBR600, which was a huge success. Yamaha followed along, and Suzuki got back into the game.
