Rikuo Motorcycle of the Harley-Davidson, started production in 1929. In 1931 Dabittoson Harley Motorcycle Co., Ltd. was established in Japan. Dabittoson started domestic production of the Harley-Davidson Road King Motorcycle. The 4-cycle, 1200 cc, side-valve V-twin engine produces 28 horsepower for a top speed of 97 km per hour. The Road King motorcycle was improved and produced by Lin Ritsukawa, and Tsui Meguro under the Tokyu Kogyo Kurogane Company during World War II. This included the Type 97 military motorcycle which was often produced with a sidecar, called they Harley-Davidson, through the efforts of Alfred Rich Child, shipped tooling and personnel to
BSA unit twins new cycle parts, including the "oil-bearing frame". Apart from cosmetic items, the cycle parts were shared with the Triumph twins. (Triumph was a subsidiary of BSA). To produce a 750cc machine for AMA Class C racing, BSA lengthened the stroke of Lightening's crankshaft by 11mm to give a displacement of 751cc. 202 machines were produced to meet the minimum production requirements. All were exported to the US, most to the East Coast distributor in Baltimore. By 1972 BSA were in serious financial trouble and the Firebird Scrambler was discontinued in an attempt to reduce costs. With rival British motorcycle manufacturer,