History of the motorcycle manufacturer, with their motorcycles being sold by dealers in 67 countries. By the late 1920s or early 1930s, DKW in Germany took over as the largest manufacturer. BMW motorcycles came on the scene in 1923 with a shaft drive and an opposed-twin or "boxer" engine enclosed with the transmission in a single aluminum housing. By 1931, Indian and Harley-Davidson were the only two American manufacturers producing commercial motorcycles. This two-company rivalry in the United States remained until 1953, when the Indian Motorcycle factory in Springfield, Massachusetts closed and Royal Enfield took over the Indian name. There were over 80 different
Gilera Gilera Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera. In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio. In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was at that time, the worlds most powerful engine with . The first across-the-frame 4-cylinder motorcycle was the racer 1939 Gilera 500 Rondine. It had double-over-head camshafts, forced-inducting supercharger and was water-cooled, producing @9000 and had a top speed of . This formed the basis for Gilera' s racing machines for nearly forty years. From the mid-thirties, Gilera developed a range of four-stroke engine machines. The