History of the motorcycle by 1902, and would rise to 32,000, its best ever, in 1913. Indian produced over 20,000 bikes per year. The oldest surviving Russian-manufactured motorcycle, the Rossiya, dates from 1902. The American company Harley-Davidson started producing motorcycles in 1903. During this period, experimentation and innovation were driven by the popular new sport of motorcycle racing, with its powerful incentive to produce tough, fast, reliable machines. These enhancements quickly found their way to the public's machines. Chief August Vollmer of the Berkeley, California Police Department is credited with organizing the first official police motorcycle-patrol in the United States in 1911. By 1914,
Mondial (motorcycle manufacturer) In 1999, the rights to Mondial were purchased by newspaper tycoon Roberto Ziletti. Ziletti was an avid motorcyclist in his youth, and his dream was to own a prestigious motorcycle company. Soon after purchasing the rights, Ziletti's father died, leaving him in charge of the Lastra Group. Mondial started producing superbikes again soon after.In 2000 Ziletti asked Honda to supply engines for the new Mondial (the Piega 1000) from their race-winning RC51 superbikes. A deal was supposedly made because Mondial had supplied Soichiro Honda with that 1957 racebike. This was the first time Honda has ever allowed a firm to