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
Roehr Motorcycle Company Roehr Motorcycle Company Roehr Motorcycle Company was a US motorcycle manufacturer based Gurnee, Illinois. It closed down in 2012. In 1995 Walter Roehrich began construction of the 500 cc two stroke v-twin motorcycle, using Yamaha YZ250 engine parts on a prototype crankcase. The result was the 115 hp Roehr Rv500 that was shown to the press in 2000. The company intended to manufacture the motorcycle in limited numbers but manufacturing the bike with the addition of the DFI fuel system was prohibitively expensive The company turned its focus in creating a production bike. The Rv1000 prototype powered by a 120