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,
Lightning Motorcycle Lightning Motorcycle Lightning Motorcycle Corp. is an American manufacturer of electric motorcycles. CEO and Founder Richard Hatfield started the company in 2006 in San Carlos, California. Founder Hatfield looked to convert a motorbike to electric with lithium batteries after participating in an electric Porsche race team. Lightning Motorcycle then converted a former Yamaha R1 race bike to electric in 2006. The bike featured over 60 horsepower, about 70 foot pounds of torque and a top speed of 100 mph. In 2008, Lightning developed a lithium battery induction motor ATV to be used for military, border control, law enforcement, and search