Tuesday, March 10, 2015 | Dealernews Archives
A DEALERNEWS SPECIAL REPORT: In the same way some motorcycle dealers have leveraged their powersports branding to expand into new territory such as personal watercraft, scooters or side-by-sides, e-bikes could help a growth-minded dealer expand to reach a whole new, but related customer segment. But there are several things to consider before taking action.
By David Kopf
HISTORY REALLY DOES repeat itself. Tracing the roots of the motorcycle—a.k.a. the motorbike—all the way back to its seed, we arrive at the bicycle. Depending on which invention you start with, roughly three decades before the turn of the 20th Century, someone got so sick of pedaling (most likely uphill) that he finally said in sweaty exasperation, “this stupid thing really needs an engine.”
From there, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller produced the first production motorcycle in 1894, and shortly thereafter bicycle maker Excelsior started a line of “motor-bicycles” in 1896 that became so successful that they changed their name to Excelsior Motor Co. less than two decades later in 1910. From there, the rest, as the cliché goes, was history. A new mode of transportation was born, a new sport was born, and a new industry was born.