TRAVELING ON TWO WHEELS Motorcycles are two-wheeled vehicles with an engine They are used as transportation around the world People also ride them in races or just for fun Motorcycles are bigger heavier and much faster than bicycles but they have many similar parts Like bicycles motorcycles are often called Motorcycles are built similar to bicycles Of course they reach much higher speeds Vehicles are things used to transport people or goods 4
bikes Both usually have two wheels although some motorcycles have three Both have two handlebars and a central body with a seat Both can be balanced to stand upright by the rider with the simple act of putting both feet on the ground There are many kinds of motorcycles but they all have one thing in common that makes them different than bicycles an engine An engine gives the motored bike speed It is the reason motorcycles are faster than bicycles Still the size of a motorcycle’s smaller engine and its overall design are what make most of them slower than the fastest cars Riding a motorcycle can be a fun and exciting way to enjoy the outdoors 5
WHO INVENTED THE MOTORCYCLE People have been riding bicycles since the early 1800s The first bicycles were very simple but inventors kept adding new parts such as pedals to improve riders experiences Some people also wanted to find a way to make bicycles go faster In the mid-1800s people began experimenting with using engines to make cars Some of those people started by adding motors to bicycles In 1884 English inventor Edward Butler attached a simple motor to a tricycle His machine had two wheels An early version of a motorcycle invented by Edward Butler in 1884 was called the Petrol-Cycle The engine used gas or petrol 6
in front and one in back The rider sat between the two front wheels Gottlieb Daimler a German engineer is usually credited with inventing the motorcycle in 1885 Daimler added a small internal combustion engine to a bicycle This engine finally allowed the rider to move forward on two wheels without pedaling Daimler later built one of the first gas powered cars A motorcycle built by Gottlieb Daimler was displayed at a motor show in Germany in 1885 An internal-combustion engine is an engine that is powered by burning fuel inside the engine 7
