In 1951 the largest motorcycle company on Earth was British, and its advertising claimed one in every four bikes sold carried its badge. Twenty years later that industry had all but vanished. So which countries still genuinely make motorcycles today?
Not the ones building the most. India produced around 24 million two-wheelers last year and China around 20 million, but volume and engineering are two different things. This documentary sets one test, that a country designs its own engines and its own complete motorcycles and sells them worldwide across a real range, then counts down the five that pass it: Austria and KTM, the United Kingdom and Triumph, Germany and BMW Motorrad, Italy with Ducati, Aprilia and Moto Guzzi, and Japan with Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki.
Along the way: why the British motorcycle industry actually collapsed and what the Trident and the Rocket 3 were up against, what really saved Harley-Davidson in the 1980s and how it’s doing now, KTM’s restructuring and the Bajaj takeover, and an honest look at the four contenders with a real case for inclusion. India, China, Taiwan and the United States.
0:00 The Rise and Fall of the British Motorcycle Empire
1:04 Defining What Makes a Real Motorcycle Nation
3:25 How the British Industry Lost Its Way
6:42 The Near-Death Experience of American Brands
8:28 Austria’s Close Call with Financial Ruin
10:26 Triumph’s Remarkable Journey from the Ashes
15:01 The Global Hierarchy of Motorcycle Manufacturing
4 Comments
Triumph DID COLLAPSE because of THE OWNERS [who, being Upper Class NEVER worked within Triumph in any capacity – we just want our dividends every year]
Triumph Racing was NEVER SUPPORTED BY THE MANAGEMENT — all the bikes were prepared by the workers IN THEIR OWN TIME – ALL BIKES WERE PUT TOGETHER FROM SPARES , but because they were good at their work, the bikes were good [with NO RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, just the workers putting ideas together, which, obviously is limiting .
This Channel sounds So much like AI generated, however, its also my current favourite !
Got me f-ed…
More Please !
People who buy Chinese motorcycles are destroying the industry. 60% of Chinese exports are being sold at a loss, the Chinese companies are being subsidized so they don't have to make a profit. What legitimate maker can compete with that? To make the books work they also short pay their employees, borrow heavily and do not pay their suppliers who in turn are using the same methods. When all of these fails they will rob the pensions of the Chinese citizens with the CCP's blessing. So go ahead and buy your bargain Chinese bikes and when you no longer have a job go look in the mirror to see the reason why.
I think you have to throw General MacArthur and W Edward Demming into the mix.After WW 2, Japanese companies were rebuilding from near zero and they listened more than the US or Britain to advice on how to rebuild on a stronger high quality industrial path!