The Type 97 motorcycle, or Rikuo, was a copy of a
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
motorcycle produced with a
sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''combination'', an ''outfit'', a ''rig'' or a ''hack''.
...
from 1935 in Japan under license from
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
by the Sankyo Company (later
Rikuo Nainen Company). Some 18,000 of the machines were used by the Imperial Japanese forces during World War II. A variation was also manufactured without a side car, called the .
In the years after World War I, Harley-Davidson's US sales declined while dozens of US motorcycle brands went under, primarily as a result of the decline in the price of the
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
car, triggering a national shift from motorcycles to cars for cheap transportation. Harley-Davidson sought to make up the lost sales abroad and was selling 2,000 units per year in Japan by the middle of the 1920s. In 1932 Harley-Davidson licensed Sankyo Trading Company to build complete motorcycles in Japan, under the name Rikuo, which meant King of the Road.
See also
*
Kurogane Type 95
The Type 95 was a Japanese scout car built by , and was used during the war with China and World War II in the East. Between 1936 and 1944 approximately 4,700 were built. It was the only completely Japanese designed reconnaissance car ever u ...
*
List of motorcycles of the 1940s
This a listing of motorcycles of the 1940s, including those on sale, introduced, or otherwise relevant in this period.
Motorcycle
*Acme motorcycle (1939–49)
* AJS 18
* AJS 7R
*AJS Model 16
* AJS Model 20
*AJS Porcupine
* Ariel Red Hunter
* ...
*
List of motorcycles of the 1950s
This a listing of motorcycles of the 1950s, including those on sale, introduced, or otherwise relevant in this period.
* AJS 18 (1949-1963)
References
*
External links
Rikuo Type 97Vladivostok Oldtimers Museum photos
{{motorcycle-stub
Motorcycles of Japan
World War II vehicles of Japan
Military motorcycles
Motorcycles introduced in the 1930s