The Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Company, sometimes called Cleveland Motorcycle, was a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

manufacturer in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio, from 1902 to 1905 and again from 1915 to 1929.

Two-stroke singles

The first Cleveland of 1915 had a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

single-cylinder engine A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, portable tools and garden machinery ...

with a longitudinal crankshaft orientation, necessitating a worm drive to turn the axis of rotation of the drive to the transmission by 90°. The transmission was a two speed with a sprocket turning a chain final drive. Besides driving the transmission, the engine's countershaft extended back to drive a

magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

that hung in front of the rear wheel. In 1920, the motorcycle's weight increased from the addition of fenders, a larger fuel/oil tank, and in 1921 the seat was enlarged, along with a still larger fuel/oil tank, and a battery was added. The displacement was increased to to handle the increased weight of from these changes. During World War I, US forces used the Cleveland as a base

courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

Cleveland_Motorcycle_Mfg_Co_Sales_Advertising_and_Admin_people_March_1917

Cleveland Lightweigt A2 de Luxe 221 cc two stroke 1920

Four-strokes, four cylinders, and failure

In 1924, two years after buying out Reading-Standard, Cleveland replaced their two-stroke engine with a four-stroke single-cylinder engine. In 1925 they released a motorcycle with a T-head four-cylinder engine designed by L. E. Fowler. With a smaller engine than rival four-cylinder motorcycles by

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...

and

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

, Cleveland's first four-cylinder motorcycle did not sell well. In 1926, Cleveland replaced the Fowler engine with a new design by E. H. DeLong. The new engine had an inlet-over-exhaust valve configuration and a displacement of forty-five cubic inches. The displacement was increased to sixty-one cubic inches the following year. By 1928 Cleveland had financial problems. That year, the company offered itself for sale to

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 ...

. Harley-Davidson considered the offer, as Cleveland's new four-cylinder motorcycles offered a ready-made competitor to Indian's

-based fours, but rejected it in favor of developing their own four. In 1929 Cleveland announced their Tornado model, with a lowered frame and seat height, lightweight pistons, larger valves, and a higher compression ratio. A Century model, with a guaranteed top speed of one hundred miles per hour, was announced. A few months after the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...

, after building only a few prototypes of the Century, Cleveland went out of business.

References

External links

The Cleveland Motorcycle
(1919) - 17-page promotional brochure including photographs, pricing, specifications, and additional information on the motorcycle. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Company Motorcycle manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Cleveland