The construction of the first motorcycle is credited to Gottlieb Daimler (working with Wilhelm Maybach), who adapted an internal combustion engine (a downsized version of Daimler's own "grandfather clock engine") to a bicycle in November of 1885. (It never went into production.) There are a number of records of steam powered bikes that date back further, however. The earliest recorded use of steam to power a motorcycle may very well have been by American (who else?) Sylvester Howard Roper of Roxbury, Massachusetts, who was demonstrating his vehicle at fairs and circuses in the northern east coast of the U.S. in 1867. If a picture is worth a thousand Words, there are several thousand Words just a mouse click away at Steve's site. All the pics are there in one place. By the way, the first motorcycle made for sale was the Hildebrand & Wolfmüller built in 1894. The Wikipedia links are provided.
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