In the beginning.... There were no motorcycles with 2up riding... No room for a passanger therefore, a traditional motorcycle was for solo riding. todayssolo setups maintain that traditional look and feel of the motorcycle as it was originally designed. Somewhere in time, it was deceided that a motorcycle could carry 2 people therefore, a 2up seat and rider foot pegs were added.

Question is, who was the first bike manufacture to provide a 2up arrangement? I think it was Honda back in the earily 60's... I know bikers from way back were developing there own 2 up riding adjustments by adding fender pads and the like but again somewhere along the line a manufacture supported the idea and started the trend of a bike built for two!

This really isn't an important post but it does make you wonder why nearly most all bikes today, be them Harley or whatever usually comes with the 2up configuration...

So who know when the 2up thing became a standard and the solo became the option??

 

In the early '50s Harley came out with the big banana seat for 2, complete with auxiliary spring and grab bar for support when riding double.
Around the same time Triumph and other Brit bikes got straight slab type seats with straps for the the passenger to hold onto.
All had 2 up accomidations well before Honda.

 

Besides the 2up stuff, who was the leader in the electric starter?? and when??

 

My '62 Honda Dream had electric start.

 

Thanks for the info..... Been watching the news regarding the UFO there in Texas......... and I believe there is a strong connection with UFO's and Big Foot... Perhaps the Starwars movies were close when they had Chubaca .... a big ape like creature in a spacecraft..

 

harley had the over sized tractor style seat (pogo) for two up riding in the 30's so did indian elect. start I have no idea...

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1960? You would have been much closer had you guessed 1906 which was, in fact,the year theat Mr. Siochiro Hondo was born.. You night enjoy Herbert Wagners excellent work entitled "At The Creation." About $25.00 at Amazon.

It might be fun, if you are truly interested, to go to the US Patent and Trademark Office, online search page (http://www.uspto.gov/ ) and under the marquee’s of some of those early manufacturers such Harley-Davidson, Merkel, Pierce Arrow, Indian and on and on do a patent search h for seats. You might be surprised at what you might learn there. History is often lost through the mere passage of time, US patent applications seldom are. The mechanism of the passenger seat apparatus depicted below began life as a folding chase lounge; Harley-Davidson bought the patent and incorporated the design into a folding passenger seat. No go look at a Rocker and tell me what you see.
If the photo's, and there are many of them,dont post se this page. http://*******.com/2u9v29

 

The first electric start that was offered on a production Harley-Davidson was he 1964 Servi-Car.

 

Rsh2Jgmnt Great! Thanks for the link... will keep me occupied for awhile now... Thanks again!

Just like the classic looks of yesteryears bikes and the old solo looks.......... The new Rocker seat is kinda retro I always thought but since you pointed out the folding seat guess I was born too late to remember such goings ons before my time...

 

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