What is the Oldest Motorcycle Brand in the World? After the invention of the automobile by Karl Benz, a company with a long tradition in the production of tools and, later, bicycles, he had the idea of marketing the first two-wheeled motorcycle in history.
Just 16 years after starting the production of bicycles and nine years of entering the automobile market, Peugeot expanded its wide range of products with the creation of a vehicle similar to a bicycle only equipped with a gasoline engine.
This is how the history of the motorcycle was born and, at the same time, Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot emerged, the division of the French brand that was responsible for manufacturing and marketing this type of vehicle that came to transform the mobility of people. More than a century later, the company continues the legacy of producing motorcycles only under the name Peugeot Motocycles.
Following the creation of the Type 2, considered Peugeot’s first automobile, in 1898 the company produced the world’s first two-wheeled motorcycle, equipped with a Dion-Bouton engine. Therefore, the French firm can boast of being the oldest motorcycle manufacturer.
From the creation of the first motorcycle and the brand as such, Peugeot began a constant evolution. In 1901, the ZL engine explored a technology still unknown at the time and created the internal combustion engine.
Two years later, the brand celebrated the consolidation of a design that has been copy to this day, based on a rigid frame and the low position of the center of gravity. In 1905, Peugeot Motocycles launched its famous V45o twin-cylinder engine, an invention that would elevate the French manufacturer as one of the most important in the world.
But in addition to their commercial success, Peugeot motorcycles started a legacy in international motorsport. Among the first achievements is the first Tourist Trophy race on the Isle of Man (United Kingdom); world record for speed on a motorcycle in 1914 (122.49 km/h); victory in the Bol d’Or in 1934 and 1952; realization of the Saigon-Paris on board a 1956 Peugeot S55 (17,000 kilometers) in four months and with only one flat tire; repeating the Paris-Saigon challenge in 1996 for three months with the same models as 40 years earlier.
Within the long list of Peugeot motorcycle models, the P108 (1928) stands out. A 250cc motorcycle that had a great impact in the Second World War; an economic model that placed the firm as one of the best sellers in Europe.
Shortly after, the 103 (1973) emerged, a cult motorcycle that sold more than 500,000 units and was the forerunner of Vogue. A model highly known to anyone who is somehow familiar with the motorcycle industry.
Another Peugeot model that deserves to mentioned is the SC/SX scooter (1983), with a plastic fairing; the Scoot’Elec (1996), one of the first electric models to use a nickel-cadmium battery; the Speedfight (1997), with a sporty single-sided suspension; the Elystar scooter (2002), the first on the market with ABS brakes; the Ludix (2004), with which the brand managed to market a cheap scooter; the Metropolis (2013), the most technological three-wheeler on the market; or the Pulsion (2019), the scooter that debuts the i-Connect cockpit, inspired by the i-Cockpit of its four-wheeled “brothers”. And which debuts a generation of motorcycles fully connected with GPS, mobile phones and social networks .
Today, Peugeot Motocycles is present in nearly 70 countries with 3,000 points of sale. Where it sells premium scooters, electric motorcycles and medium-cylinder motorcycles.
With the evolution of motorcycles, also the helmets have set notable changes. Nowadays, you may find helmets with GPS, third-party and integrated motorcycle HUD. Helmets with air conditioning, different intercom systems, cameras and lights, etc. All this is intended to increase the safety of riding experience, attracting more people to the two-wheel world.