Beginning with experimental motorized bicycles in the 1890s, New York’s motorcycle industry experienced its golden years for innovation and production in the 1900s and 1910s. From that promising start, the state’s motorcycle industry declined, when the public adopted automobiles for everyday transportation. However, since the late twentieth century, the rise of custom, one-of-a-kind motorcycles has brought a new focus toward the industry. Also, a new effort to reach mass production comes in the form of e-motorcycles and e-bicycles that are being designed in New York.
The Motorcycle Industry in New York State, Second Edition: A Concise Encyclopedia of Inventors, Builders, and Manufacturers (SUNY Press, 2023) by Geoffrey N. Stein, with foreword by Brad L. Utter is the first book to focus on the over 120-year history of motorcycle construction in the Empire State.
The first edition, published in 2001, was the product of nine years of research by New York State Museum (NYSM) curator Geoffrey N. Stein. This second edition has been revised and updated by NYSM Senior Historian and Curator Brad L. Utter. For anyone who loves motorcycles or for those enthusiasts/collectors that wish to know more about these unique makers and the bikes that they created, The Motorcycle Industry in New York State is the ideal companion.
Geoffrey L. Stein is Senior Historian Emeritus of the New York State Museum. His books include Great Day for Elmira: An Illustrated History of Twentieth-Century Grade Crossing Elimination Projects in Elmira and Elsewhere in New York State.
Brad L. Utter is Senior Historian and Curator at the New York State Museum. His books include Enterprising Waters: The History and Art of New York’s Erie Canal, also published by SUNY Press.
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