The motorcycle as we generally recognize it today—a gasoline‑powered, two‑wheeled motor vehicle —was invented by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Germany in 1885. Their machine, called the Daimler Reitwagen (or “riding car”), is widely regarded as the first true motorcycle.

Who gets the credit?

  • Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach (1885)
    • Built the Petroleum Reitwagen , a wooden‑framed, two‑wheeled vehicle powered by a small internal‑combustion gasoline engine.
* This is the machine most historians and encyclopedias cite as the **first motorcycle** , and Daimler is often called the “father of the motorcycle.”
  • Earlier “motorcycle‑like” machines
    • Sylvester H. Roper (USA, 1860s–1890s) built steam‑powered velocipedes that many enthusiasts call the earliest motorcycles , even though they used steam, not gasoline.
* **Michaux‑Perreaux and others** experimented with steam‑powered bicycles in the 1860s–1870s, which some sources also label as proto‑motorcycles.

A quick comparison

Claim| Inventor(s)| Year| Type of power| Why it’s notable
---|---|---|---|---
First gasoline motorcycle| Gottlieb Daimler & Wilhelm Maybach| 1885 19| Internal‑combustion (gasoline)| Widely accepted as the first true motorcycle. 35
Early steam “motorcycle”| Sylvester H. Roper| 1860s–1890s 17| Steam| Often cited as the earliest motorized two‑wheeler. 78
Early commercial design| Hildebrand & Wolfmüller| 1894 7| Internal‑combustion| First mass‑produced motorcycle, sold to the public. 7

So if you’re asking who invented the motorcycle , the standard answer is Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in 1885 , while earlier steam machines like Roper’s are seen as important precursors.