During time between the wars DKW was the largest mc producer. After WWII the Zschopay factory was in the east zone and cycles from here were named MZ. Compare with the BMW situation. East Germany was not allowed to use the name DKW.

In 1949 production started in Ingolstadt in the west zone, using the name DKW, today main place for Auto Union to produce mc and cars.

Several fusions took place on the market and when those have ended, DKW as a mark came to a halt. DKW is replaced by Auto-Union with parent VAG concern 1964. The last 2-stroke engine was made 1976.

From 1949 the 2 stroke engine was terminated in Zwickau. 1976 was the last of this type produced in Ingolstadt.

They sold several licenses for 2 stroke engines to BSA, Harley Davidsson and Yamaha. The Russsians produced without permission.  The DKW name was changed to IFA. Later to MZ.
2008 the production was terminated after 88 years. The rests of the factory was bought by 2 former racing drivers Martin Wimmer and Martina Häger.

The factory name was now changed to Zschopau Motor. The main idea was to develop electric driven scooters.
Free after the link IFA Story.

FN was a company which was established just nearby Sarolea in the Belgian town of Herstal.

Here they started to manufacture, what all other firms did, bicycles and motorcycles. The bicycle from FN had the curiosity to be driven by a prop shaft instead of a chain.

This bicycle was on the market 1898. The first motorcycle came 1901. It had a 133 cc motor and was driven by a riveted leather strap for "chain".

By this reason it was called Type 700. FN is known for its unusual front spring construction which came after the WWI. They had bought it from Switzerland. 1959 they produced their own mopeds with several different names. For ex. the sport model Rocket. Together with Sarolea they designed a type S.

1967 the last moped left the production line of FN.

The company Motorvelo was established in Minsk White Russia 1945. This company got everything from Moscow.

This factory started to produce bicycles and motorcycles. The copied model was the well knownRT 125. 

The mark has in west Europa many owners who have great feelings for it. They take high great care of their own Minsk.

Velocette motorcycles was founded 1905 when the companies name was Taylor Gue. The founders was John Taylor and William Gue.

They changed the company´s name twice. Their first mc was named Veloce.

They chose to produce 4 stroke engines. Later they made 2 stroke cycles.

During the time between the wars several models were announced on the market. These had 350 to 600 cc.

The last type was a 2 cyl 600 cc named Atlantic. Very handsome. During this time Sarolea as a mark disappeared in the middle of 1950.

In Sweden there was Fleron that was the main importer with it's founder Axel Löfström.

They wanted to see what such a thing was good for. They got together. Hendee wanted to build, Hedström designing and Henshaw was a helper. The three was happy with the design and started to take orders before it was on wheels. This happened in Springfield 1901.

The selling went on good. Perhaps in America in those days everything were able to sell and specially motor vehicles. For a long time they ordered engines from Thor (see picture) factory, but soon they realized that there were more money in manufacturing if they had their own engine.

This happened 1907 when the V-twin was announced.

The development went on and soon the front wheel had a plate spring. The competition team pushed everything forward. Electric starter and also electric light came before WWII. Indian should become the only bike mark that could give Harley Davidsson a match as far as up to 1953.

Despite many attempts, with joining of Royale Enfield, Vincent and Matchless, to start again there were not any continued existence.

The Indian mark is so loved by people that production of parts has been started for all models. Buying an old Indian is no spare part problem.

The firm was founded already 1898. With this he sold part for bicycles. In the beginning he used engines from Clement or Motor Rev. When Norton with Rem Fowler won the first Isle of Man TT, James decided to construct his own engine.

Well James had no good health and because of being away very much, the firm went bankruptcy and soon he died. Any way it was started, or saved, by one of his part deliveries. The time between wars was an continuing development and competition. Norton was a winning machine.

The constructions from Norton were for the time advanced. Besides the cycle won Isle of Man more times than anyone else. They had no competition from other producers.

After the war Norton continued their dominance, with Featherbed frame and the famous Manx models. The company also put money for selling in America with a racing team. They won most competitions and had almost HD on knee.

Difficulties, strikes and Japanese import pushed Norton out of money and with government money Norton was joined to NVT (Norton Villers Triumph Group). In spite of big reductions one didn't succeed to kill Norton completely.

At last the company was sold to a Canadian Company inclusive the name and later Norton Motorcycles of Canada was founded.

The goal of this company was to build nostalgia machines in small series.

In the English city of Wolverhampton did 1851 did a 15 year old boy arrive to a shop where Japan influenced stuff were produced. It was John Marston. After 8 years he quit and opened his own production and shop.

His premier employer was Edward Perry was so impressed by John so he transferred his place to Edward at his dead 1871.

It was at this time the cycle made it's triumphal progress over the world and John Marston started to produce such things. He was a perfectionist and his cycles got a very god reputation. He was of the opinion that the chain was exposed for large wear and mad a cover which fully enclosed the chain. In this the chain could work with oil. His cycles were produced up to 1936. His factory building was called Sunbeamland.

Marston made certain trials 1903 with engines mounted  in cycles. But when an emplyee died in an accident he decided that all these trials had to be terminated. Nevertheless he started a company named Sunbeam Motor Car Co 1905.

At the age of 76 he started production of motorcycles 1912. There was great demand for such vehicles and he saw of course that he could generate money.

The mark Sunbeam later was sold to Associated Motor Cycles, AMC, and this worked up to 1939. AMC owned most of English mc:s marks like Matchless and AJS and later even Norton, James and Francis Barnett.

1943 BSA took over Sunbeam and started to produce a model with a new engine influenced by BMW. In order not to make a direct copy the cylinders was laid in line like an ordinary car engine.

This last well known model got the designation S7/S8 DeLuxe. When the crises for mc production was in it's most worst time for BSA the production of Sunbeam ceased. What was left became scooter production up to 1964.

BSA sold their whole storage of running parts to Stewart Engineering. This firm became main deliverer for spare parts.

France which in the end 19 century was the leading country when talking about cars.

Roads were built and vehicles were quickly developed in this land which nit had a demand for a parson in front making a warning with a flag.

This made that foreign already 1887 were interested to start factories for motor vehicles in France.

One of these was Charles Terrrot and Wilhelm Stücklen. They moved their machine shop from Germany 1887 to Dijon in France. The meaning was to start producing bicycles and later 1902 motorcycles. 

From this neighbor country Terrot bought their first engine with 2 ps. Later they bought also the Switzerland Mag, Dufeaux and the English Chater-Lea, Gieaudan and JAP.

The engine of their own from Terrot came not until 1926. 1929 Terrot produced their 10000:th cycle. 1951 the first scooter was sold and the mopeds were very popular.

When bad times arrived in 1950:th Peugeot became the new owner 1958. In this time when producing motorcycles almost disappeared the mark Terrot was terminated1961.
Free after Wikipedia.

During WWII Rumi got job for details to submarines and torpedoes. When war was over Rumi decided 1950 to start producing smaller motorbikes.

During 1960 they got economical trouble and the company was liquidated.

The owner Donnino Rumi went back to what he liked best to be - a sculptor.

He realized, after the WWII, that people needed transportation vehicles and bought one stock of surplus mc engines. With these he built his first mc 1947 and called it Type A. (Bugatti called his first car for Type 1).

1948 he formed Honda Motor Company. When he got his partner Fujisawa, who also had the knowledge how to handle finances, they succeeded to roll the company through the difficult years after the war.

 1958 he put out an enormous seller, a moped with 50 cc engine. Just what Asia needed. 100000 was manufactured a month!!

1968 the CB750 four was announced. This was a mc with several new things like electric starter and disk brakes. Now Honda was controlling the market and produced one after the other several hits. Very much depending of that he never let a bad construction leave the works.

The Honda 750 four was a motorcycle that made the world astonished and did completely outclass the English mc industry.

BMW's constructor Max Friz designed the first motorcycle.

BMW R32. It was equipped with a 2 cyl. boxer engine which was mounted crosswise in the frame. The cycle had a separate gearbox and propelled the rear wheel by a shaft.

BMW has kept this principle since then. A single cyl. cycle was also produced although still with separate gearbox and propeller shaft.

It had also drive for the third wheel. Zündapp had also a similar cycle. With a 500 cc BMW got first price VM 54 and 56.

You can find all different BMW models here.

This firm was named 1910 from Fahrradwerke to only Werke. The owner was Gustav Hiller. Their best product was a 3 wheeler. The engine was first e air cooled 880 cc V2 engine. Later 1912they used a 4 stroke air colled 1536 cc engine.

After 1925 the production terminated and the factory concentrated on their own lorry named Granit. Th production was after 1945 nationalized and got the name Robur.

When this happened Gustav Hilller was since long time gone.

This was the result that William III in the end of 1600 century understood that he needed a war industry independent of foreign countries.

Already 1903 the first bike was built, although it had Belgian Minerva engines. These bikes were green which became the BSA color. Till WWII several different models were sold with increasing volumes.

Names as Sloper, Blue Star and the M-Range. The last well known for it's use by AAA as support bike on the English roads.

Some new production were aimed but with foreign engines in the end of 1990.

After the war BSA started with a cheap machine and sold ca 500000 till 1963. This was a copy of the DKW 2-stroke bike converted to inch and mirrored.

Well known are all A-models like A10, A65, Gold Star, Rocket, Spitfire and so on. The declining production from BSA forced action together with Triumph and Norton.

This turned out to be a failure when the employers wanted to decide themselves. Four years later all were fired and a national company NVT started to produce spare parts for these English bikes.