For most people, the motorcycle automatically conjures up images and feelings of power, speed, and an undeniable conquest of the road. Whether or not they have ridden a motorcycle, people generally feel a certain envy of motorcycle riders as they rip past on the highway with the wind rushing through their hair. The motorcycle certainly has a mystique about it that has made it an important part of American culture. In existence for nearly as long as its four-wheeled counterpart, the automobile, the motorcycle has developed from a simple, steam-powered bicycle to the streamlined, powerful machine of today.