A collection of motorcycle manufacturers websites - Canadian section wherever possible.
If there are any manufacturers selling motorcycles or scooters in Canada that we've missed (or links that have changed)
Please let us know.
Aprilia
Aprilia's historical home is in Noale near Venice Italy and is now owned by Piaggio. They started out building scooters but are now also well known for their motorcycles.
BMW
The Bavarian Motor Works company from Germany, whose humble beginnings took them from aviation, to motorcycles, and to what most recognize them for today - automobiles.
Can-Am
Bombardier ATV became Can-Am in 2006. The Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) company has a proud Canadian heritage and was started by Joseph Bombardier in Quebec. Joseph Bombardier, the company founder, introduced the snowmobile in 1937. In 2007 BRP introduced its first on-road vehicle.
Benelli
Benelli was established in Pesaro Italy in 1911 and in the beginning they only repaired cars and motorcycles. Benelli is now now part of motor Group Qianjiang, which is a corporation located in southeast China but they still maintain the facilities and workforce in Pesaro.
Ducati
An Italian motorcycle manufacturer famous for its beautiful (and fast!) motorcycles with trellis-style frames, and large capacity four-stroke 90-degree L-twin engines featuring a desmodromic valve design.
Harley-Davidson
William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson make their first production Harley-Davidson available to the public in 1903. Based in Milwaukee WIsconsin, USA - they're famous for their two cylinder V-twin engines with the pistons mounted in a 45° "V" and a unique "potato-potato" sound.
Honda
Founded by a mechanic by the name of Soichiro Honda. Honda is a multinational company based in Japan. Honda's first motorcycle came in 1949. But the Honda Cub is the best-selling vehicle in history, with approximately 50 million units sold around the world. They're pretty famous for their engines and automobiles, namely the Honda Civic.
Husqvarna
This company with Swedish origins (now based in Italy) produced bicycles before they started making motorcycles way back in 1903. The motorcycles made by Husqvarna are commonly referred to as "Husky's". Today the company mostly produce motocross, enduro, and supermoto style bikes. They were bought by BMW in 2007. BMW have stated they plan to continue to operate Husqvarna as a separate company.
Hyosung
Hyosung Motors & Machinery Inc was founded in 1978. They started out producing Suzuki motorcycle designs under licence for the Korean market and started producing their own bikes in 1987. National Motorsports is the Canadian distributor.
Kawasaki
Kawasaki is an international company based in Japan. These guys started way back in 1896 but no motorcycles back then - ships were their main product. They still make them today but their most visible products are motorcycles and all terrain vehicles.
KTM
Based in Austria and founded in 1934, KTM didn't start producing motorcycles until 1953. KTM's official company/team colors are orange, black, and silver. They produce some particularly strong off road racing bikes and have performed really well in the Paris Dakar Rally with many top finishes.
KYMCO
This company got started in 1963 when they began producing parts for Honda. Now, they are the largest manufacturer of scooters in Taiwan. They started started building bikes in 1970 and started marketing them under their own KYMCO brand in 1992.
MV Agusta
MV Agusta have roots in Italy and a storied past. What you need to know about them now is that they intend to make the most beautiful bikes in the world. They are distributed by Motovan in Canada and appearing in an increasing number of select dealerships.
Moto Guzzi
An Italian manufacturer with a long history dating back to 1921. Moto Guzzi is the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. They are now one of the seven brands owned by Piaggio & Co. SpA. They are famous for their air-cooled 90° V-twin engine.
Piaggio
Piaggio was founded in 1884 and based in Italy. Initially they made locomotive and railway coaches but are now the fourth largest producer of scooters and motorcycles in the world. No fewer than seven brands are owned by Piaggio (Aprillia, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio, and Vespa among them on this page). The Vespa is probably their most recognizable product.
Peugeot
Peugeot is a French manufacturer with a history dating back more than 100 years. In the early days they made pepper mills and bicycles. Nowadays Peugeot is the second largest carmaker in Europe. Canada Motor Import Inc. (CMI) is the exclusive importer and distributor of the Peugeot brand of scooters.
Suzuki
Suzuki is a Japanese multinational company that produces a variety of products including automobiles, motorcycles, ATV's, and outboard marine engines among others. They started out in 1909 building weaving looms. It wasn't until 1952 that they would start building motorcycles.
SYM
SYM are a manufacturer based in Taiwan but distributed in Canada by Canada Motor Import Inc. (CMI) is the exclusive distributor of SYM in Canada. CMI brings scooters and four-wheelers for the Canadian market. CMI is headquartered in St. Benoît-Labre, Québec, with distribution centres in Quebec, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver. A network of 40+ motorized dealers in Canada.
Triumph
Triumph is a privately owned British company with a 100 year history. They are quite famous for their parallel twins and triples.
Ural
A Russian motorcycle company famous for its sidecar motorcycles; some with two wheel drive even! The story goes that in 1939 the USSR was doing some pre-World War II planning and were looking for a motorcycle that would suit the red army requirements. It was determined that the BMW R71 was a good fit so five of them were covertly purchased and reverse engineered - the modern day URAL still looks like a motorcycle from the past. The sole Canadian distributor’s website is here.
Vespa
Easily the world's most recognizable scooter and pop-culture symbol. Vespa produced the first globally successful scooter. Known for their painted, pressed steel unibody they were first manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy; they are now owned by Piaggio of Europe.
Victory
Victory is an American manufacturer based in Minnesota who make tourers, sport-tourers and cruisers. They are a subsidiary of Polaris Industries. Production started in 1998.
Yamaha
You may notice that this Japanese company's logo is a trio of interlocking tuning forks - well that's because they started in the late1800's as a musical instrument manufacturer. They started building motorcycles after WWII. Yamaha is one of the world's largest producers of motorcycles.
Zero Motorcycles
Manufacturer of electric motorcycles for the street and dirt. Designed to be high performance, lightweight and fast - Made in Santa Cruz, CA.