Rikou Patina

Rikou Patina, a photo by fangleman on Flickr.

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The Rikuo was first built in Japan in 1932 by Sankyo Nainenki (later Rikuo Nainenki) under license from the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Military versions were built for the Japanese army during WWII, and when production resumed following the war, the motorcycle was limited largely to police and courier use.

While the original design was 750cc, the engine was later enlarged to 1,000cc and 1,200cc. The RT2, featuring telescoping front forks was the last 750cc version built.

The Rikuo was the result of a deal structured in 1932 by Alfred Rich Child. As Harley-Davidson's exclusive business agent in the Orient, Child saw sales declining with the approach of war and he struck the best deal he could to salvage some income from the declining market.

At home, Harley-Davidson was in the throes of the Great Depression, and it badly needed the relatively small amount of revenue derived from licensing production of the Rikuo. Child could not have guessed that Rikuo would exploit Harley-Davidson's design for nearly 30 years!
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