Harley-Talk.com

The inspiration for arguably the first motorcycle was designed and built by the German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Bad Cannstatt (since 1905 a city district of Stuttgart) in 1885. The first petroleum-powered vehicle, it was essentially a motorised bicycle, although the inventors called their invention the Reitwagen (”riding car”).

However, if one counts two wheels with steam propulsion as being a motorcycle, then the first one may have been American. One such machine was demonstrated at fairs and circuses in the eastern U.S. in 1867, built by Sylvester Howard Roper of Roxbury, Massachusetts.

In 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first motorcycle available for purchase. In the early period of motorcycle history, many producers of bicycles adapted their designs to accommodate the new internal combustion engine. As the engines became more powerful, and designs outgrew the bicycle origins, the number of motorcycle producers increased.

Until the First World War, the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world was Indian, producing over 20,000 bikes per year. By 1920, this honour went to Harley-Davidson, with their motorcycles being sold by dealers in 67 countries, until 1928 when DKW took over as the largest manufacturer.

After the Second World War, the BSA Group became the largest producer of motorcycles in the world, producing up to 75,000 bikes a year in the 1950s. The German company NSU Motorenwerke AG held the position of largest manufacturer from 1955 until the 1970s.

From the 1960s through the 1990s, small two-stroke motorcycles were popular worldwide, partly as a result of East German Walter Kaaden’s engine work in the 1950s.

 

Photo from 1916

The history of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle began in Milwaukee in 1903. In Milwaukee, Bill Harley and Arthur Walter Davidson developed a one-cylinder motorcycle. Around the turn of the century the gasoline engine was developed and the one-cylinder motor was introduced. In 1901 the Indians were the first motorcycles and in 1903 Mitschell, Merkel and Yale.

This motorcycle was initially built for racing and was powered by a one-cylinder gasoline combustion engine.

In 1903 in Milwaukee, Bill Harley and Arthur Walter Davidson developed a one-cylinder motorcycle. It was a reliable and even a beautiful cycle. And … someone bought it !! In 1905 they had made 11 motorcycles, in 1908 it were 154 and … they had a company, in a little wooden barn, that was build by Davidson’s father.
The small company extended quickly and another member of the Davidson family, William, joined them. In no time they hired about 20 employees in an especcially build stone-factory.

In 1909 Bill Harley made a project of the first 1000 CC V-Twin. It produced a modest seven horsepower. The 45-degree V-twin would become one of the more recognizable images of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. This V-Twin stayed with HD for a long, long time. Maybe it’s hard to believe, but Harley-Davidson didn’t invent the V-twin !! When Bill Harley developed one, he just followed the tendency of the time.

1910 brought the legendary “Bar and Shield” logo that was placed on their motorcycle. This would become the defining symbol of Harley-Davidson to this day. Numerous first place winnings in races, endurance contests and hill climbs give Harley-Davidson more recognition.
The “F-head” engine is introduced in 1911. It will be the power workhorse until 1929, when the “Flathead” engine is introduced.

Arthur & Walter Davidson, William S.
Harley and William A Davidson (1915)

The year 1912 saw further growth of the Harley-Davidson Company. Construction began on a new 6-story factory. Harley-Davidson also became an exporter this year and their first overseas sale was made in Japan. In the states there were now over 200 dealerships.

1914 saw the addition on the sidecar to the Harley-Davidson. The Company also formally put their hand in the ring of motorcycle racing this year and would soon dominate the sport and become known as the “Wrecking Crew”.

The F-Twin “Silent Gray Fellow” from 1915
was called that way due to its color and its silent motor

1915 saw the emergence of the three-speed sliding-gear transmission. In 1917, one-third of all Harley-Davidsons were sent overseas to the U.S. Military to fulfill their patriotic call and to aid in the war effort. The following year, roughly half of the motorcycles produced were sold to the U.S. military. In the end, about 20,000 motorcycles were used in the war, most of them Harley-Davidsons. By this time Harley-Davidson was the biggest motorcycle factory in the world with nearly 2,000 dealerships worldwide. In 1918 Harley-Davidson was the biggest motorcycle factory in the world. They even survived the depression. The V-twin was Harley’s specialty, so the company tried to defeat its only remaining rival … Indian.
But these days were the thoughest, because the motorcycles got out of date and the prices of automobiles decreased (the T-Ford was born).

Indian

Therefore, Harley Davidson tried other technical enterprises, like manufacturing parts, side cars and even airplane motor-engines, but they also improved their own products.

The 1920’s saw some changes to the appearance of the motorcycle, which are more recognizable today. One such change was the identifiable teardrop shape gas tank. In 1926, single-cylinder engines were once again available, having been discontinued in 1918. In 1928, the first twin-cam engine and front wheel brakes were available on the Harley-Davidson. With this modification, the motorcycle could reach speeds in excess of 85 mph.

V-Twin from 1923

The 1930’s and subsequent years saw more record breaking and award winning Harley-Davidson’s. In 1932, the three-wheel Servi-Car was introduced and would become a familiar commercial and police vehicle. Along with appearance changes such as the “eagle” design, which was painted on all Harley-Davidson gas tanks, changes were also made to the engine.

These days the biggest Harley ever appeared , the 1340 CC. This motorcycle became Harley Davidson’s trademark. 1936 also became a milestone. That year the Knucklehead was launched and this motorcycle also became the victory over the Indian. And when in 1947 the Panhead was driven out of the factory, Harley Davidson was THE American Motorcycle.

Advertising the V-Twin
from 1935

First Hydra Glide
in 1949

In the 1940’s, the Harley-Davidson once again answered the patriotic call and sent its motorcycles overseas to aid in the war effort. In 1941, civilian production on the motorcycle was mostly suspended as the company turned out motorcycles for the war. Because of their commitment and excellence, Harley-Davidson received the Army-Navy “E” award; this wouldn’t be the last time. In November of 1945, civilian production once again started. In 1947, Harley-Davidson purchased the old A.O. Smith Propeller Plant and used it as a machine shop. The parts made here were shipped back to the old factory on Juneau Avenue for final assembly. In 1949, hydraulic front brakes were introduced on the Hydra-Glide models.

Fred Warr,
the oldest Harley dealer of Europe

In the fifty’s Harley survived another bad period. The Brittish owned 40 % of the motorcycle market with their Triumph ! In 1957 fortunately the Sportster was born, the fastest Harley ever. A great success !! Just like the English motorcycle industry, Harley stuck to its technic, style and caracter. That’s why this motorcycle was so populair for many, many years.
In opposite to the English manufacturors, Harley Davidson survived this decision. Due to the enormous attack from the Japanees from the Far East, the English dissapeared without a trace and the American were almost dead. Even the Shovelhead couldn’t save its ass.

1969, Time for a merger with the American Machine and Foudry Company (AMF).
However, the quality decreased ernormously and the Super Glide and the SLCR Caféracer of 1970 got a bad name. But Harley Davidson bought itself out and survived and with launching the new Evolution-motor in 1984, the company managed to create a modern motorcycle, which was still a Harley Davidson.

Historic Factory

The beginning of the 1970’s saw a revolution of the Harley-Davidson. In 1971, the cruiser was born. This machine united a sporty front end with the frame and power train of the FL series. 1973 saw the move of assembly operations to a new 400,000 square foot plant in York, Pennsylvania. The year 1975 was the first of four consecutive years that the Harley-Davidson won the AMA Grand National Championships in dirt track racing. In 1977, the FXS Low Rider and the FLHS Electra Glide Sport were introduced to the public. The FXS featured a special lower seat position (hence the distinguishing term Low Rider…). The FLHS was a low cost base line FLH Electra Glide with modifications intended to make the model sportier.

The beginning of the 1980’s saw another change in the partnership of the engine and transmission. In 1980, the FLT model was born with a 5-speed transmission hard bolted to the engine. Also this year, the drive train was replaced with a Kevlar belt. In 1981 senior members of Harley-Davidson bought back Harley-Davidson Motor Company from AMF.

In 1982 Harley-Davidson enacted the Materials as Needed (MAN) application in their production. This would cut production costs and improve the quality of the parts. In 1983 the group H.O.G was founded and became the largest factory-sponsored motorcycle club in the world. By the year 2000, the club had over 500,000 members. In 1984 the 1340 cc V-twin engine was introduced, seven years in the making. Also this year, the Softail model became available. The Softail was most primarily distinguishable by hidden rear shock absorbers.

In 1987 Harley-Davidson began its “Buy Back Program” which offered full trade in value within two years on certain models. Also at this time, the Harley-Davidson Company obtained a place on the New York Stock Exchange for those interested in taking a financial stake in the company. In 1988 Harley-Davidson celebrated their 85th Anniversary in Milwaukee, an event that brought forth 60,000 aficionados of the Harley-Davidson. At the end of this revolutionary decade for Harley-Davidson, the FXSTS Springer Softail model was introduced into the lineup. The FXSTS Springer Softail was a modern day recreation of the 1940’s Harley-Davidson. It had the classic biker look with the 1340 cc engine symbolizing the new era of Harley-Davidson.

In the early 1990’s the Fat Boy design was introduced and quickly caught on. The name Fatboy was derived by combining the names of the two atomic bombs “Fat man” and “Little Boy” which were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. It was destined from the start to become a Collector’s item among biking enthusiasts and definitely achieved that status throughout its existence. Also in 1990, Construction on a 31 million dollar state of the art paint facility began in York, Pennsylvania. It was finished the following year.

Electra Glide

The Los Angeles police is riding Harleys since 1930
Take a look at the amazing gloss of his boots …
or would it be just oil ?!?

In 1991, The Dyna line of Harley-Davidson’s was introduced with the FXDB Dyna Glide Sturgis. 1994 saw the jump of Harley-Davidson into the Superbike racing with the VR1000. The VR1000 featured a dual overhead cam and a liquid cooled engine and showed that Harley-Davidson was not fully averse to manufacturing a race inspired sport bike.

In 1996 a state of the art Parts and Accessories distribution plant was opened in Franklin, Wisconsin. The following year a new Product Development Center opened in Milwaukee. Also in 1997, a 330,000 square foot plant in Kansas City made its first Sportster. In 1998, assembly operations were taking place in another part of the world, Brazil. In the year 2001 Fuel injection was available on the Softail models.

These days, in America, Harley Davidson owns 62 % of the market of motorcycles with 850 CC or more !!

Harleys are, just like porches, funn stuff for people with money and appearance. So, “rich” customers rule the market. It could have been tempting for Harley Davidson to participate in this commercial hype, but when the hype is over, they know the company will still be there and will still sell motorcycles … because of the loyal followers.
For these people, despite of age and appearance, a Harley is the one and only. It is an obviously arrogant, massive and cool cycle, without doing its best for it. However, Harleys aren’t the fastest and manageable cycles, riding a Harley is uncomparable with riding any other bike …

 

The classic Harley-Davidson engines are two-cylinder, V-twin engines with the pistons mounted in a 45° “V”. The crankshaft has a single pin, and both pistons are connected to this pin through their connecting rods.

This design causes the pistons to fire at uneven intervals, the consequence of an engineering tradeoff: to simplify the engine and reduce costs, the V-twin ignition was designed to operate with a single set of points and no distributor. Consequently, the spark plugs in the two cylinders fired simultaneously. With the advent of electronic ignition, this design choice is entirely vestigial from an engineering standpoint, but has been sustained because of the strong connection between the distinctive sound and the Harley-Davidson brand. This design, which is covered under several United States patents, gives the Harley-Davidson V-twin its unique choppy “potato-potato” sound.

After the implementation of electronic ignition on the V-twin engine, the plugs were made to fire individually as follows:

1. the first piston fires (this is the 0° position)
2. the other piston fires at 315° into the stroke
3. there is a 405° gap (as both cylinders go through their exhaust stroke) until the first piston fires again

On 1 February 1994, the company filed a trademark application for the distinctive sound of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine: “The mark consists of the exhaust sound of applicant’s motorcycles, produced by V-twin, common crankpin motorcycle engines when the goods are in use”. Nine of Harley-Davidson’s competitors filed comments opposing the application, arguing that cruiser-style motorcycles of various brands use a single-crankpin V-twin engine which produce a similar sound. Interestingly, when Honda first began making a motorcycle with a 45° V-2 design, the Honda Shadow, it used a more advanced engineering approach with an offset crank design which allows for even firing pulses and higher horsepower because of the reduced vibrational stresses on the engine. However, because potential buyers complained that the Shadow did not ’sound like a Harley,’ Honda in 1996 introduced the Shadow American Classic Edition (or ACE) which had a single crank-pin design, reduced horsepower and a much more Harley-like sound.

These objections were followed by litigation. After six years, Harley-Davidson withdrew their trademark application.

In 2003, Harley-Davidson Company celebrated its 100th birthday. On Labor Day weekend the city of Milwaukee hosted the largest Harley-Davidson event, and possibly the largest motorcycle event, in history.

Other motorcycle events:

* Sturgis Motorcycle Rally - held at the beginning of August each year in Sturgis, South Dakota, 514,951 attended in 2004.
* Laconia Motorcycle Week - held since the first Loudon classic race started 1923. Located in Laconia, New Hampshire.
* Daytona Beach Bike Week - held since 1937 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
* Republic of Texas Biker Rally - a popular event in Austin, Texas held every June.
* Myrtle Beach Bike Week - a Spring and Fall rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
* Rolling Thunder - an annual rally in Washington, D.C. to raise awareness of veteran issues (specifically POW/MIA soldiers).
* Bikes Blues and BBQ - held the last weekend of September in Fayetteville, Arkansas, an estimated 350,000 attended in 2006.
* European Bike Week, Faaker See, Austria
* Hamburg Harley Days, Hamburg, Germany

Thunder Beach Bike week is held the first week in May. It is held in Panama City Beach, FL. There is also a fall rally.

Beginning in 1920 a team of farm boys down South that would become known as the “hog boys” consistently won races. The group had a hog, or pig as their mascot. Following a win, they would put the pig (a real one) on the back of their Harley and take a victory lap.[26] In 1983, an organization was formed, taking advantage of the long-standing nickname by turning “hog” into the acronym H.O.G., for Harley Owners Group. Many Harley-Davidson enthusiasts capitalize the word to make “Hog” and consider this term the sole property of H-D.

Harley-Davidson attempted to trademark “hog,” but in 1999 ultimately lost the case, with the appellate panel ruling that “hog” had become a generic term for large motorcycles, and is therefore unprotectable as a trademark.[27]

On August 15, 2006, Harley Davidson Inc. had its NYSE ticker symbol changed from HDI to HOG.

The company considers 1903 to be its year of founding, though the Harley-Davidson enterprise could be considered to have started in 1901 when William S. Harley, age 21, drew up plans for a small engine that displaced 7.07 cubic inches (116 cc) and had four-inch flywheels. The engine was designed for use in a regular pedal-bicycle frame.

Over the next two years Harley and his boyhood friend Arthur Davidson labored on their motor-bicycle using the northside machine shop of their friend Henry Melk. It was finished in 1903 with the help of Arthur’s brother, Walter Davidson. Upon completion the boys found their power-cycle unable to conquer Milwaukee’s modest hills without pedal assistance. Will Harley and the Davidsons quickly wrote off their first motor-bicycle as a valuable learning experiment.

Work was immediately begun on a new and improved machine. This first “real” Harley-Davidson motorcycle had a bigger engine of 24.74 cubic inches (405 cc) with 9-3/4 inch flywheels weighing 28 pounds. The machine’s advanced loop-frame was similar to the 1903 Milwaukee Merkel motorcycle. They also got help with their new engine from outboard motor pioneer Ole Evinrude. Elder brother William A. Davidson also lent a hand.

The prototype of the new improved loop-frame model was assembled in a 10 by 15-foot (3 by 5 meter) shed in the Davidson family backyard. The machine was functional by 8 September 1904 when it was entered in a Milwaukee motorcycle race, the first known appearance of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

In January 1905 small advertisements were placed in the “Automobile and Cycle Trade Journal” that offered bare Harley-Davidson engines to the do-it-yourself trade. By April, complete motorcycles were in production on a very limited basis. In 1905 no more than a dozen machines were built in the backyard shed. (Some years later the original shed was taken to the Juneau Avenue factory where it would stand for many decades as a tribute to the Motor Company’s humble origins. Unfortunately, the first shed was accidentally destroyed by contractors in the early 1970s during a clean-up of the factory yard.)

In 1906 Harley and the Davidsons built their first factory on Chestnut Street (later Juneau Avenue). This location remains the Motor Company’s corporate headquarters today. The first Juneau Avenue plant was a modest 40 by 60-foot single-story wooden structure. That year around 50 motorcycles were produced.
1907 model.
1907 model.

In 1907 William S. Harley graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in mechanical engineering. That year additional factory expansion came with a second floor and later with facings and additions of Milwaukee pale yellow (”cream”) brick. With the new facilities production increased to 150 motorcycles in 1907. That September a milestone was reached when the fledgling company was officially incorporated. They also began selling their motorcycles to police departments around this time, a tradition that continues today.

Production in 1905 and 1906 were all single-cylinder models with 26.84 cubic inch (440 cc) engines but as early as February of 1907 a prototype model with a 45-degree V-Twin engine was displayed at the Chicago Automobile Show. Although shown and advertised, very few dual cylinder V-Twin models were built between 1907 and 1910. These first V-Twins displaced 53.68 cubic inches (880 cc) and produced about 7 horsepower (5 kW). This gave about double the hill-climbing power of the first singles. Top speed was about 60 mph (97 km/h). Production jumped from 450 motorcycles in 1908 to 1,149 machines in 1909.

The success of Harley-Davidson (along with Indian’s success) had attracted many imitators. By 1911 some 150 makes of motorcycles had already been built in the United States — although just a handful would survive the 1910s.

In 1911 an improved V-Twin model with mechanically operated intake valves was introduced. (Earlier V-Twins had used “automatic” intake valves that opened by engine vacuum). Displacing 49.48 cubic inches (810 cc), the 1911 V-Twin was actually smaller than earlier twins, but gave better performance. After 1913 the majority of bikes produced by Harley-Davidson would be V-Twin models.

By 1913 the yellow brick factory had been demolished and on the site a new 5-story structure of reinforced concrete and red brick had been built. Begun in 1910, the red brick factory with its many additions would take up two blocks along Juneau Avenue and around the corner on 38th Street. Despite the competition, Harley-Davidson was already pulling ahead of Indian and would dominate motorcycle racing after 1914. Production that year swelled to 16,284 machines.

 

Introduced in 1957, the Sportster is the longest-running model family in the Harley-Davidson lineup. They were conceived as racing motorcycles, and were popular on dirt and flat-track race courses through the 1960s and ’70s. Smaller and lighter than the other Harley models, contemporary Sportsters make use of 883 or 1,200 cc Evolution engines and, though often modified, remain similar in appearance to their racing ancestors.

Up until the 2003 model year, the engine on the Sportster was rigidly mounted to the frame. The 2004 Sportster had a new frame accommodating a rubber-mounted engine. Although this made the bike heavier and reduced the available lean angle, it reduced the amount of vibration transmitted to the frame and the rider.[2]

In 2007, Harley Davidson celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Sportster and produced a collectors’ edition called the XL50 1200 Custom, of which only 2000 were made for sale world wide. Each motorcycle is individually numbered and the colors came in two colours, Mirage Pearl Orange and Vivid Black. Also introduced to the Sportster family in the 2007 model year was electronic fuel injection. The XL1200N (Nightster) was introduced midway through the 2007 model year. Compared to the other models in the XL line up, the 1200N sits lower and is blacked out with very little chrome. It has a bobbed front and rear fender and a side-mounted license plate.

* Sportster With the exception of the street-going XR1000 of the 1980s, all Sportsters made for street use have the prefix XL in their model designation. For the Sportster Evolution engines used since the mid 1980s, there have been two sizes of Sportster Evolution engine. Motorcycles with the smaller engine are designated XL883, while those with the larger engine were initially designated XL1100. When the size of the larger engine was increased from 1,100 cc to 1,200 cc, the designation was changed from XL1100 to XL1200. Subsequent letters in the designation refer to model variations within the sportster range, eg. the XL883C refers to an 883 cc Sportster with cruiser or custom styling, while the XL1200S designates the now-discontinued 1200 Sportster Sport.
* Dyna models utilize the big-twin engine (F), small-diameter telescopic forks similar to those used on the Sportster (X), and the Dyna chassis (D). Therefore, all Dyna models have designations that begin with FXD, eg. FXDWG (Wide Glide) and FXDL (Low Rider).
* Softail models utilize the big-twin engine (F) and the Softail chassis (ST).
o Softail models that use small-diameter telescopic forks similar to those used on the Sportster (X) have designations that begin with FXST, eg. FXSTB (Night Train) and FXSTD (Deuce).
o Softail models that use large-diameter telescopic forks similar to those used on the touring bikes (L) have designations beginning with FLST, e.g. FLSTF (Fat Boy) and FLSTC (Heritage Softail Classic).
o Softail models that use Springer forks with a 21-inch wheel have designations that begin with FXSTS eg. FXSTS (Springer Softail) and FXSTSB (Bad Boy).
o Softail models that use Springer forks with a 16-inch wheel have designations that begin with FLSTS eg.FLSTSC (Springer Classic)
* Touring models use Big-Twin engines and large-diameter telescopic forks. All Touring designations begin with the letters FL, eg. FLHR (Road King) and FLTR (Road Glide)
* Revolution models utilize the Revolution engine (VR), and the street versions are designated Street Custom (SC). After the VRSC- prefix common to all street Revolution bikes, the next letter denotes the model, either A (base V-Rod), B (discontinued), D (Night Rod), R (Street Rod), SE (CVO Special Edition), or X. Further differentiation within models are made with an additional letter, e.g. VRSCDX denotes the Night Rod Special.
o The factory drag bike, the VRXSE Destroyer, uses X instead of SC to denote a non-street bike and SE to denote a CVO Special Edition

There will be a demolition derby for motorcycles on August 21 @ the Orange County Fairgrounds. It’ll be on the speedway track after the speedway races. I went to it last year-here is how it works- if you fall off=your done. If your bike quits=your done. If you get knocked unconscious=your done. Right about now you are probably thinkin “What the hell does he mean”knocked unconscious?”" Well, the riders use a bat Shocked in one hand, and the throttle in the other! Since everyone is wearing helmets and body armor, it makes a hockey game look like tiddly winks! They mostly ride small bikes with automatic trannys (since the clutch hand will have a PR-24…) If you get knocked off your bike, you can still play by spearing the other riders! Nothing like a blindside shot! Cheap shots are the rule here! Last year there was about 20 contestants-in the small arena. As the riders get knocked out, the arena gets smaller until there are just 3-4 riders, then it gets about the size of a typical bedroom. They then just ride in a circle-and let the bats do the work…
Come to think of it-it would make for a better commute in the morning…