Harley Times Past old Photos
Harley Davidson The Nostalgic Years
Quote.. The Secretary Mr F Straight of the Auto Cycle Club of Great Britain and Ireland 1905
There are many aspiring motorists to whom the orginal cost of a motor car,and it's upkeep when purchased,is a barrier to ownership. Hence the favour with which motor cycles are regarded and the importance they have attained in the automobile movement. This is not to be wondered at when one considers the comparatively low cost, the very little that is required for the upkeep of a motor cycle,either of the two-or three wheel variety,and particularly in the case of the motor bicycle,the very little storage accommodation that is required.
There is no doubt that the motor cycle will provide an effective educational medium in connection with automobilism, for the intending motorist is able to learn all about petrol engines at a much less cost .
For some reason or another the idea has got abroad that motor cycling is a pastime that will not long survive,but the fact that up to the end of June 1905 the number of motor cycles registered in Great Britain and Ireland was 39,500 shows how popular it has become.
When driving a motor cycle , horses and Police men must be respected and the motorcyclist must halt upon a signal from the driver of the
former or the raising of the hand of the latter.
Lights must be carried on the ordinary motor cycles,efficient brakes must also be provided.
Back in the Good Old USA the year was 1900 about 15 years after Daimler created the world's first powered two wheeler. When a couple of guys got together in a Milwaukee basement ,their names were Sylvester Harley and Arthur Davidson .
The rest is History.
The Founders From Left
Arthur Davidson,Walter Davidson,William Harley and William Davidson
Harley was just 20 years of age, Davidson a year younger,they had been friends since their school day's . Harley worked as a draughtsman and had six years experience in bicycle manufacturing,
Davidson was a pattern maker with the same company as Harley, working on small gas engines, working with them was a German familiar with European motorcycles so the plan came together and in 1900 the first Harley Davidson was born.
Probably based on a do-it-yourself kit avaibable at the time built by the French De Dion-Bouton design.
Motorcycle News 1925 Brooklands England
Like the practical people they are, the Americans have recently designed a head protector for the use of motor biker racers. It is made of several thicknesses of soft leather,coming well down over the forehead and neck,and also provided with huge bulging ear caps, which though they protect a somewhat unhandsom manner on either side of the head,at the same time provide an excelent protection against concussion in case of a fall. We may mention that this form of head dress has been made compulsory by the authorities in America , and we cannot help thinking that our own authorities might do worse than follow this example.
Harley at War
On 6th April 1917 the United States Declared war on Germany and Harley-Davidson
responded with winning the order to supply the American Forces with their bikes
Below a Harley Sidecar mounted with a machine gun 1918
Harley-Davidson back at the front line of World War Two 1945
Elvis 0n his Harley made the front of the Enthusiast 1956
According to legend,the first H-D carburetor as made from a tomato soup can.
The first all female motorcycle club in America,founded in 1940,was called the
Motor Maids
During 1917 roughly one third of all Harley Davidson MotorCycles were sold to the U.S. military. By 1918 that number increased to nearly half.
The Harley-Davidson racing team of the late teens to early twenties gave rise to the term ''hog'' because their mascot was a small pig
The first recorded patent related to Harley-Davidson is dated 1900
The first Harley-Davidson catalog was produced in 1905
''Knucklehead '' was a street name for the Harley-Davidson engine that was produced between 1936 and 1947 . The nick name refers to the valve covers that look like knuckles of a clenched fist.
The famed ''Bar & Shield '' logo was used for the first time in 1908. It was trademarked at the U.S. Patient Office in 1910
In 1916 The Enthusiast began its reign as the longest continuously published motorcycle imagazine in the world.
Harley and the Davidson's were not the first, the French man
Gottlieb Daimler is generally considered to have built the first true motorcycle in 1885
Harley-Davidson's first production model, Serial Number One, is currently located in the front lobby of their Juneau Avenue headquarters in Milwaukee,Wisconsin.
The very first production Harley-Davidson motorcycle reportedly ran for 100,000 miles without any major repair.
One of Harley-Davidson's most unique endeavors began in 1983 with the formation of thr Harley Owners Group, fondly referred to as H.O.G. The Group immediately became the largest factory sponsored motorcycle club in the world, within six years, H.O.G. membership soared to more than 90,000 and by the year 2007 exceded over one million members worldwide.
In it's first year of production Harley-Davidson only built three motorcycles
The founders were asked by the press in 1920 ''Why did you build your first motorcycle'' '' To take the work out of bicycling.
The Harley-Davidson Motor Company formally entered motorcycle racing in 1914. The first racing engineer was William S Hardy and within a few years the team Harley-Davidson was referred to informally as the ''Wrecking Crew'' because of it's incredible dominance of the sport.
