Few could fence that Harley - Davidson is a name recognized – and revered – the world over . The company does n’t just develop American motorcycle ; it produces an American legend .
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Not many businesses live long enough to keep their 100th natal day , and few still manage to do so on the strength of their original product . In 2003 , Harley - Davidson celebrated 100 old age of building just what it started out to make : distinctly American motorcycles .
This article traces the developing of the machines themselves , but also the legacy contributing to that indefinable factor known as the " Harley mystique . " While the reasoning behind this phenomenon might be hard to pin down , the reply is not : Harley enthusiasts are among the most devoted followers in the world .
Scholars have calculate that about 300 motorcycle manufacturer put out their shingles across the U.S. in the other part of the 100 . Fifty years by and by , the accurate figure was much easier to trap down : There was just one . Why Harley - Davidson survived when others failed is a story that is interesting as it is fortunate .
Keep reading to check about Harley - Davidson ’s early years .
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Harley-Davidson 1903-1928
At the break of the day of the twentieth C , motorcycle yield was already well underway in Europe but still in its infancy in the U.S. Yet by the clock time William Harley and brothers Arthur and Walter Davidson assemble together their first motorcycle in 1903 , there were already a numeral of other domestic maker , though most were little more than backyard endeavour . Among them was the Indian Motorcycle Company , founded in 1901 , which would later become Harley ’s biggest competitor .
That first Harley - Davidson differ little from other bike of the fourth dimension , essentially being a bicycle power by a round-eyed single - cylinder motor that drove the rear wheel through a leather belted ammunition . The normal pedal and chemical chain remained in blank space so the rider could pedal the bike up to swiftness to set out the motor , as well as lend a little leg power when climb up hills .
Though the 10.2 - cubic - inch single - cylinder motor was patterned after an live intention , each part was made by hand . It managed to wheeze out only enough power to propel the simple machine to a brisk walk pace . A 2nd example with a bigger , more powerful motor followed , and it was this machine that formed the groundwork for the early production rendering . Three motorcycles were built that year , and the Harley - Davidson Motor Company was in business .
Production rose to eight unit in 1904 , then to 16 the following yr , reaching 50 in 1906 , when the original black finish was join by Renault Grey . In years to come up , the company ’s quiet motors and grey paint would prompt rider to dub Harleys the " silent grey buster . "
With the quest for more stop number come the need for more power , and Harley - Davidson answered with its now - famous cinque - twin motor . present at a motorcycle show late in 1907 , the first production example was released in 1909 with vacuum - operated intake valves and belt ram - both normal Harley - Davidson practice at the time . problem surfaced early and the theoretical account was pulled after that year , but the V - twin returned in 1911 with automatically actuated intake - over - fumes ( IOE ) valve and a belt tensioning organization . With that , a legend was born .
engineering science then began advancing at a speedy rate . Harley - Davidson bring in one of the industry ’s firstclutchesin 1912 , and chain cause became useable in 1913 . A two - speed rearward hub debuted for 1914 , followed by a proper three - speedtransmissionfor 1915 . Singles were betray alongside V - twins during this point , but they would come and go in future year .
A rather odd 35.6 - cubic - inch fore - and - abaft flat similitude was innovate in mid-1919 but would last only until 1923 . Meanwhile , the quintuplet - twin , which had get from 50 cubic inches to 61 for 1912 , was link up by a 74 - cubic - column inch version in 1921 – the first of the famed " Seventy - quartet . " Improvements were made to the V - twin ’s original IOE excogitation over the years , but by the former twenties they still had exposed valve trains that were mussy to run , difficult to maintain , and extremely susceptible to wear .
Rival Indian had long used a flathead design for its fivesome - twin , and though this constellation was theoretically less efficient , it had been refined to the point where it produced sensible exponent while being far easier to service . Harley - Davidson decided it was prison term to develop its own line of flathead quintet - twins , and the first illustration hit the street in the closing days of the 1920s .
Keep reading to learn about the next chapter in Harley - Davidson history .
Harley-Davidson 1929-1935
Harley - Davidson ’s first flathead V - counterpart was a 45 - cubic - inch unit used in a novel bike shout out the Model D , which was intended to vie with the highly successful Indian Scout . The 45 would essay to be a versatile and long - live powerplant as it remained in yield until 1973 . Along the way it served responsibility not only in street motorcycle , but also in three - wheeled Servi - Cars , military WLAs of the 1940s , and WR racing bikes of the fifties . Larger 74- and 80 - inch Big Twin flat - heads followed , but neither was as reliable or long - lived as the under - accented 45 .
Though flatheads ( also have a go at it as side - valves ) were theoretically less efficient than overhead - valve or even atomic number 9 - forefront ( inhalation over fumes ) configurations , flathead were far easier to service and had evolved to the pointedness where baron turnout was competitive - both of which had been proven and capitalise upon by Indian . Factoryhorsepowercharts showed that Harley ’s flathead more or less out - produced its similar - sized F - promontory , most of the advantage coming ( amazingly ) at high rpms . These figures were reflected in on - road performance , where flathead modeling did n’t speed quite as quickly due to a sizable increase in weight , but had slightly high top speeds .
Unfortunately , the flathead models appear just months before the origin market crash of October 29 , 1929 . During the profoundness of the Great Depression that followed , Harley ’s sales fall to less than a twenty percent of what they ’d been before the crash . But the company deal to keep its head above water system while many others were going under , and as the economy began to retrieve in the mid-1930s , Harley witness itself with fewer challenger and an eager clientele .
Prior to the depression , Harley - Davidson focused on its V - twin bike . But the economical slump prompted the company to revive some of its early single - piston chamber modeling and even convey out new ones . Also joining the line of products were industrial engines , exceptional - utilization motorcycles , and the three - wheeled Servi - Car , which persuade its 45 - cid flathead volt - twin all the direction through to its concluding edition in 1973 . Big Twins were not totally forgotten , however , as an 80 - three-dimensional - inch version joined the 74 - inch good example in late 1935 .
Despite the flathead ’s virtues , Harley - Davidson felt a more advanced motor would be needed to keep the party competitive in the amount years . oeuvre began on a new overhead - valve cinque - Gemini in 1931 , and though it would take five years to come to fruition , the resulting " Knucklehead " would prove a historical advancement .
Yet the flathead design was not ready for retirement . Even after the Knucklehead was introduced in mid-1936 , both the 74- and 80 - three-dimensional - inch Big Twins remain in the line , as did the 45 . Though the 80 would be put down after 1942 with the 74 following suit after ' 48 , Harley - Davidson continue to volunteer a smaller - displacement flathead volt - Twin Falls until the mid-1950s . And of row the Servi - Car carried a flathead through 1973 .
Continue to the next varlet to learn about the next leg in Harley - Davidson ’s evolution .
Harley-Davidson 1936-1947
It was n’t long after the introduction of the flathead V - twins that Harley - Davidson begin working on a new overhead - valve version . This is surprising not only because so little time had elapsed since the flathead ’s debut ( the previous IOE design was on the market for over 20 year ) , but also because the initial decision and technology work took shoes during the darkest days of the depression .
Of course , Harley was n’t really breaking any new ground here , as the company had produced overhead - valve bingle on and off for many years . But along with the new motor ’s overhead valves came a recirculating oiling system , and that was raw to Harley - Davidson . Because of it , the overhead - valve mechanisms were now enclosed - though early models proved far from crude - compressed .
Harley ’s present-day flathead Big Twins displaced 74 and 80 cubic inches ( the latter added in later 1935 ) , but the newfangled motor was size at only 61 three-dimensional in .
Due to its more efficient overhead - valve design , however , it put out more power . According to factory engineering figures , late F - capitulum and early flathead 74s both put out about 30horsepower . Later high - compression flatheads were rated at 36 horsepower , but that was still shy of the 40 horsepower claimed for the Modern overhead - valve motor .
The official name for the overhead - valve V - twin was the " 61 OHV , " but rider soon nickname it the " Knucklehead " due to its valve covers , which looked like fists with two knuckles sticking out . bike powered by the new V - similitude were designated the E - Series : einsteinium models had lower 6.5:1 concretion commit 37 horsepower , while ELs had 7:1 compression and 40 horsepower .
away from the OHV motor , the E - Series introduced two more innovations : a four - speedtransmissionand the now - famous tank - mounted instrument panel . Flathead Big Twins volunteer the four - speed as an alternative in 1936 , and all vanadium - twins ( including the 45 ) adopted the cooler - mount instrument panel in 1937 , along with the OHV ’s recirculating embrocate system . With that , designations changed : The flathead Big Twins were now the U - Series rather than the V - Series , and Forty - fives were the W - Series instead of the R - Series .
In 1941 , a great 74 - cubic - column inch version of the OHV appear under the F - Series designation . in brief thereafter the 80 - column inch flathead was dropped , but the 74 flathead remained available through 1948 .
World War II propel both a military translation of the Forty - five and a peculiar horizontally contradict flathead twin with shaft drive that was contrive for desert purpose . The former was anticipate the WLA , and 88,000 were build up for utilization by U.S. troop . The latter XA model did n’t fare as well ; only 1,000 were build , and none saw action overseas .
As it reverse out , the revered Knucklehead lasted only a XII years on the grocery store ( and World War II ask a chunk out of that ) , but its influence was far large than the figure would incriminate . It form the groundwork for all Big Twins bring on since , and that ’s a legacy that ca n’t be ignored – or draw a blank .
retain register for more Harley - Davidson history .
Harley-Davidson 1948-1965
Harley - Davidson was hard at work on an update of the Knucklehead even during the grave age of World War II . engineer revised the valvetrain to incorporatehydrauliclifters that alleviated the need for unremitting valve accommodation , and the motor hunt cooler thanks to revised heads that were now cast out of aluminum . The Modern head were cap by redesigned rocker covers that come out looking like upside - down roasting pans , prompting riders to nickname the fresh motor the " Panhead . " It get for 1948 , and with that , a new earned run average at Harley - Davidson was begun .
inaugurate the follow class were Hydra - Glide front forks , modernistic telescopic units that replace the old leading - connection design . Besides doubling the amount of uncommitted cycle change of location , they also lent a clean look to the Big Twins . So monumental was this innovation that the ship’s company referred to the bikes themselves as Hydra - Glides - the first time Big Twins were christen with a name rather than just a series naming .
The next few old age brought only minor rescript , but 1952 get wind the unveiling of a hand - clutch / foot - transformation option for the Big Twins . Like any change from tradition , this modern placement took a while to catch on , but by mid - decade , most riders had made the switch . Though hand - shift fashion model were offered by Harley all the way through 1978 , annual need rarely clear 200 whole .
Perhaps the biggest newsworthiness of 1953 did n’t have anything to do with styling or mechanically skillful changes , but rather to the motorcycle market itself . After nearly 50 year as Harley ’s condescending - rival , the Indian Motorcycle Company at last closed its doors . Amerind had n’t been on firm fiscal footing since before the war , and the new lunar time period of foreign signification that strike U.S. shoring later pushed the company over the sharpness . Yet despite Indian ’s demise , Harley shortly found itself fight to survive - and for the same reason .
To combat the significance onslaught , Harley - Davidson brought out a string of smaller offering start out justly after the war and continuing on into the mid-1970s . First come the S-125 two - stroke undivided , which remained in the line until the late-1950s with only small-scale change . Meanwhile , the W - Series 45 was replaced by the K - Series for 1952 , the transformation fetch a redesigned flathead V - twin built in unit with thetransmission , telescopic fork , and Harley ’s first rearward suspension organization . The K ’s 45 - cubic - inch categoric - principal was enlarged to 55 three-dimensional inches for 1954 , and three old age afterwards the mid - size automobile acquire into the notable overhead - valve Sportster .
After celebrating its 50th anniversary with some specially trimmed 1954 models ( why 1954 and not 1953 is a mystery , especially since subsequent day of remembrance models would use 1903 as year one ) , the next big modification to the Big Twin line came with the adoption of rearward temporary removal for 1958 . With that , the Hydra - Glide became the Duo - Glide , couch Harley ’s bounteous tourer on the cutting edge of technology – well , late 1930s engineering , anyway .
modest alterations were made over the next several years , but it was n’t until 1965 that a major step was select . In what would turn out to be the revered Panhead ’s final time of year , rider were ultimately treated to the sumptuousness of galvanizing bug out with the insertion of the Electra - Glide . To many , Harley ’s bounteous touring bike was now " complete , " and the Electra - Glide name endures to this day .
The next Thomas Nelson Page talks about the Shovelhead epoch at Harley - Davidson . Keep reading .
Harley-Davidson 1966-1983
With the accession of an galvanizing fledgeling and the requisite big barrage fire , a fully dressed Electra - Glide could conglomerate a good 800 pounding deserving of resistance when it come up fourth dimension to move out . Harley - Davidson anticipate with profoundly - respiration piston chamber heads for the Big Twin that leave in a 10 - percent increase in rated power . Topping the fresh head were valve covers that resembled an inverted shovel , and enthusiasts quickly bequeath the new motor a meet moniker .
The newfangled " Shovelhead " closely resembled the Sportster ’s motor - already ten years older by that time - though the small V - similitude was built in whole with itstransmission , whereas the Big Twin , as always , was a separate entity . Few at the prison term could have guessed the Shovelhead ’s 18 - yr sovereignty would prove to be the most tumultuous earned run average in Harley ’s long history .
After lead public with its stock in 1965 , Harley - Davidson find itself confront ever - stiffer competitor from abroad manufacturers . net profit turn down , and the society ’s fiscal picture await bleak . Harley begin soliciting buy - out and merger offers , and one eventually materialized . In January of 1969 , Harley - Davidson merged with sporting - goods manufacturer American Machine and Foundry ( AMF ) .
AMF supplied money to keep Harley - Davidson afloat , and in an attempt to insure a return key on its investment funds , stipulated increased production and elaboration of Harley ’s line of smaller motorcycles . Harley had cultivate with Italian partner Aermacchi to produce the single - cylinder four - stroke 250 - cc Sprint in the early 1960s , and now tap Aermacchi again for a string of even smallertwo - strokemachines . These were Harley - Davidsons in name only , and probably harmed the company ’s image more than they assist the bottom line .
supply to the problem was that Harley ’s traditional offerings were losing the almost total supremacy they had delight in their several markets . For more than a decade , the Sportster was " King of the Drags , " while the expectant FL had long been the arrant touring machine . By the mid-1970s , both were being challenged by less expensive – and more refined – Nipponese challenger .
Though the Sportster saw an growth in gross revenue during the seventies , it was n’t as impressive in terms of winnings - or lineament control . The same could be said for the Big Twins , while the smaller Aermacchi models just plain took a beating .
Yet there were some burnished spot . One of the company ’s most influential products debut in 1971 as the FX Super Glide . design by " Willie G. " Davidson , it earned the purity of being the first factory tradition . While not an overwhelming success itself , the Super Glide spawn a phone number of models style along standardised personal line of credit , and these finally became Harley ’s neckcloth - in - trade .
As the Motor Company soldiered on through the 1970s , it became increasingly apparent that heavy times lay ahead unless some modification were made . Late in the decennium , a smattering of Harley executives approached AMF with an offer to buy back the company AMF accepted , and in June of 1981 , Harley - Davidson was once again in control condition of its own circumstances .
It was n’t start to be an easy trip back to successfulness , but employees , monger , and owners alike seemed eager to get on the road . And as with any bike journey , the first fiat of business sector was to tend to the machinery .
Keep read for more Harley - Davidson history .
Harley-Davidson 1984-Present
The twelvemonth forthwith after Harley management find control of the ship’s company control more engineering onward motion than any other clip since the early teens . Shortly after the redemption , belt movement – both primary ( engine to infection ) and secondary ( transmission to rearward wheel ) – was introduced , as were isolated engine setting and five - speedtransmissions .
Not all models had these features at first , but they were there for the asking . The FXRS of 1983 boasted anti - dive fork , and a new XR-1000 Sportster example feature an alien dual - carb , aluminum - head motor based on the one used for the XR-750 race driver .
But it was 1984 that really brought out the delicacy . A novel enceinte Twin that Harley called the Evolution V2 arrived featuring aluminium piston chamber and revised heads . Still send away 80 three-dimensional inches , it boasted a high concretion ratio yet was utterly well-chosen flow on regular unleaded gas . computing equipment were used in the purpose process , and the end resultant was a motor that was smooth , quieter , more powerful , and - as time would tell - far more reliable .
Per Harley practice , the valve covers were altered in design , this prison term displaying smooth , billet - like contour line that presently had enthusiast calling it the " Blockhead . " gratefully that name did n’t amaze , and most now refer to it as the " Evo . " strangely , not all models mystify the Evo that first twelvemonth . Sphyrna tiburo were built through June of 1984 , finding a house in - among others - the base Electra - Glide .
At midyear came a new wet batch resulting in light lever action and easier shift . Furthermore , exemplar with principal Ernst Boris Chain ( or else of rap ) benefitted from the plastered clutch because the concatenation could now be well lube without fear of splashing rock oil on dry clench plates .
A young founding took the physical body of a unexampled rearward suspension system that look like the hardtail frames of previous , but actually swivel , run springs mounted underneath the bike . Harley termed it the Softail frame , and it would soon be fitted to a wide variety of tradition machine - and still is .
The Sportster ’s 5 - twin was updated with many of the Evolution ’s feature in 1986 , the first sentence this motor had see any large - scurf revisions since its introduction in 1957 . It now came in two size measuring 883- and 1,100 - ccs , the latter growing to 1,200 - ccs for 1988 .
Since the advent of the Evo , Harley - Davidson has develop a host of special model , many of which sold out before hitting the saleroom floor . The FLSTF Fat Boy of 1990 is a good model , as are the anniversary editions commemorating the Motor Company ’s eighty-fifth , 90th , and now ninety-fifth birthday .
Today , Harley - Davidson occupy an enviable berth in the business earth : requirement for its products far exceeds the available supply , and profits ( along with stock prices ) have been soaring . Because dealer and vendee have both been left desire , the company is strain to boom output in the coming year to fulfill the appetite of partisan .
