Bikes, Tattoos, Music and all things Metal
Posts tagged Cylinder Motorcycle
Harley Davidson History
Nov 28th
In 1903 in Milwaukee is the beginning of history of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Arthur Walter Davidson and Bill Harley developed a one-cylinder motorcycle in Milwaukee. They build the motorbike which is powered by a one-cylinder gasoline combustion engine for racing. The small company extended quickly and another member of the Davidson.
The project of first 1000 cc V-Twin was made by Bill Harley in 1909. The more recognizable images of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle are the 45-degree V-Twin. Actually, Harley-Davidson did not invent the V-Twin, it is hard to believe. Harley-Davidson is more recognize when they winnings in races, endurance contest, and hill climbs. For a long, long time this V-Twin stayed with Harley Davidson motorcycle.
The Harley-Davidson Company saw further growth in the year of 1912. They also became a motorcycle exporter this year and their first overseas sale was made in Japan. About 20,000 motorcycles were used in the war, and most of them Harley-Davidsons. Harley Davidson was the biggest motorcycle factory in the world and they have nearly 2,000 dealerships worldwide in 1918. A long with appearance changes such as the “eagle” design, which was painted on all Harley-Davidson gas tanks, changes were also made to the engine.
Now on, the 1340 cc is the biggest Harley Davidson motorbike that ever appeared. Civilian production on the motorcycle was mostly suspended in 1941 because the company turned out motorcycles for the world war. Harley-Davidson received the army-Navy “E” award because of their commitment and excellent, this would not be the last time. For machine shop, they purchased the old A.O Smith Propeller Plant in 1947. Hydraulic front brakes were introduces on the Hydra-Glide models in the year of 1949.
In the 1950’s the British owned 40 % of the motorcycle market with their Triumph motorbike. This is another bad period to the Harley-Davidson company, but they still survived at the period. Fortunately the Harley Davidson Sportster was born in 1957. It is the fastest Harley Davidson ever. In 1970’s is the beginning of revolution of Harley Davidson. They introduced FXS Low Rider and the FLHS Electra Glide Sport to the public in 1977.
In 1987 The Harley-Davidson Company obtained a place on the New York Stock Exchange for those interested in taking a financial stake in the company. The FXTS Springer Softail model was introduced into the lineup at the end of the revolutionary decade for Harley-Davidson.
With FXDB Dyna Glide Sturgis, the Dyna line of Harley-Davidson’s was introduced in 1991. In 1994, with the VR1000 is the jump of Harley-Davidson into the superbike racing. Harley-Davidson was not fully averse to manufacturing a race inspired sport bike, and they made the VR 1000 featured a dual overhead cam and liquid cooled engine and showed.
By: marikxon manurung
About the Author:
This article provided by Marikxon Manurung on http://motorcycle-guideline.com/harley-history/ You also can get more motorcycle information here http://motorcycle-guideline.com/ If you’re looking for honest evaluations of the newest, you’ll find the reviews from this site helpful! Hope you find what you need, and just enjoy it.
Harley-Davidson History
Sep 4th
Harley-Davidson history is long and proud and began at the start of the 20th century. The beginnings of this American icon were very humble. In 1903, Davidson brothers Arthur and Walter along with William S. Harley built a single cylinder motorcycle in a wooden shed built by cabinet making William C. Davidson. The Davidson brother’s aunt Janet painted the pin-stripes on the first few Harleys.
In 1905 the first Harley to be produced in significant numbers was the Silent Gray Fellow named for its quite operation and gray color. These were 450cc single cylinder bikes using a bicycle-style frame.To slow down and stop the rider had to peddle backwards.
Following the official formation of the company in 1907, Arthur signed up over 800 dealers in ten years. These dealers were in all of America’s then 48 states. Just five years after the first Harleys were made and sold the Detroit Police bought a fleet of motorcycles. By 1925, over 2,500 police units in the US were riding Harley-Davidsons.
The first V-Twin Harley was produced in 1909. It was an inlet-over-exhaust belt-driven engine. This first V-Twin was the Model 5-D. This was the engine that would go on to make Harley famous.
A big part of Harley-Davidson history is Harleys contribution to U.S. Military efforts. In 1918 Harley supplied thousands of motorcycles to the military to be used in World War I. Almost half of all Harley-Davidsons produced that year were sold to the military. The first American GI to enter Germany was Roy Holtz, riding a Harley-Davidson.
Harley became involved in racing to prove the dependability of their bikes. Harley’s first and notable success was in 1908. Walter Davidson won the Jack Pine Endurance run. Not only did the bike prove its dependability, the bike won the economy contest with 188 miles per gallon. In 1921 Harley becomes the first motorcycle to win a race with an average speed of 100PMH on a board track in Fresno, CA. Another early sucess story was the record of Joe Petrali, who set a record of 136.183MPH at Daytona Beach in 1937. Early Harley racing teams adopted a pig as their mascot and carried it on victory laps. This might have been the start of the term HOG. Racing was not always a priority for Harley but their riders have had great success over the years.
In 1941 America joins World War II. Harley produces the Model WLA which features blackout lights, high clearence fenders and metal leg shields. Almost all of Harley-Davidsons output was devoted to the military from 1941 to 1945. By the end of the war, Harley produced 88,000 WLA models for the U.S. Military and around 20,000 for the Canadians.
When looking at Harley-Davidson history, we can’t forget the many World War II ex-servicemen who came back to small town America. While Harley-Davidson’s civilian production had all but ceased during the war, there were plenty of army surplus motorcycles to be bought. Many of these ex-servicemen started a trend by buying and customizing these bikes. They removed or shortened the fenders to reduce weight. These bikes became known as Bobbers. These changes ultimately lead to the evolution of the Chopper.
After a post-war boom, the company’s sales were damaged by the influx of cheaper Japanese and British imports. This competition ironically caused a resurgence of interest in motorcycles, which the company profited from. Harley was bought by American Machine and Foundry (AMF) in 1969. Harley-Davidson history is full of ups and downs. Some of us are old enough to remember that Harley went through some hard times during the AMF years. In 1981 senior management bought the company back from AMF.
Harley slowly came back in the 80s and now Harley-Davidson is one of the most recognized names in the world. In 1983 Harley Owners Group (HOG) was formed with 30,000 members in the first year. Now there are about a million HOG members world wide. After 105 years, Harley-Davidson Motorcycles are more popular than ever.
By: B Corcoran
About the Author:
Written by Brian from Harley Riders Guide.com Copyright http://www.harley-riders-guide.com
This article can only be used in its entirety with a link back to http://www.harley-riders-guide.com