Kurt Burke - Harley Davidson: Behind the legend

Contents

ngines

he model families

most famous motorbikes

The brand culture

Introduction

I HAVE started riding a motorbike when I was in the military in Japan. It was a long time ago. It was a lonely night and here it was, a motorbike left against a wall. Without thinking too much I start riding it and, as many newbies, I gave too much gas and almost lost the control with an embarassing wheelie. I managed to stop the bike just a couple of inches before the wall nearby. I was scared but excited. I tried again, with more attention. This time I was able to go straight and turn at the end of the alley. I was in love. I turned my head and looked at the tank, the Harley Davidson writing was on it.

My relationship with the Milwaukee company started like this, unexpectedly but in a powerful way. Since that day, I always rode, as soon as I had the chance and I realized that there is no such thing as a bad motorcycle ride. The difficult part is explaining Harley Davidsons allure and why so many people think so strongly in it. Riders try to describe the heightening of the senses on two wheels, the feeling of power during a roll-on, the exciting sensation of counteracting centrifugal force during cornering.

But there's also simple mistique of Harley Davidsons motorcycles. Every time one motorcycle passes by, people's attention are captured. Riders can't avoid mentioning how much in touch with the surroundings they can be on their Harley Davidson.

And then there's the freedom factor, one of the toughest idea to explain since it is pure emotional value. I could try to compare motorcycling to other thrill seeking, such as flying or sailing. However, the comparisons will always be inadequate because the environments of these activities are totally different. It is something one has to experience on ones own.

Chapter 1

The history

H ARLEY-DAVIDSON , a name one definitely has heard of when it comes to motorcycles. Harley Davidson, or simply Harley, has been a company that manufactures the world's most famous and finest motorcycles since the year 1903.

It all started in a small basement in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during one of the toughest eras for survival. The industrial revolution had brought unimaginable growth in technology and wealth. Milwaukee had an active manufacturing economy at that time, with mills forging and bending tons of metal every day. Horse-drawn carriages dominated the busy city streets, but electric-powered trolleys had started to appear. Yet, the primary mode of transportation was horsepower and those who didn't have horses walked or rode bicycles. Most city streets were in cobblestone and the remaining, in gravel and dirt.

The primary mode of transport between cities was rail, which was expensive and limited in its reach. But people had the clear desire to go places, see and experience what the country was all about. That historic need served as an impetus for Harley Davidson. Inventors of the era were trying to make traveling easier. Steam engines were widely used by railroads and ships, but gasoline-burning internal combustion engines - that developed in the late 1800s - ware starting to become more popular. Inventors saw tremendous potential in these crude machines. They realized that gasoline-powered carriages always drew a crowd even if ownership was strictly reserved for the rich or the inventors who built them.

An equally rare sight was a motorized bicycle. The first models featured a leather belt connecting the motor to the rear wheel. In Milwaukee, Harley Davidson's founders began experimenting on this basis using a gasoline engine.

The four founders of the company (from left to right): Arthur Davidson, Walter Davidson, William S. Harley, and William A. Davidson

The founders of the company were Arthur Davidson, Walter Davidson, William S. Harley and William A. Davidson. The way the four came together and devoted their time for their vision is a typical example of American enterpreneurship. Arthur Davidson and his next door neighbour Bill Harley were lifelong pals and worked for the same Milwaukee metal fabricator when they were in their early 20s. Arthur was a pattern maker, Bill Harley was an extremely bright apprentice draftsman. But most importantly, both were after-hours tinkerers, hobbyists and inventors. They were fascinated by the idea of building a motor-driven bicycle. The major challenge they wanted to overcome was to design a gasoline engine from scratch like only a few others did until then.

At one time Bill Harley had been an employee of a local bicycle manufacturer, so he knew the hardware. Arthur had experience in making patterns for gasoline engines. For additional help, they enlisted one of their co-workers, a German draftsman with a working knowledge of gasoline engines and some familiarity with European motorcycles.

Evenings were spent experimenting and building in the Davidson family basement at 315 North 37th Street.

After 2 years of experimentation, the founders were progressing but needed more expertise with the mechanics. They decided to approach Arthur's brother Walter, a railroad machinist living and working in Kansas. Walter was planning to visit Milwaukee to attend a wedding, so the timing was just right to solicit his help. Apparently, Arthur and Bill succeeded in capturing Walter's imagination and when Walter got back home, he familiarized himself with the blueprint and decided to remain in Milwaukee to help them finish the first bike.

Help with the project came from other sources as well. One of Bill Harley's neighbours, Henry Melk, had a home machine shop and made his lathe available to the men. When they couldn't configure their first carburetor then, Arthur consulted an inventor friend from childhood, Ole Evinrude. Ole later went on to great fame and fortune with the outboard boat motor company that still bears his family's name.

The makeshift operations finally produced positive results, and the first engine was completed and mounted to a bicycle frame. But it was soon proved too small to generate enough power to move a bicycle with a passanger and so they returned to the drawing board. They determined that the traditional ''diamond'' bicycle frames lacked the necessary strength so they decided to adopt a loop design that would then become standard for their vehicles.

As the development proceeded, they found themselves in need of more space. They decided to build a small ten-by-fifteen-foot wooden shed in the backyard devoted exclusively to the project. The words HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTOR CO. were painted on the front door. It was the first time those names were put together.

While working in that small shed nights and weekends, the young inventors wouldn't have envisioned what was to come. The founders never could have imagined that their enterprise would turn into a treasure respected by enthusiasts all around the world.

The shed where the four founders created and tested their first engine

1903/04 | SERIAL NUMBER ONE

SERIAL NUMBER ONE was the very first motorcycle produced by Harley Davidson. It took a lot of experimentation to determine whether a truly viable form of transportation could be created. Performance was the most important element back then, and the founders achieved this through ingenuity, engineering knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit.