The Harley-Davidson Motor Company celebrates its centennial in 2003, distinguishing itself as the world's only manufacturer of motorcycles to have reached that ripe old age. The company's roots date back to 1901, when two bicycle builders, William Harley and Arthur Davidson, cobbled together their first motor-powered bicycle. That same year, the Indian Motorcycle Company, destined to become their biggest rival, was founded in Massachusetts.
In 1903, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company was officially established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by William Harley and three Davidson brothers, Arthur, Walter and William. In a tiny backyard shed, they produced one prototype and two working motorcycles. A single-cylinder 405 cc. motor powered the 11 motorcycles built during the next two years. They were reliable and affordable, and orders starting coming in before their next model was even built.
Their first full-production motorcycle made its debut in 1906 and sold for $210. Built in the company's new 2,400 square-foot factory on Juneau Street, it had a 440 cc. single-cylinder engine and was painted Renault gray, resulting in its promotional name, "The Silent Gray Fellow." There were 50 motorcycles produced during the first year of operation, and 150 the next, before that model was replaced by the model 5A.
The first Harley-Davidson with a V-twin engine appeared in 1909, based on the popular French Griffon design. However, the engine was flawed and only 27 of the 5D machines were produced. The Motor Company did not offer another twin until 1911. With the revised V-twin engine, the Model 7D was the first in an uninterrupted succession of V-twins that have become almost synonymous with Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
The first factory racer, the 11K V-twin, appeared in 1914. Racing competition with Indian spurred the development of the Model D in 1929. It had a 750 cc. (45 ci.) flat-head, 45-degree V-twin engine. The Harley 45 was the company's first entry into this size class. Although there were changes over the years, the 45's basic engine design could be found in Harley's lineup through 1973, placing it among the longest-used engines in motorcycle history.
Displacement of the Flathead (side-valve) engine was eventually increased to 74 ci., while sales of the reliable Model VL were being clobbered in 1930 by the Great Depression. By 1936 the American economy had improved enough for Harley to release its first overhead-valve engine, dubbed the Knucklehead. It was 61 ci. and powered the Model EL, which sold for $380. Displacement of the OHV engine also grew to 74 ci. in 1941. However, it didn't replace the Flathead models until World War II ended.
The 74 ci. Knucklehead was replaced in 1948 by the 74 ci. Panhead, which powered the springer-forked Model FL. Telescopic forks and rubber-mounted handlebars made their first appearance the following year.
In 1952, Harley-Davidson offered their first production twins with optional foot-shifting controls. They also released the Model K, with hydraulic suspension and a 45 ci. flat-head engine. The model K, a lighter and better-handling motorcycle than the bigger twins, gave birth to the Sportster lineage. The KR, introduced in 1953, remained Harley's dirt-track and road-racing weapon for nearly two decades, no longer challenged by Indian due to the company's failure that same year.
In 1955 the Model KH (and factory hot-rod KHK) received a 54 ci. (883 cc.) engine, powering it to 95 mph. The side-valve engine was replaced by an OHV in 1957, making its debut in the Model XL Sportster. The more muscular XLCH Sportster, with a top speed of 115 mph, appeared in 1958, and a racing version, the XLR, in 1962. Of all the Harley-Davidson models ever produced, the Sportster has been their longest-selling model.
In 1965, the electric-starting FLH Electra-Glide made its debut. Its Panhead engine was replaced by the 74 ci. Shovelhead in 1966. In 1967, the first electric-starting 883 Sportsters appeared, broadening Harley's appeal to smaller riders.
The 1969 film, "Easy Rider," brought Harley-Davidson and motorcycling as a way of life to the attention of young people all over the world. After securing funding, Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda purchased several used L.A.P.D. Harleys. To create the 'Captain America' choppers that would be ridden by Fonda, two bikes had their forks raked to almost 45-degrees and lengthened by 12 inches. Ape-hanger handlebars were installed, and the bikes were heavily chromed. The 'Captain America' Harley became the most widely recognized motorcycle ever made. It inspired a craving for custom choppers and special construction motorcycles that today can sell for over $150,000.
In 1969 Harley-Davidson's Board of Directors faced the grim realization that the company was no longer competitive with the British, German and Japanese motorcycle manufacturers. Lacking financial and technological resources, the decision was made to sell the company to American Machine and Foundry company (AMF), a manufacturer of recreational products. Although the AMF Harley-Davidson company continued winning national dirt-track championships and broke the land speed record in 1970, it took Evel Knievel and Willie G. Davidson's factory custom, the FX Super Glide, to recapture the public's attention. That model, a hybrid Sportster with a 74 ci. Shovelhead motor, gave rise to the Dyna lineage in 1971.
In 1972 the XLH Sportster was offered with a 60 ci. (1000 cc.) Shovelhead engine. A front disc brake and Showa fork was added to the Sportster line the next year. In 1973, AMF moved motorcycle assembly to their York, PA plant in order to increase production capacity. Although motorcycle quantity increased, it did so at the expense of quality, tarnishing Harley-Davidson's reputation and putting survival of the AMF motorcycle division in jeopardy.
The Dyna FXS Low Rider, another Willie G. Custom, appeared in 1977, along with his Sportster XLCR Cafe Racer. In 1978, the 80 ci. (1338 cc.) big-twin engine was introduced in the Model FXEF Super Glide, and the following year in the FXS Low Rider. As its market share continued to erode, AMF/HD failed in its 1978 bid to obtain tarrif protection against their Japanese competitors. Belt drive appeared on the 1980 FXB Sturgis. The last use of a belt-driven secondary by Harley-Davidson had been 70 years previously. The 1980 FLT Tour Glide had a rubber-mounted 80 ci. Shovelhead motor, enclosed chain-drive final and a five-speed transmission.
As dealers and customers became increasingly disenchanted with the Harley-Davidson name, the company's large-displacement motorcycles' market share fell from 80% to 45%, and it looked as though AMF would soon be liquidating their motorcycle company. In 1981, 14 management-level employees joined together, put up their own money and borrowed $80 million to buy Harley-Davidson from AMF. Proclaiming "The Eagle Flies Alone," elation turned to disappointment when The Motor Company posted its first loss in over 40 years and its market share dropped below Honda's.
The Sportster had received a new frame design in 1981, and 25th Anniversary models of the XLH and XLS appeared in 1982, along with lower compression and less power as a result of newly-mandated lower octane gasolines. In 1983 the XR-1000 street-racer version of the Sportster, with alloy heads and 70 HP, made a short-lived appearance and helped boost sales of the bare-bones XLX-61. Going ever deeper into debt, the company was finally granted temporary assistance in the form of a 45% tarrif on Japanese motorcycles over 750 cc. 1983 also marked one of the company's most brilliant marketing strategies, with the formation of the Harley Owners Group (HOG). By providing white-collar buyers with sanitized motorcycle clubs, Harleys would stop being identified with greasy biker trash and outlaw gangs.
1984 marked the arrival of the first Softail, the Model FXST. With improved quality control in their manufacturing, the same year saw the introduction of the FXEF Super Glide, bearing the first new Harley-Davidson engine in decades. The new V2 Evolution motor was quickly dubbed the Fathead by aficionados. However, at the close of 1985, The Motor Company was in serious financial difficulty and only narrowly escaped being forced into bankruptcy. Saved from liquidation by a $10 million loan, the company was able to raise an incredible $85 million with an initial public stock offering in 1986.
The Evolution engine design was first conferred upon the Sportster line in 1986, with the debut of the XLH 1200 and a down-sized, entry-level Sportster, the 883. In addition to demo rides, the company offered as an incentive to buy back at full sticker price any Sportster that was traded-in on a bigger motorcycle. This sales strategy resulted in a huge influx of new customers. By 1987, the company's fortunes had turned. There was an upsurge in motorcycle popularity among rich urban bikers, and the acronym "RUB" was coined by Wall Street. Harley-Davidson's affordable Sportsters, offering exceptional value for the money, had saved the company. The Sportster XLH went into full production in 1988, wearing a pair of larger-diameter FX forks. As Harley-Davidson celebrated its 85th Anniversary, in a symbolic act the company asked the federal government to drop import tarrifs on Japanese motorcycles. Impressed with the company's new-found success, President Reagan paid a visit to the H-D assembly plant.
A new Dyna Glide frame appeared in 1991 on the FXDB Sturgis and Daytona models. The Sportster XL 1200S, referred to as the Sport model in Harley-Davidson literature, appeared in 1996 in response to consumer demand for a better-handling, better-stopping and longer-range model as part of the ever-popular Sportster line-up. Of all the company's models, the Sport continues to be the one best suited for spirited two-up riding on winding roads.
In 1998, the second-generation Evolution engine made its debut. The Twin-Cam 88 ci. (1450 cc.) motor, with optional fuel-injection, powered the 1999 FLTRI Road Glide. Y2K saw introduction of the TC-88B engine, a counter-balanced Twin-Cam 88 for Softails. The Softail line was also upgraded with a new shifter mechanism for its transmission, and a new, stiffer frame. The FXDX Dyna Super Glide Sport, introduced in 1999, also received significant upgrades in 2000, including the rubber-mounted TC-88 motor.
According to 2002 insurance company statistics, the FLSTF Fat Boy was the only Harley-Davidson motorcycle to make the 2001 Top-25 Most Frequently Stolen list, ranking an unimpressive 22nd. All the others on the list were Japanese sportbikes! Perhaps the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger rode a Fat Boy in the 1991 movie, Terminator 2, had some influence upon this particular model's "popularity" with bike thieves.
2002 saw the introduction of the all-new VRSCA V-Rod motorcycle, powered by Harley's first liquid-cooled, overhead cam motor, designed with the assistance of Germany's Porsche engineers. Marketed as Harley's power cruiser and positioned to compete with the technologically sophisticated Japanese cruisers, the pricey V-Rod was unenthusiastically received by the push-rod purists among Harley riders, and its sales have been rather lackluster. According to self-appointed defenders of the air-cooled faith, Harley-Davidson's most innovative and technically advanced model is nothing more than a strangely-styled version of a Japanese power cruiser.
The Motor Company reported 17 straight years of record earnings for 2002, with its production of 263,653 motorcycles and total revenue of $4.1 billion. Motorcycle sales were up 16% world-wide, 18% in the U.S. Accessory sales increased by 12%, and Harley-Davidson's financial services saw an increase of 70%. Total revenue for 2002 was $4.1 billion, up 21%, and net income grew by $142.5 million, a 33% increase. Harley-Davidson also began their most ambitious marketing campaign ever in 2002, heavily promoting their 100th Anniversary models, Open Road Tour and world-wide Celebrations.
All was not rosy in Milwaukee, however. A Consumer Fraud Class Action Suit was filed on behalf of owners of 1999-2000 Harley models with the TC-88 and TC-88B motors. The plaintiffs alleged that the engine's design was defective and potentially dangerous, due to a tendency for premature rear cam-bearing failure. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals supported the plaintiffs' claim that they would not have purchased their motorcycles had they known about the defect. Plaintiffs alleged that Harley-Davidson knew about the defect, and even sells a $500 kit to remedy the problem. According to Bulletin M-1097, the TC-88/88B motor was modified as of December 14, 1999 to correct the cam-bearing problem.
In another lawsuit, riders injured in accidents caused by high speed wobbles have filed claims against the company, alleging inherent stability problems with the FLH series (Electra Glide, Road King and Ultra Classic) supposedly due to a design defect involving an offset between the front and rear tires. A 1999 review in Motorcycle Consumer News described "an oscillation in the chassis that keeps the bike from feeling steady, both while cornering and at elevated speeds." In September, 2002, the company issued a statement saying they are "not aware of any issues with any of our motorcycles at this time."
While no totally new models were introduced in 2003, Harley-Davidson announced the limited production of an Anniversary Model CVO Screamin' Eagle Road King. Its 103 cubic-inch (1690 cc.) Twin Cam V-Twin motor produces more than 100 ft.-lbs. of torque. Harley-Davidson's most expensive model ever comes with a suggested price of $27,995, not including the added sums that the dealers are likely to inflict before bestowing their blessings upon its purchasers.
The Motor Company's Centennial Celebration shifted into high gear in 2003. Culminating with "The Ride Home" to Milwaukee in August and a gigantic party at the end of the month, acolytes had yet another opportunity to pay for the privilege of assisting Harley-Davidson with their advertising and marketing campaigns. There is not another company on earth where legions of customers don't think twice about having a company logo tattooed upon their bodies.
Overshadowed by all of Harley's centennial hoopla is another century of progress marked by an industry which also had its humble beginnings with two bicycle builders. Wilbur and Orville Wright launched their first airplane into flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. A mere 66 years later, the aerospace industry took a giant step forward, transporting Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong to the surface of the moon. Today, people are able to travel between continents faster than the speed of sound, and manned space stations orbit our planet. Flying machines have certainly come a lot further than motorcycles in the last hundred years.
In 2003, even the most sophisticated Harley-Davidsons still bear a close resemblance to their ancestors. Today, The Motor Company's sales strategy revolves around offering their customers a chance to buy a piece of the legend and participate in a century-old American motorcycling tradition. By purchasing a genuine Harley-Davidson, one becomes not only a Great American Motorcycle owner, but part of the world-wide Harley-Davidson Family.
Ride a Harley yourself and you'll soon discover the addictive qualities of its deep, rumbling exhaust note and the distinctive, staccato rhythm of its engine's vibrations, working their way from your sensory receptors to the pleasure-center of your brain. Ride one, and you will understand how these extraordinary motorcycles can seduce future generations of riders, producing an insatiable craving for the Harley-Davidson experience. As the ads suggest, it's not just about riding a motorcycle, it's about a way of life. Those of you who haven't ridden one and still require further explanation will probably never understand. Those of you who already belong to the international tribe of Harley-Davidson owners know exactly what I'm talking about.
Contributed by Mick Skolnick
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