New Harleys?

[user_deleted]

one more shaughn. some of these i find a bit haunting. this is last known pic of william harley spring of 1943 on a side street behind the factory. must have been cold ie. the gloves. he passed away a few months later in the late summer/early fall of 1943. i won't name him because it would have the flavor of dick-waving but one of the big kahunas at Harley-Davidson is a friend of mine....has been for years....and from time to time lets me see some really cool stuff. he said this was the only pic of william harley wearing his glasses that he ever saw. the bike in the pic is described as "military runabout" for the war effort made on the cheap. notice the flat-head small motor and non-springer bicycle style front end circa late 20's. probably used for running around military bases and depots.

william harley2.jpg

[Silverrider]

Awesome pics, side note , If you got it wave it ! LOL

[submax]

Thanks for sharing those pics, John! Very cool!

As for the original topic...I'm excited and sad at the same time to see the new lineup being proposed by HD. I think these bikes look great and it is awesome to see HD looking to produce ADV and streetfighter bikes with new engines. Of course, it is sad that they had this going with Buell years ago and are now reinventing it. It would be interesting to see what Buells might have become with this kind of HD support and the additional years of development had they not been discontinued.

[optomist]

LF you are a wonder and I do not mean that lightly. Reading your comments about the V-rod engine tooling sitting in a shed was a real eye opener. I keep thinking of something like the big Honda Blackbird but powered with the V-rod engine. I don't know about everyone else but for me the type that warms me the most is a big powered, full fairing Sport Touring machine.

Opto

[GregoXB]

I guess the part that bothers me most is that Harley announced these motorcycles while the machinery in the Kansas Vrod factory is literally still warm as I type this. The remaining employees punched in for the last time yesterday. One shift of workers remains till the final closing.

They dismantle Buell and the Vrod and then introduce replacements? For a company the claims to want to evolve, they are certainly efficient at sabotaging themselves.....

[user_deleted]

alright gents....just a bit more H-D trivia and archive pics i've seen. i just find this history fascinating. it's late 1979 and H-D is in serious trouble both financially and product-wise. AMF doing their best to bleed the company dry. several friends of mine work for H-D at its sole assembly plant in York, PA. during that time-frame and tell me what a disaster it is. they would run out of standard assembly items like nuts, bolts and washers and send 2 guys out in a van to the local hardware stores to replenish their inventory. not kidding. but in the works is THE motor and THE bike that will eventually save the company which is the 1984 Softail and the Evolution big-twin both formally released in June/1983 as an early release 1984 model. the softail design was purchased in totality from a privateer named Bill Davis from St. Louis. his design was modeled after the original Vincent Rapide and Shadow series. what's most interesting from a historical stand-point are the first year Softails of 1984. William Davidson the 3rd....who we all know as Willie G.....absolutely forbid too many changes at 1 time in 1 model year with 1 new product introduction. according to insiders he decreed the new frame and motor were enough.....and to use up parts-bin supplies from phased out models such as transmissions, kick-start assemblies, chains and sprockets and a few more bits to deplete existing inventory. now take a look at these archive pics. the Davis-designed frame clearly evident on the prototypes and the finished product which debuted as the original Softail sports both electric and kick-start....a 4 speed trans from the FL series....and chain final drive. ONE YEAR ONLY being the first year. fascinating to see the shovelhead motor and bread-box air cleaner on the prototypes along with tall "sissy bar" styling cues. the parking lot bike is the first production softail completed late may/1983. in the end the wildly popular softail and the new Evo motor saved the company.


proto.jpg

proto1.jpg

proto2.jpg

production fx.jpg

[njloco]

Old pics rule !

P.S. links didn't work.

[optomist]

GregoXB,

I concur, it does seem like HD is trying to complete some twisted kind of self-destruction. Makes me think of all those HD riders wearing those silly chaps--all the leather on the legs but none on the a$$. Seems to me if one is going down that the a$$ is going to contact the pavement at some point, probably first. It they are trying to make a statement with that sort of riding gear---well it is a statement I do not want to hear about.

Opto

[optomist]

All, On a more positive note--I am happy that LF shares my enthusiasm for sport tourers. A few years back I purchased a used Blackbird, totally awesome in all ways except I couldn't enjoy the inline 4. The engine frequency just continued to irritate me and my tinnitus didn't like it either.

The V-Rod engine was completely soothing and easy to live with. Unfortunately ( and as I mentioned above ) The bike was awful in handling. Too low to the ground, and that extreme fork angle pretty much defined it as a "crusier".

LF, on the 1200 BMW that you referenced. I agree it is perfect sport tourer, but not for me. I really do not like shaft drive bikes. The primary reason is that the whole rear end is bunch of extra weight and extra $$.

So, if there was a Blackbird styled Sport Tourer, with no ABS, traction adjustment etc., plus the V-Rod motor with the belt drive I for sure would go and buy one this afternoon.

Also the fuel in frame a la Buell, rim mounted front brake--

How to make this happen? I would be happy to discuss this. Maybe do a pre-buy like Tesla??

Opto

[user_deleted]

a few more H-D factory pics from the archives at the York assembly plant. were stashed in the Vaughn Beals museum but being returned to the Milwaukee museum for future display. i absolutely love looking at these archive pics when given the chance.
first pic is fall/1953....6th flooor storage facility....Milwaukee plant....each model is THE very first produced for that model year from 1904 thru 1950. company still in possession of each and every bike....all stashed in Milwaukee corporate warehouse.

Second pic one of my all-time favs. Bill Harley working on proto-type of what eventually became H-D's very first V-twin. tiny inked printing on bottom front says "wm h"....back of pic hand inked with "Feb 1908". notice how the spark plug port sticks straight out the front. i believe by 1912 they changed that configuration. fascinating stuff.

6th floor storage.jpg
William H. shop circa.jpg