Motor Cycle Story

          One of the most popular vehicles of the 20th century is the Motorcycle. Let’s take a look back at the very beginning of this hugely popular means of transport and racing.

Beginnings

          The first motorcycle came out in the year 1885. It was a designed by German inventors Wilhelm Maybach and Gottlieb Daimler. Actually what they called their invention was Reitwagen meaning ‘riding carriage’. Basically, this model was a bicycle with a motor and it was the first of its kinds in that time. The motor was powered by petrol.

          During the 1880’s, lots of new designs and innovations came out in the bicycle, wherein makers tried to affix a motor to it and make it a more powerful machine to ride. This was happening in England, France, Germany and also America. They were trying to make their bicycle designs conducive to using the then-newly invented internal-combustion engine.

Motorcycle Production

          The first reported commercial use of a motorcycle in those days was the one manufactured by Hildebrand & Wolfmüller. With Rapid changes being made in engine technology during those times, manufactures of bicycle changes their designs quickly to accommodate these changes. Finally, instead of them being, just bicycle manufacturers, they turned into exclusive motorcycle manufacturers.

          The first purchased motorcycle in America was by French circus performer, in the year 1895. However, strange as it may seem, these machines were still not called motorcycles in those times. The actual credit for coining the term motorcycle goes to American inventor E.J. Pennington. He designed a motorcycle which he claimed could travel at 58 mph and he called his invention a Motorcycle. This was how this term came into popular usage. One of the first companies to produce motorcycles in America in a big way was Harley Davidson.

Harley Davidson 

          Looking into the extra-ordinary beginnings of the first Harley Davidson motorcycle, it was in 1901, that William S. Harley drew up the prototype for the first pedal-bicycle with a small engine. This engine had a modest displacement of 116 cc and included a four-inch flywheel.

          It took him two years of hard work to implement this design. With the help of his friend Arthur Davidson, he developed his invention. His friend’s brother Walter Davidson also helped him. Finally, their machine was ready in 1903. However, this power-cycle, as they called it, was not powerful enough to go through the modest hilly areas of their home town. So, they went back to work on it again.

          The second power-cycle they built was the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle. This machine had a much bigger engine than its predecessor. This engine had a 405 cc displacement, 25 cm flywheels and it weighed 13 kg. The machine frame designed was modeled on the 1903 Milwaukee Merkel motorcycle.

          Construction of this new loop-frame Harley-Davidson took place in backyard of the Davidson family. Most parts of this vehicle were made most likely in West Milwaukee rail shops, where William Davidson worked as a foreman and hence could give shape to Harley and his brother’s ideas through his tools and equipments. It took till September 1904 for the vehicle to become completely ready and operational. It entered in the Milwaukee motorcycle race and actually came in the fourth position.

          The frame design and engine size of this vehicle took it out of the motorized bicycle category and turned it into a new invention – the motorcycle and these features also set the parameters for what motorcycle of the future should essentially contain.

Production of Harley Davidson Motorcycles

          The very first factory for Harley Davidson motorcycles was built in 1906. It came up in Chestnut Street and to this day, this is the company’s corporate headquarters. In this year, the factory produced 50 motorcycles. In September of the following year, the Harley Davidson company was incorporated. Their factory expanded in this year and it came to include new facilities, as a result of which 150 motorcycles were produced. One of the key customers they captured then was the police department and till now, police departments still use their motorcycles.

          Between the years 1907 to 1910, motorcycles with 45-degree V-Twin engine were produced. These vehicles had an 880 cc engine and ran at a top speed of 60mph. Between these years Harley Davidson produced from what was just 450 motorcycles to 1,149 motorcycles.

          In 1911, Harley Davidson began producing V-Twin motorcycles with smaller engines. These were 810cc engines and they gave better performance than the earlier model. In 1913, they demolished their factory and instead built a better factory structure made out of red brick and reinforced concrete. Harley Davidson, around this time also dominated the motorcycle market and even took the lead in motorcycle racing. In 1914 their production count went up to a whopping 16,284.

Harley Davidson during the War Years

          When World War I took place, the demand for motorcycles increased. Harley Davidson stood in the forefront delivering quality motorcycles to the military. During this time, they sold about 20,000 motorcycles to the military.

          By the time the war ended, Harley Davidson had become the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer. In 1920, their motorcycles were sold across the world and they were on an international platform. In 1920, a year after the war, production was 28,189 motorcycles.

1920’s, Depression and the Second World War

          The 1920’s saw Harley Davidson take big strides in their motorcycle envelopment and production. Improvements took place in their models. For example, the V-Twin engine started having 1200cc engines from 1922. In 1928, the front brake was introduced.

          Harley Davidson saw a slump in production in the years of the great depression. Sales plummeted drastically and to stay afloat, they went into manufacturing industrial power plants, modeled on their motorcycle engines. After the economy came out of the depression years, there was a slow pick and then the Second World War broke out. The War years, once again brought sales to the military, for Harley Davidson. They supplied a military model of their 45″ WL line and in all, they supplied about 90,000 motorcycles (WL), at this time. In addition to this model, the military also asked them to produce a model with features similar to what the BMW R71 included. Harley Davidson created the Harley-Davidson XA, which is a shaft-driven motorcycle, with BMW designs, but with a better engine quality, specifically according to military requirements.

Post Second World War

          After the War ended, Harley Davidson did not come to full swing and they faced several problems. They did release some very good motorcycle models such as the Harley Davidson Hummer, Topper, Pacer and Scat. Their image was tarnished as a result of Hollywood. In 1969 they were taken over by a company named American Machinery and Foundry (AMF). AMF did not really resurrect the company and in 1981 they sold it to investors Vaughn Beals and Willie G. Davidson, who turned the company around in a course of time.

          Today, Harley Davidson’s motorcycles are world famous and their five basic models are Touring, Softail, Dyna, Sportster and VRSC, each of which are preferred by bikers across the globe and distinguished by their style, engine capacity, suspension, frames and other characteristics.