Harley Davidson Lifestyles

Harley Davidson Lifestyles - Part 1

2009-02-17T23:25:00.043+08:00

Harley Davidson Lifestyles - Sturgis Rally

The lifestyles of owning a Harley Davidson is not about owning a great bike, speed or performance, or about impressing friends. It is about individuality but also brotherhood, retro-cool and happening places. One such places is the Sturgis Rally, it is for someone who just want to get away from it all.

Sturgis Rally is a week long Harley Davidson Lifestyles event held in a little farming community in South Dakota. The event is held yearly during the Mid-August period where thousands cruised in along Interstates 85 and 90 to catch up with old acquaintance and meeting new friends.

Being conveniently located in the middle of America, the event attracted an average of 50,000 bikers. The highest record attendance happen during the 50th Anniversary in 1990, where about 300,000 bikers turned up for the Harley Davidson Lifestyles event.

The Sturgis Rally started way back in 1938, not as a Harley Davidson Lifestyles event, when the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycles Club organized the first Black Hills Rally and Races. The top prize then was a cash rewards of $300. For the bikers, coming to these Harley Davidson Lifestyles event, is a great week of swap meets, hog roast (pig not bike) and drag-bike racing at the Sturgis Dragway. The showcase of fancy Harley hardware is never a missed and hang out joints like the Bear Butte Cafe are usually packed with bikers having a good times.

Tours are also available at the nearby Dakota Badlands, Devil's Tower or Mount Rushmore for those needing a deserving breaks.

Dakota Badlands

At the Badlands National Park, you will see some of the most spectacular breathtaking scenery in the region. Remember to bring your camera along as the sunrises are magnificent and the sunsets are amazing. The recently remodeled Ben Reifel Visitor Center is a must see with the award winning video. If you want to experience the quiet and serene surroundings, I suggests that you take one of the many hiking trails.

Things to do:

Drive the Highway 240 Loop Road (60 minutes)
Take a side trip down Sage Creek Rim Road to Robert's Prairie Dog Town to see wildlife and experience spectacular views of the park (30 minutes)
Visit the Big Pig Dig (30 minutes)
Take in a sunrise or sunset. They can be viewed from any of the overlooks or campgrounds located in the park (20 - 30 minutes)
Visit the new teepee village located between the Ben Reifel Visitor Center and the Cedar Pass Lodge

Devil's Tower

Devil's Tower, also know as the America's First National Monument, rises 1267 feets above the Belle Fourche River. It was once hidden until erosion finally revealed its magnificent location. This 1347 acre park is covered with pine forests, woodlands and grasslands. Deer, prairies dog, and other wildlife are commonly seen. The 1977 movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" used the formation as a plot element and as location of its contact scene and climatic scenes.

Things to do:

INTERPRETIVE TALKS explore the natural and cultural history of the monument. These 20 minute talks meet in front of the Visitor Center and are handicap accessible.
The TOWER WALK enables visitors to explore Devils Tower with a ranger on the Tower Trail. This 1 ½ hour guided walk begins in front of the Visitor Center. Good walking shoes and water are recommended.
Winter activities include hiking, cross-country skiing, and climbing. Caution – trails are not maintained in winter.

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941), located within the United States Presidential Memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (left to right): George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865).

Things to do:

Walk with a park ranger along the first half of the Presidential Trail to the base of the mountain carving. The ranger will highlight the natural and cultural history of Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills. This fully-accessible walk begins at the Grand View Terrace. Programs are offered frequently each day throughout the summer months.(30 minutes)
Learn about the tools and techniques used in the carving of the mountain sculpture. Talks include stories from the workers, demonstrations of the tools and the artist's working model. Programs are offered frequently each day throughout the summer months.(15 minutes)
Join a park ranger in the park's outdoor Amphitheater for an inspirational program focusing on the presidents, patriotism and the nation's history. Beginning with a ranger talk, this program continues with the film Freedom: America's Lasting Legacy and culminates in the lighting of the memorial.(45 minutes)

The Sturgis Rally is the Harley Davidson Lifestyles event that all Harley Hog owners should not miss in their lifetimes. Next, look out for the Daytona Cycle Week on the next issue of Harley Davidson Lifestyles - Part 2.

The Early Years of Harley Davidson - Part 2

2009-02-02T17:15:00.054+08:00

The First Harley Davidson Production Unit

First Harley-Davidson production unit in 1904, was gloss black with gold pinstriping, a single-loop tubular steel frame, unsprung forks and leadther belt final drive directly from the crankshaft. Additional power was provided by the pedals, which was also the only braking force available.

Each of the production unit was assembled in a 15 x 10ft shed erected in the Davidson backyard by the boy's father. Considered modest though, the shed bore the Legendary "Harley-Davidson Motor Co." on its humble wooden front door.

One of the early key achievement of the company, happens on one of the first production unit that was owned by Mr Henry Meyer, a school friend of William and Arthur Davidson. The unit has clocked almost 6,000 miles by Henry Meyer before passing to George Lyon, who covered another 15,000 miles. The unit was later sold to Dr Webster, followed by Louis Fluke ans Stephen Sparrow, who between them clocked almost another 62,000 untroubled miles (a total of 134,000 km).

The company was so proud that in 1913, the company decided to advertise the bike's exploits and promotes an image of dependable travel.

"100,000 miles on its original bearings and no major components replaced."

By 1905, motorcycles production had soared to seven as the company took on its first employee and attracted its first dealer, C.H. Lang of Chicago. A year later in 1906, "Renault gray with red pinstriping" was provided by the company as an alternative colour option, and the model became known as "the Silent Gray Fellow", a name that depicts its quietness and dependability.

By now, production at the shed had soared to 50 units and these prompted a move from the company's original shed on 37th Street and Highway Boulevard into a proper building on the present Junean Avenue site.

Harley Davidson Inc. was incorporated in 1907, on the same year both the manufacturing floor areas and number of employee had doubled in size as compared to the year before. The company was producing no fewer than 150 motorcycles and had started expanding its dealership networks with the opening of a store in New England. The company had also sold the first of many thousands for police duty by 1908.

15 February 1909 saw the launch of the company's first production V-twin, the Model D, essentially a doubled-up single using a forked connecting rod to join both pistons to a single crankshaft. The Model D twin was an inlet-over-exhaust valve design with a capacity of 53.7cu in (880cc), developing around six horsepower and capable of a top speed of close to 62mph (100kph).

However, the engine was flawed and only 27 of the 5D motorcycles were produced. The company did not offered another twin until 1911. With the revised V-twin engine, the Model 7D motorcycle was the first in an uninterrupted succession of V-twins that had become almost synonymous with Harley Davidson motorcycles.

By 1913, the company had established a reputation for producing motorcycles that were dependable in both domestic and competitive use. More than 1,500 employees worked for a company whose manufacturing floor area grew from a small shed to almost 300,000sq ft (28,000sq metres) within a decade. Production rocketed from eight motorcycles in 1905 to 1,149 in 1911 and 17,439 in 1916, the year prior to the United States' entry into the First World War. Harley Davidson was called to service of Uncle Sam on 6 April 1917 when the United States declared war on Germany.

Early Years of Harley Davidson

2009-01-28T15:41:00.022+08:00

Harley Davidson Beginnings

In 1900, 15 years after Gottlieb Daimler created the world's first powered two-wheeler, when William Sylvester Harley and Arthur Davidson got together in a Milwaukee basement with motorcycling in mind. After being impressed by a variety act where comedienne Anna Held rode a French-built motorcycle across the stage of Milwaukee's Bijou theatre.

Harley was 20 at that time and had worked as draughtsman with six years of experience in bicycle manufacturing. Davidson was 19 and was a pattern maker with the same company as Harley, working on a small petrol engines. Work on the first Harley Davidson engine began in 1900 and was based on one of the do-it-yourself kits available then, the French De Dion-Bouton design.

One of the first prototype dated 20 July 1901 shows a 7.07cu in (115.8cc) engine with a bore and stroke of 2 x 2.25in (50 x 55mm). When mounted on a bicycle, power proved deeply disappointing. Soon at least one more prototype followed, a machine capable of speeds up to 25mph and measuring 10.2cu in (167cc). It soon became clear to the duo that more expertise is required if the motorcycle was ever to get up to speed and they were able to recruit Arthur's brother, Walter Davidson, when he was due in Milwaukee for the wedding of a third Davidson brother, William A. (Bill). Walter Davidson was working as a railroad machinist in Parsons, Kansas then.

The founders became four when William, the eldest Davidson brother and a foreman railway toolmaker, came on board and the four began the ride of their lives.

The First Harley Davidson

The first true Harley Davidson engine was built during the 1902-3, having a similar Bore and Stroke of 3 x 3.5in (76.2 x 88.9mm) for a displacement of 24.74cu in (405cc) as the one locally built by Merkel and Mitchell except that the Harley Davidson engine had incorporated many technical refinements.

The new engine was of F-Head layout, with much larger cooling fins and as well as a much larger flywheels, almost 10in (250mm) across. Legend has it that the first carburettor was made from a discarded tomato can and Bill Harley described its spark plug, which had cost a princely sum of $3.00, as big as a doorknob. Ole Evinrude, Arthur's childhood friend, who was already making liquid-cooled engines of his own helped with the design of the new engine.

Scaling 491lbs (22kg), this engine was installed in a loop frame similar to the existing Merkel design in the Davidsons family's back yard at 315 37th Street.

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2009-01-23T21:47:00.006+08:00

Update April 2009 - Privacy Policy

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The Evolution of Harley Davidson

2009-01-21T22:59:00.007+08:00

Evolution of Harley Davidson

From a small humble beginning in a Milwaukee basement in 1903, Harley Davidson has witnessed and withstood everything from the Great Depression to the two World Wars. Once the world's largest producer of motorcycles, Harley Davidson's sales shrunk to a mere 10,000 units per year during the 1950s. Increasing competition from Europe then from Japan nearly bought about the downfall of the once-pround giant in the motorcycle industries.

With changes of ownership of Harley Davidson in the 1970s, confusion about its markets and moribound model range made the Harley Davidson almost a joke to the motorcycle industries. In the mid-1980s, the once vibrant Harley Davidson dream factory was effectively broke and near demise.

With the birth of the 1984 FXST Softail, Harley Davidson is able to come up with a whole new concept in motorcycle style and design, thus the age of the Retro-Tech is dawned. Almost overnight, Harley Davidson had a credible range of motorcycle. With the rescue package from Heller Financial Corporation and the rosy outlook of the vibrant new Harley-D, Harley Davidson is able to turn back the tides and recover the number one spot from Honda in 1986.

Today, through inspired styling and brilliant marketing combined with modern manufacturing techniques, Harley Davidson is booming and has once again trail blaze confidently into the future.

Harley Davidson Lifestyles

2009-01-21T22:17:00.004+08:00

Welcome to Harley Davidson Lifestyles. This site provides a wealth of information about this most intriguing, enduring and individual of marques, Harley Davidson. If you have questions not covered in Harley Davidson Lifestyles, please feel free to email your question to harleydavidsonlifestyle@gmail.com.