The First Harley Davidson Bike

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Harley-Davidson is perhaps the best known American brand of motorcycles.? The company has been producing bikes for over 100 years, and its products are very high quality.? They?re amazing bikes, and they?ve inspired a lot of loyalty over the years.? But while many people know of the name, few people know about the very first motorcycle created by William Harley and his friend Arthur Davidson, the two men behind this successful brand.

In 1901, Harley creating the blueprints for a small engine that he planned on attaching to a standard bicycle frame.? He showed these plans to Davidson, and the two then spent the next two years working on the design.? In 1903, they finished their first prototype, but it didn?t have the power necessary to really serve as a form of motorized transportation.? The two then began revising their creation.

The second prototype, which is actually considered the first true Harley-Davidson motorcycle, featured a 405 cc engine (the first had a 116 cc engine) and 9.75 inch flywheels.? It used a loop-frame pattern that was somewhat similar to the Milwaukee Merkel motorcycle designed by Joseph Merkel.? With its bigger engine and this loop-frame, their vehicle no longer fit in the motorized-bicycle category.? This bike actually helped define what a motorcycle was.

The world first saw what Harley-Davidson could do on September 8, 1904, when Edward Hildebrand rode this prototype motorcycle in the Milwaukee motorcycle race.? While he ended up in fourth place, he did put the Harley-Davidson name on the map.? By April of 1905, the fledgling company was producing complete motorcycles for sale, although they were still building them in Davidson?s backyard shed.? Starting from this small shed with a sketched idea, neither of the young men had any idea that they would create an automotive empire that now spans the world.

This entry was posted by Anthony on October 11, 2012 at 2:17 pm, and is filled under Articles. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://www.thecheapplace.com/blog/the-first-harley-davidson-bike/

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