On Track Off Road No.182

HARLeY-DAviDSoN MuSeuM
that
history
Bill Harley and Arthur Davidson
could barely have imagined
what their experimentation with
gas engines around the 1900s
would have spawned over the
course of a century and the
exhibition gives an immediate
flavour of the Harley-Davidson
movement with a brightly lit
case enshrining 315 patches
from 1400 ‘Hog’ owners clubs
around the world.
The initial gallery showcases
the very first Harley-Davidson
models; (including the Model
2 Atmospheric-Valve Single of
1906) a gathering of immaculate
machines of the age when
power over suspension and
comfort seems to have been
HARLEY-DAVIDSON MAINTAINED A FRUITFUL PLACE IN RAC-
ING CIRCLES AND THE 1946 WR WAS AMONG THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL BIKES IN DIRT TRACK HISTORY...
very much the priority. The motorcycles
are absolutely pristine
if cumbersome. By 1912 Harley-
Davidson’s catalogue featured
seven models, sales of around
4000 bikes thanks to over 200
dealers in the US and even one
in Japan. 1912 was also significant
as the first year that the
company began to produce
clothing: it now seems incomprehensible
to imagine that
logo solely limited to vehicles.
The range grows and evolves
as the years pass. In WW1 the
US government bought one
third of the firm and the bikes
would enter a phase of remarkable
versatility, being used for
various military roles as well
as for larger transport, even
by the US Postal Services. The
manner of the timeline allows
a generous appreciation for the
march of technology and how
ornate (and bloody heavy) the
Harley-Davidsons were. Greys,
blacks and copper shades
give way to more creative and
decorative tones as the 1930s
approach. The diversity of purpose
for the motorcycle is displayed
in an aside atrium while
the an adjacent room contains
some fantastic articles, photos
and artefacts from the first
years of Harley-Davidson’s racing
history on the boards, hills
and flat tracks around the US.
This is perhaps one of the most
striking zones of the exhibition;
the attire used by the racers
of yore beggar belief in some
cases (woollen garments and
tough leather helmets) while
the speeds in relation to the
handling of the bikes at the
time make the imagination
zing. The FHAC racer had no
transmission or brakes and had
to be pull started!