American Iron Magazine Presents 1001 Harley-Davidson Facts. Tyler Greenblatt

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СКАЧАТЬ or discharge up to 10 amps in either direction. A small update from the 1926 dash is the word “park” instead of “dim” on the right light switch.

       The updated dash on this 1929 DL has a little light that shines on the ammeter at night. This rider’s view also shows the two-year-only twin headlights as well as the new brake lever perched on the left side of the handlebar. The button on the left (near the brake lever) is for the horn and the button on the right is the kill switch.

      164 Harley-Davidson began its special color program in February 1927, even though colors other than the usual Olive Drab were rarely ordered. For a surcharge of between $6 and $13, depending on the model, a new owner could have his (or her) motorcycle painted Azure Blue, Maroon, Police Blue, or Coach Green. In addition, pinstriping and a two-tone option of Fawn Grey or Cream could be added. Actually, special paint finishes were technically available in 1926, but dealers were instructed not to publicize it. In 1928, colors other than Olive Drab were available as standard fare, and special combinations and colors were still available for a surcharge.

      165 Throughout the years, Harley-Davidson kept improving the cushioning effect provided by the springer front fork. From 1916 until the redesigned, I-beam springer on the Flatheads, H-D springers used 41 feet of tempered steel spring wound up inside the fork legs.

      166 The first Harley-Davidson to use external fork springs was the Model W Sport in 1919. The overall girder-style design was actually closer to the style that Indian was using, except that The Motor Company tightened up its version by using a very short leaf spring for compression and a large single coil spring for rebound. In 1922, H-D added a pair of external springs to the center of the forks.

      167 What would you do if it was 1916, and your motorcycle broke down at night, with no streetlights or cell phone lights? The answer is easy if your bike had electric lights. On H-Ds with an electric system, the rear taillight was easily detachable from its housing and could be used as a roadside emergency light. The long wire allowed the light to reach anywhere on the bike.

      168 In 1926, Harley-Davidson made roadside wrenching a little easier by using a hinged rear fender. The rear section of the fender could be unbolted from its stay and swung up and over the main section so that the wheel could simply slide out the back while the bike was on the rearstand. Previously, the rear of the bike had to be lifted higher than the rearstand allowed to drop the wheel out from under the bike. To riders’ delight, hinged fenders were used on varying models until 1980, when once again, changing a wheel required lifting the entire bike up.

      169 To provide the largest possible space for fuel, Harley-Davidson began using a “cutout” gas tank in 1915. Remember the pocket valves that sat on top of the engine? The rocker arms and grease fittings actually protruded high above the cylinder head and into part of the space that could be occupied by a fuel tank. It was an easy fix for the designers to form rounded cutouts on the right side of the gas tank; the rocker arms tucked into these cutouts. This allowed the gas tank to sit low above the cylinder heads, but it still allowed room for the intake valve to function properly. This design was used through 1929, although the cutouts were updated through the years as gas tank styles changed. What was certainly a practical measure at the time is today a classic and defining feature of Harley-Davidson’s F-head motorcycles.

      170 In the early days of motorcycling, long before the buddy seat, how did riders carry passengers without having to bolt a huge sidecar to the side of their bikes? Harley-Davidson had them covered then, just as it does now. A complete passenger seat attachment sat above the rear fender. Using a series of mounting brackets, the passenger seat, which was nearly identical to the rider’s seat, was mounted directly to the bike’s frame rails and axle plates. Like the rider’s seat, it, too was sprung, except that it used a pair of reverse-coiled springs on either side of the fender. Some of the earliest examples actually had a small handlebar for the passenger to hold; later models use a grab rail at the front. With this setup, two people could more easily and comfortably enjoy motorcycling.

      171 Because Harley-Davidsons and other motorcycle brands were used primarily as transportation in the early years, they were used year-round, regardless of weather. Nothing hampers the ability to use a motorcycle like ice and snow, so a popular modification for owners who lived in snow country was to attach stabilizing skis to either side of the frame. The skis kept the motorcycle upright and going straight but they were just high enough so they wouldn’t scrape if the ground were dry.

      172 Before Harley-Davidson developed separate front and rear braking systems, Commonwealth countries and territories required motorcycles to be equipped with a dual rear brake system. The rear brake had to be controlled by the standard right-side brake pedal but also by a lever on the right side of the handlebar. Presumably, this was to aid in stopping and starting on hills. Many export models that show up at auctions and shows today retain their originally handbrake, although it takes most viewers a few moments to realize that there’s no front brake!

      173 The Troxel Mfg. Co., based in Elvira, Ohio, supplied Harley-Davidson’s seats beginning in the 1917 model year. Two versions were offered. The Jumbo was the more popular because of its large, comfortable size; the Wizard was smaller and more closely resembled a racing or bicycle seat.

      174 Something that you don’t always see when you’re looking at an early sidecar-equipped Harley-Davidson is the third footboard. As you know, 1914 was the first year of the rider footboard, and as sidecar travel became more and more popular, passengers wanted a comfortable place to rest their feet. They also wanted something to use as a brace when going fast. The Motor Company simply took one of the rubber-topped footboards (with Harley-Davidson written across it), and stuck it inside the front of the sidecar. Mounted perpendicularly to the bike (unlike the parallel-mounted rider footboards), there’s plenty of room to position both feet on the rubber surface.

      175 In 1926, The Motor Company introduced an option that didn’t make the bikes ride any better, but made them a whole lot easier to park: the Jiffy Stand. Mounted on the left side of the frame, underneath the footboard, the spring-loaded Jiffy Stand allowed the rider to easily pull the stand forward with a foot and set the bike over on it instead of having to pull the bike up onto the rearstand every time. Little details such as this greatly furthered the ease and accessibility of motorcycles as daily transportation that required little effort to operate. Wonder why it was called the Jiffy Stand instead of a kickstand or sidestand? The H-D execs wanted to stress how fast and easy it was to operate the stand, and they thought that “jiffy” was the best word for it. To this day, all references to the kickstand/sidestand in H-D’s service or parts and accessories materials refer to it as a Jiffy Stand.

THE POWERTRAIN

      176 Harley-Davidson said good-bye to the last remnant of the motor bicycle era when it launched the 1916 3-speed models (twin and single) with a kickstarter on the right side in place of the pedals. It was no longer a significant workout to start the motorcycle; just step down on the kicker pedal and watch the motorcycle fire to life. Single-speed singles and twins did retain the bicycle pedals. The 1916 and later models lack the hole on the primary cover for the pedals. Simply for the practicality, some 1915 owners who ride their machines regularly have installed 1916 transmissions on their 1915s.

       The differences between the one-year-only 1915 3-speed pedal-start transmission (left) and the 3-speed 1916 kickstart transmission (right) that Harley-Davidson used going forward are very clear.

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