I am flying to New York on 11th September and arrive on 12th and will be there for a few hours so if you have a Harley Davidson that I can take a photo of please contact me before I leave.
email me at info@harley-links.com and we can go from there – I will buy you a beer for your trouble, cheers!
So where are you HOG owners? Or have you recently rented a Harley Davidson on holiday and have a story or pictures to share?
Please calling HOG owners with digital pictures to send – the best picture will be featured on the site!
So if you are in London, New York or Paris even and you can take a pciture of your Harley against a great back drop then please send it to us at info@harley-links.com Or simply post your own article on my site.
Cheers, Harley-links.com
I have just passed my full motorbike test and I am considering to buy a Harley, can anyone give me some advice or does anyone have one for sale, thank you!
P.s. if you can post some pictures on here of your bike or the ones you recommend even better.
P.s. – just got back from New York and saw a beauty, but not sure which one it was?
Also, can anyone tell me why the are called HOGS?????
We would love to have some pictures of Harleys please that we can use on our site – please email them to info@harley-links.com – you will get credit for the pictures in a post – if you wish, please confirm this when you email them over.
The pictures above the pages need to be great Harley Davidson pictures so make sure they are large and good quality. Harley-links.com looks forward to hearing from you and please also join our forum and join in the fun.
Harley-Davidson Motor Company (NYSE: HOG) is an American manufacturer of motorcycles based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company emphasizes heavyweight (over 750 cc) bikes designed for cruising on the highway. Harley-Davidson motorcycles (popularly known as “Harleys”) have a distinctive design and exhaust note, and are especially noted for the tradition of heavy customization that gave rise to the chopper-style of motorcycle.
Harley-Davidson attracts a loyal brand community, with licensing of the Harley-Davidson logo accounting for almost 5% of the company’s net revenue ($41 million in 2004).
The Motor Company supplies many American police forces with their motorcycle fleets.
The Buell Motorcycle Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harley-Davidson in 2003, the same year that the Motor Company celebrated its 100th birthday.
The classic Harley-Davidson engines are two-cylinder, V-twin engines with the pistons mounted in a 45° “V”. The crankshaft has a single pin, and both pistons are connected to this pin through their connecting rods.
This design causes the pistons to fire at uneven intervals, the consequence of an engineering tradeoff to create a large, powerful engine in a small space. This design choice is entirely vestigial from an engineering standpoint, but has been sustained because of the strong connection between the distinctive sound and the Harley-Davidson brand. This design, which is covered under several United States patents, gives the Harley-Davidson V-twin its unique choppy “potato-potato” sound. To simplify the engine and reduce costs, the V-twin ignition was designed to operate with a single set of points and no distributor, which is known as a dual fire ignition system, causing both spark plugs to fire regardless of which cylinder was on its compression stroke, with the other spark plug firing on its cylinder’s exhaust stroke, effectively “wasting a spark.” The exhaust note is basically a throaty growling sound with some popping.
The 45 degree design of the engine thus creates a plug firing sequencing as such: The first cylinder fires, the second (rear) cylinder fires 315° later, then there is a 405° gap until the first cylinder fires again, giving the engine its unique sound.
Harley Davidson has used various ignition systems throughout its history – be it the early points/condenser system, (Big Twin up to 1978 and Sportsters 1970 to 1978), magneto ignition system used on 1958 to 1969 Sportsters, early electronic with centrifugal mechanical advance weights, (all models 1978 and a half to 1979), or the late electronic with transistorized ignition control module, more familiarly known as the black box or the brain, (all models 1980 to present).
With the implementation of Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI), Harley Davidson uses a single fire ignition system on the models equipped with EFI, which now includes 100% of their product line with the introduction of the 2007 models.
In 1991, Harley-Davidson began to participate in the Sound Quality Working Group, founded by Orfield Labs, Bruel and Kjaer, TEAC, Yamaha, Sennheiser, SMS and Cortex. This was the nation’s first group to share research on psychological acoustics. Later that year, Harley-Davidson participated in a series of sound quality studies at Orfield Labs, based on recordings taken at the Talladega Superspeedway, with the objective to lower the sound level for EU standards while analytically capturing the “Harley Sound.” This research resulted in the bikes that were introduced in compliance with EU standards for 1998.
On 1 February 1994, the company filed a trademark application for the distinctive sound of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine: “The mark consists of the exhaust sound of applicant’s motorcycles, produced by V-twin, common crankpin motorcycle engines when the goods are in use”. Nine of Harley-Davidson’s competitors filed comments opposing the application, arguing that cruiser-style motorcycles of various brands use a single-crankpin V-twin engine which produce a similar sound. These objections were followed by litigation. After six years, Harley-Davidson withdrew their trademark application.
When Honda first began making a motorcycle with a 45° V-2 design, the Honda Shadow, it used a more advanced engineering approach with an offset crank design featuring dual crankpins, which allows for even firing pulses and higher horsepower because of the reduced vibrational stresses on the engine. Responding to customer demands for a more traditional V-twin, in 1995 Honda rolled out the Shadow A.C.E., a single-crankpin design, with a more traditional exhaust note and feel, but more vibration and less maximum power.
By – Basic Tweak
Today, Harley Davidson motorcycles are a household name, but it hasn’t always been that way. It began way back in 1901, when a young man named William S. Harley had a vision for attaching an engine to a bicycle.
William had a friend named Arthur Davidson who embraced his concept. Together, they began working endless hours in a small wooden shed, with the words “Harley Davidson” scrawled on the door. By 1903, they rolled out the first production Harley Davidson motorcycle.
The legendary “Bar and Shield” logo became the defining symbol of Harley Davidson motorcycles in 1910. The logo is representative of strength and ruggedness. The design was patented in 1911 and continues to be used today.
In 1920, motorcycle racing legend, Leslie “Red” Parkhurst, broke numerous speed records on a Harley Davidson racing motorcycle. Each time Parkhurst won a race, he would carry a pig on a victory lap and it was during this time the term “hog” became associated with Harley Davidson motorcycles.
During World War I nearly half of the Harley Davidson motorcycles produced were sold to the United States Army. Throughout the 1920s, major changes took place to the design. The most notable was the change in the gas tank, which was switched to the now infamous teardrop shape. In 1928, Harley Davidson introduced the first twin-cam engine and front wheel brakes. These modifications allowed Harley Davidson motorcycles to reach speeds in excess of 85 mph.
Throughout the 1930s, Harley Davidson motorcycles continued to break speed records and won multiple awards. Harley Davidson further expanded into commercial and police vehicles through the introduction of the three-wheel Servi-Car.
Appearance changes were made to Harley Davidson motorcycles and included the famous “eagle” design, which was painted on all Harley Davidson gas tanks. During this time, the trademark 1340 cc engine was introduced and the “Knucklehead” motorcycle was launched.
Between the years of 1941 through 1945, Harley Davidson ceased civilian production of motorcycles and focused solely on providing reliable motorcycles to the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II.
When civilian production resumed, Harley Davidson motorcycles were in high demand. The organization expanded and purchased the A.O. Smith Propeller Plant to be used as a machine shop. Here they manufactured motorcycle parts and shipped them to the factory for final assembly.
1947 saw the introduction of the “Panhead” Harley Davidson motorcycle, which was deemed “THE American Motorcycle”. Two years later, hydraulic front brakes were introduced on the Hydra-Glide models.
The 1950s were filled with challenges and triumphs. During this time, the British captured nearly 40 percent of the motorcycle market with their ever-popular Triumph motorcycle. Harley Davidson owners knew they would have to get creative if they were to remain at the top.
To compete with the smaller, sportier motorcycles coming from Great British, Harley Davidson developed the side-valve K model with an integrated engine and transmission. Today, the K model is known as the Sportster.
1953 marked the 50th anniversary of Harley Davidson motorcycles. The organization marked this event by creating a special logo which included a “V”, with a bar overlaid reading “Harley Davidson” and the words “50 Years American Made”. Every motorcycle manufactured in 1954 had a medallion version of the logo placed on the front fender.
During the 60s, Harley Davidson scaled down production and offered the only scooter bike ever produced. It was also during this time that the Sprint model was introduced. Other innovations included the electric starter and the introduction of the “Shovelhead” engines.
The 70s brought about transformation of the Harley Davidson motorcycle. A new Sportster racing motorcycle was introduced in 1970. One year later, the FX 1200 Super Glide cruiser was introduced; along with the first Harley-Davidson snowmobile.
1977 brought the Harley-Davidson Low Rider to the forefront when it was debuted to the public in Daytona Beach. Later in the year, the Cafacer was released.
Last, but not least, Harley Davidson introduced the FXEF Fat Bob in 1979. This bike has dual gas tanks and bobbed fenders. It was featured in Hollywood films and quickly became a favorite of the American public.
During the 80s, Harley Davidson went through considerable internal changes and more attention was focused on motorcycle racing. One of the most notable changes occurred in 1986, when Harley Davidson became listed on the American Stock Exchange.
In the 1990s, Harley Davidson expanded its U.S. operations to include a multi-million dollar paint facility, a new distribution center, power train plant, and production facility. Harley Davidson also opened a new assembly facility Brazil, the first operations outside of the U.S.
Since the beginning of 2000, Harley Davidson has exploded the marketplace with a variety of new and exciting motorcycles. These include the Softail Deuce; the Buell Blast, Firebolt, and Lightning; the Road King Custom; and the Street Glide.
Today, Harley Davidson owns more than 60 percent of the motorcycle market share. Considering their history and reputation, chances are good that Harley Davidson motorcycles will be around for another 100 years.
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