The Harley-Davidson Ride to Sturgis starts in Milwaukee with Bike Night at the Harley-Davidson Museum on Thursday, August 5 then journeys through the heart of the Midwest and Black Hills stopping at eight Harley-Davidson dealerships and landing in Sturgis on Tuesday, August 10.

Harley-Davidson executives scheduled to ride from Milwaukee to Sturgis include CEO Keith Wandell, President and COO Matt Levatich, SVP and Chief Styling Officer Willie G. Davidson, Vice President of the Harley-Davidson Museum Bill Davidson and SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Mark-Hans Richer. Harley-Davidson riders and customers are welcome to join the ride and relax with the groups at various stops and dealer events.

“We’ve enjoyed riding many miles with our customers over the years,” said Bill Davidson. “Riding from the Harley-Davidson Museum in our hometown of Milwaukee to Sturgis in the heart of the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota continues a tremendous tradition while giving us the chance to meet new friends along the way.”

The schedule (subject to change) of events for the Harley-Davidson Ride to Sturgis is as follows:

•Thursday, August 5: 5:45 p.m. – Bike Night at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee
•Friday, August 6: 7:30 a.m. – Riders pancake breakfast and depart from Harley-Davidson Museum
10 a.m. – Capital City Harley-Davidson, Madison, Wis.
2 p.m. – Bala’s Harley-Davidson, Mauston, Wis.
5:45 p.m. – La Crosse Area Harley-Davidson, La Crosse, Wis.
•Saturday, August 7: 8:30 a.m. – Rochester Harley-Davidson, Rochester, Minn.
◦11:15 a.m. – Mankato, Harley-Davidson, Mankato, Minn.
◦5:30 p.m. – J&L Harley-Davidson, Sioux Falls, S.D.
•Sunday, August 8: 3:30 p.m. – Peterson Harley-Davidson, Pierre, S.D.
•Monday, August 9: 2:30 p.m. – Black Hills Harley-Davidson, Rapid City, S.D.
•Tuesday, August 10: 2 p.m. – Harley-Davidson Motor Company riders arrive in Sturgis with the 10th Annual Dakota Thunder Motorcycle Run followed by a moving veteran’s tribute and B-1 fly-by over Main Street.
In addition to the Ride to Sturgis, Harley-Davidson will be hosting free events at two all-new locations in the heart of Sturgis this year. Visit 3rd and Lazelle streets from Friday, Aug. 6 through Saturday, Aug. 14 for the Harley-Davidson Road Tour featuring the newly released 2011 Harley-Davidson motorcycles, other Harley-Davidson products and H.O.G. members-only pin stop. Demo rides for the 2011 Harley-Davidson motorcycles will be available in Sturgis near Interstate 90 at Exit 30 beginning Saturday, Aug. 7 through Friday, Aug. 13.

Net income at Harley Davidson was down by 58% for the last quarter over the same period in 2007, after the company reporting worse than expected results. The last quarter showed net income of $77.8 million (£57.1 million).

Harley cut production in 2008 and is planning to cut production further by around 13% in 2009. Sales in Latin America sales seem to be the worst affected falling by 28% with sales in the USA falling by 19.6%.

Las Vegas, NV – October 23, 2008 — Red Rock Harley-Davidson is celebrating the unveiling of its brand new 104,000 square-foot Las Vegas store with a three-day party from November 7th through 9th. The “Rock-Hard, Ride Harder” event is open to the public, featuring Hawaiian Tropic girls, food, drinks, music, demos, on-site financing, the new line of 2009 Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and the Hoyt Corkins Celebrity Poker Tournament (CPT).

Play with the pros in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 8th, starting at 3 p.m. and compete for the grand prize of a 2008 105th Anniversary Edition Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a WORLD model Curtis & Co. watch, a lead crystal trophy designed by Legacy Alliance, Inc, and Harley-Davidson merchandise. Proceeds will benefit the Nevada Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Celebrity tournament director Matt Savage will emcee the special event featuring guest appearances by Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Tiffany Michelle, Cyndy Violette, Todd Brunson, Pam Brunson, Brad “Yukon” Booth, Chip & Karina Jett, Mark Newhouse, Brandon Cantu, Jeff Madsen, Lee Watkinson, James VanAlstyne, and 2008 World Series of Poker ESPN final table players David “Chino” Rheem and chip leader Dennis Phillips.

Anyone may participate in the November 8th tournament being held at the new Red Rock Harley-Davidson store located at 2260 S. Rainbow, Las Vegas, Nevada 89117. The cost to play in the tournament is $500, and New Poker, “The most strategic hold’em in the world,” will host one-table $60 qualifying tournaments on Friday, November 7th, at the Red Rock Harley-Davidson store for entry into Saturday’s Hoyt Corkins CPT. On-site registration starts at noon on Friday, November 7th. Players will enjoy complimentary drinks from the world famous Hogs & Heifers Saloon. WPT Boot Camp will conduct free poker seminars throughout the day starting at 2:30 p.m. on the day of the event for those who want to improve their game or just learn how to play. New Poker will also host side poker games on the day of the poker tournament.

Saturday’s activities will include a prize raffle, B&B’s cigar lounge, Triumph Sport’s silent auction, and free samples of Who’s Your Daddy Energy Drink. Poker personality Robert Williamson, III will emcee a live auction featuring autographed poker memorabilia. All proceeds will benefit the JDRF.

Tournament seats are limited. Pre-register for the Hoyt Corkins CPT at www.greasiewheels.com, or contact event coordinator Lisa Wheeler at lisa@greasiewheels.com.
Contact:

David Sheleheda

Public Relations Manager – Virgen Advertising Corporation

DSheleheda@virgenad.com

616-0624

Lisa Wheeler

President – GreasieWheels, LLC

info@greasiewheels.com

327-7250

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Cheers, Harley-links.com

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

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.

Things I’m still working on are the motorcycle classifieds and the motorcycle link exchange security. I hope to have this fixed soon.

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