Donny’s Unauthorized Technical Guide to Harley-Davidson, 1936 to Present

In 1959, Harley-Davidson's nemesis Honda comes to America to meet the nicest people Their enduring and effective slogan, You meet the nicest people on a Honda provides the competition that almost destroys the already declining Harley Davidson. This very effective mainstream catchphrase said it all to the Harley riders of the day. We were not that bad but this nice stuff was pure baby Pablum to us. We were tough, hardy individualists. Even if we were nice, we all had some of the old west outlaw free spirit in our soul. The problem with individualism, if there is one, is that some separation is required from the mainstream. Honda also provides the rivalry to drive Harley-Davidson to the pinnacle of excellence as both companies eventually thrive in the North American motorcycle marketplace. However, Honda did not miss a beat in its continual success whereas H-D had to get up to speed before accelerating onto triumph. My earliest memories of Honda was around 1969 when riders on the 450cc Honda CB450 whose name if memory serves me correct was the Hellcat (Canada) or the Black Bomber (USA) beat all our Triumphs, Nortons, Harley's, and Indians with no trouble whatsoever. This was sacrilege. We socially ostracised anyone on a Japanese motorcycle. Of course, these riders would also abhor the thought of associating with us. However, Harley-Davidson did not need Honda to put the nails in its coffin, as their sales 10-years earlier in 1959 were only about $17,000,000.00 with approximately 12,300 units. Compare this to sales of $5,726,848,000.00 with a staggering 349,200 motorcycle production in 2007. By 1968, Harley-Davidson was in the midst of a financial crisis. This venerable company was in dire need of help from outside resources. The requirement for financial help was immediate with structural reorganization an ongoing solution for the future. Although Honda became a constant threat beginning in the early nineteen-seventies, it did not precipitate the 1968 financial crisis that had been building for many years. The reader only need reference the May 15, 1951, Harley-Davidson petition to the U.S. Tariff Commission for a 40% import tax on all imported foreign motorcycles. This onerous tariff was not against Honda or the other Japanese companies, as they had not yet begun their assault. America was again fighting off an English invasion. This time it was Triumph, British Small Arms (BSA) and the likes of the Snortin' Norton not to mention the fastest of the fast Vincent motorcycles like the 998cc Black Shadow (the non-production Vincent Black Lightning was faster than the Black Shadow). The Evolution engine and motorcycle may never have been. Harley-Davidson was in a slow decline. The venerable Motor Company had been struggling for decades lurching from year to year. H-D asked for tariff protection from foreign competitors as early as 1951. However, in the nineteen-seventies, there was a glimmer of hope as a secret project motorcycle was developing in conjunction with Porsche. It was technologically far ahead of most competitors and at least equal to the Japanese and no, it was not the V-Rod but the Nova. Buzz Kanter, the publisher of American Iron magazine and I saw a stashed Nova in a dark corner upstairs on Juneau Ave. We were unceremoniously hustled away by an H-D Vice-President with a curt No Comment to every question we asked until he brusquely told us we only had security clearance for the new Twin Cam. When we walked by the next day, the Nova had been moved from sight. The secretive Harley-Davidson has only begun releasing information during the Twin Cam years about this revolutionary Nova engine and motorcycle. Many blame American Machine and Foundry Company known in the Harley world as AMF for Harley Davidson's woes in the 1970's and beyond. Is this a fair assessment? No, it is not. Conversely, some AMF executives saw stale family ownership and mismanagement as responsible for the malaise that led Harley-Davidson to the brink of extinction. Does this judgment have any merit whatsoever? I believe so. Of course, there should be blame as well as kudos for both sides. This era saw the development of the hugely successful Evolution that saved the day and propelled Harley-Davidson into a stratosphere of success. Without the history leading up to the choice of producing the Evolution over the Nova, there would be no future and no modern unparalleled success story. Delving into this history is fascinating as the mythology of the bigger, uncaring AMF raping the vulnerable Harley-Davidson subsidiary is largely inaccurate. For example, the executive put in charge of Harley-Davidson by AMF was a motorcycle enthusiast, had much affection for Harley Davidson, and was committed to the survival of this historical company. Harley-Davidson became very profitable under the tutelage of AMF, substantially increasing production. These facts run counter to prevailing folk lore that an uncaring mega-corporation with little motorcycle knowledge, American Machine and Foundry had brought Harley-Davidson to the precipice of ruination. After all, the infamous AMF made bowling balls, or so the story went with derisive Harley traditionalists. However, in reality, Harley-Davidson continues to honor the first man at the helm of AMF/Harley-Davidson whose name graces the Ronald C. Gott H-D Museum in York Pennsylvania. Harley-Davidson's rich history and the public's zeal to enjoy times gone by are also evidenced in the opening of a fabulous new museum for the 105th anniversary in 2008 in Milwaukee. On the other hand, one truth that fully supports the problematic perception of AMF is the quality control issues of the era. Both Harley-Davidson and AMF deserve blame for this. I will now skip forward in the book a little further on to The Wild One: Birthplace of the American Biker. The Wild One is a loose depiction of a motorcycle run to Hollister of the famed Hollister riots. This is not an intellectual movie like Easyriders but the first depiction of the biker threat. Hollister is an inland agricultural town just south of San Franciso, Oakland, and San Jose. The city has been the site of organized annual bike rallies named the Hollister Independence Rally on the July 4th weekend in its present form since 1997, the 50th anniversary of the riots. The supposed riot at the 1947 rally became the basis for the 1954 film The Wild One. The rallies are on-off affairs mainly because of organizational financial onus placed on organizers by the town. However, the Top Hatters MC mother chapter for the statewide club is located in Hollister. The Top Hatters invariably organize a poker run on the anniversary weekend. In any case, bikers continue to arrive at Hollister every July 4th, even without vendors and sponsored, organized events. They need no permission since they view Hollister as the birthplace of the American Biker. Life magazine sensationalized the event by splaying a picture of a drunken sot laying across a motorcycle surrounded by beer bottles. Problem was that the picture was a fake. I guess the real story wasn't all that exciting. The American Motorcycle Association (AMA) rides to the rescue with its own media take. Ninety-nine percent of motorcyclists are decent people. The 1% cause the trouble. Never has a deflecting its not me, its them speech created such a powerful symbol for the bike clubs who wear the 1%er flashes with pride. So, what really happened July 4th, 1947? Demobilized WWII veterans formed hundreds of small motorcycle clubs with names like the Boozefighters, 13 Rebels, Jackrabbits and the Yellow Jackets. The membership colours were club sweaters. Many called them the