Transmissions were not yet available in 1912, but the Model X-8-A was outfitted with a rear wheel hub mounted clutch which was operated by a separate lever on the left hand side of the motorcycle.

In 1934, it looked liked Harley’s gamble in the Far East was about to pay off. The Japanese Shinagawa factory was just one year away from becoming the first overseas factory to produce an 100% foreign made Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Ever since the first motorcycle was invented, militaries around the world have been looking for ways to convert them to mobile gun platforms.  The first documented case of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle being used for this type of duty was during the Pershing Expedition in 1916, when the US Army was sent to Mexico to capture […] More »

Officer Friendly may be smiling because he’s having a great time giving out parking tickets, but he might just be excited to be riding on a new Harley-Davidson GA Servi-Car.  The Motor Company produced Servi-Cars from 1932 all the way until 1973, making it one of the longest running production lines for Harley-Davidson.  Unfortunately, when Servi-Cars were […] More »

Due to the Lend Lease Act, Harley-Davidson supplied many of our Allies with motorcycles during WWII.  This was by far the largest export of Harley’s overseas for military use, but it certainly was not the first time the Motor Company had dealings with military forces outside the US.  In the 1930’s, Harley exported a number […] More »

All Female Mud Racing, sounds like the latest thing to see down at Daytona Bike Week.  This event actually took place in the late 1940’s, with the participants riding a new lightweight Harley-Davidson known as the S-125.  Unlike later lightweights what would be built by the Italian company Aeramacchi, these machines were built right here […] More »

In keeping up with current police technology, Harley-Davidson began outfitting their police models with radios in the 1930’s.  Like most electronics of the day, the first radios were very large and bulky.  This meant that the only Harley’s that could initially be fitted with radios were Servi-Cars as they had enough trunk space to hold […] More »