Panhead Jim, Author at Harley Davidson Forums - Page 9 of 9

  Harley-Davidson released the Topper in 1960.  It was powered by a single cylinder two-stroke engine mounted horizontally in the frame.  The 10 cubic inch powerplant could produce up to 9 horsepower using a high compression head and larger carburetor available only the “H” models.  It’s top speed was 60 miles per hour and boasted […] More »

In the 1930’s, the Danish Army wanted to increase the range and mobility of their soldiers by purchasing armored cars.  Unfortunately, the Danish government was still reeling from the expenses of WWI and was not about to spend any more money on new military purchases.  In order to satisfy the government’s demands, the Army compromised […] More »

Less than 10 years after the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle had been produced, the engineers at the Motor Company were hard at work designing a new commercial vehicle.  They wanted to build something that had a larger payload, was easy to operate and could be targeted to some of their existing commercial accounts.  The result was […] More »

In 1933, Harley-Davidson designers created a one year only paint job which is arguably the best that has ever come out of Milwaukee. Even back in the 30’s, Harley knew that nothing looks better on a motorcycle than beautiful women and if you throw in some sand and sun, you’ve got a recipe for success. So, Harley trucked a couple of their new ’33 models down to Bradford Beach in Milwaukee for a photo shoot.

Pictured above is a 1930, Harley-Davidson V-series motorcycle with a custom package truck which could hold 288 bottles of Coca-Cola. This was most likely a VLC model, with the “C” denoting commercial. It would have featured a 74 cubic inch sidevalve engine with low compression heads mated to a three-speed transmission.

During WWII, Harley-Davidson was the main supplier of motorcycles to the US Armed Services. Production of their most popular model, the WLA, is thought to have been over 80,000 units. While the bulk of these were used by American GI’s, large numbers were also sent to US Allies through the Lend Lease Program. These included […] More »

Back in the 1920’s, the Los Angeles Bureau of Power and Light used Harley-Davidson based vehicles, like the one pictured above, to transport its underground construction crews back and forth to the job site. The rider of this motorcycle was splicer Elmer Gutsch, with his helper Carly Knoobs on the back. At first glace you […] More »