How the Iconic Harley-Davidson Knucklehead Came to Be
Like most iconic manufacturers in the world, each model produced by the legendary Harley-Davidson has a rich story behind it. That’s even more apparent in the Knucklehead, a motorcycle that not only revolutionized the brand, but also helped it stay afloat.
Nowadays we chat about Harley-Davidson exploring emerging countries, taking pretty sheet metal across the globe, and satiating the thirst for the big twins all over the world. Meanwhile at home, sales are suffering a bit, but all in all it’s a healthy environment for H-D. That wasn’t the case many decades ago, when internal combustion engine technologies were still being developed, and an unregulated market was more than ruthless.
Back in 1936 Bill Harley decided to ignore suggestions of the V-Twin engine developers and launched the new OHV Harley-Davidson. While William Harley had created the design of the engine, it was up to the engine developers to work out the kinks, but it seems either Bill Harley ran out of patience, or he simply chose not to wait. The later on dubbed “Knucklehead” arrived on showroom floors on 1936 as the Model 61E, sporting a 61 cu. in. V-twin engine with a 6.0:1 compression ratio and 36 horsepower..
The Knucklehead was extremely sophisticated for its time, and even Harley admitted that it was mostly a developmental motorcycle through-and-through. The next 12 months brought many changes and tweaks to the V-Twin, which brought it closer to what we know as the modern and iconic Harley-Davidson V-Twin engine.
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Story & Photos via: [Petrolicious]
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