Motorcycle Menace
The Panhead Era
While the Hollister Event of July 1947 forever seared the bad boy image of Harley-Davidsons into the cultural fabric, it was not so much a Shroud of Touring but
of barhopping, poker runs, rallies, and local club action. More than any group we can think of, Harleys and their owners
constitute the world's largest and most active mutual admiration society. As the half-century mark rolled around, motorcyclists
were splitting off into two distinct groups, the so-called One-Percenters, a.k.a. outlaw bikers, to use the AMA term. At the other end of the spectrum rolled the Nicest People category, a.k.a. mainstream riders,
who were relatively clean-cut and law abiding; this term was later effectively employed by Honda to identify their demographics.
Beneath its skin of chrome and leather, the Harley-Davidson bridged the gap of the symbolic, the emblematic,
and the tangible, presenting itself as the focal point and catalyst that spoke to the American character, sometimes in loud
tones that disturbed the superficial status quo of the American Dream. It wasn't a bike you'd see Ozzie Nelson riding
in The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet but a motorcycle you would see ridden by a pack of aliens in a disturbing
episode of the original Twilight Zone. On a deeper, if not more esoteric level, Harley-Davidsons spoke to the
wheel, an integral part of the American psyche. It was oddly coincidental that both Harley-Davidson and the Ford Motor
Company opened their doors in 1903. Henry Ford envisioned a car in every garage as an affordable and attainable transport
for Every Man, a means by which he would help unify (and homogenize) the nation. Motorcycles represented the extreme
opposite, yet in many ways shone a clearer, sharper light on the American penchant for risk-taking, adventure, and anti-authoritarianism.
And even if you were one of the civilians who disparaged motorcycles at that time, they still elicited an admixture of fear
and attraction obvious to everyone. Like sex in the '50s, a Harley-Davidson was what everybody wanted but wouldn't admit
to openly. Milwaukee sales were well grounded in the family-oriented club scene, primarily in the Midwestern
and Eastern sections of the country, while the sport-oriented riders in the West and Southwest were going over to the imports,
a.k.a. Limey bikes. Harley also had a strong commitment from police departments across the country, in contrast to the "outlaw" Harley riders at the other end of the spectrum. Meanwhile, bikers rolling through the 1950 to 1960 era felt the increasing
pressures, and sometimes pleasures, created by a turbulent melange of international crises and national upheaval a social
changes, like Harley-Davidsons, began speeding up. High on the list of culture modifiers was fear of imminent nuclear
annihilation, the always present backdrop against which Howdy Doody entertained America's children in the decade. While
Mom and apple pie were still on the menu, Howdy, like thousands of Americans, now had his own home bomb shelter. 1950;
Big Bangs, Big Bikes, and Ike The year 1950 started off with an ominous bang in the making when, in January,
President Truman gave the thumbs up for building a hydrogen nuclear bomb, something a thousand times more powerful than the
A-bomb that had turned Hiroshima and Nagasaki into smoking puddles of melted human flesh. On the home
front, the right-wing politicians are still finding Commies hiding under every rug. In China, Mao is turning everything
Red, much to U.S. dismay, while far, far away two countries are trying to occupy the same place, namely Vietnam, where Ho
Chi Ming, setting the stage for more carnage to come. Oddly enough, our State Department is calling for the French to
be back off on their colonial policies in Southeast Asia, and we are promoting the official policy of "the peaceful and
democratic evolution of dependent peoples toward self-improvement and independence." In South Africa, the first
anticipated riots and protests flare up. That same kind of independence is feeling its oats back home in the
U.S.A. It's called teenagers by some, motorcycle hoodlums by others. And droves of both are showing up at the latest phenomenon, the drive-in theater, whose numbers double to
two thousand in one year. Car interior business record a doubling of seat reupholster jobs, mostly for back seats.
1950 was the first year of he "Trail-A-Away" Hydra Glide forks. "Smooth as flying"
is how the Hydra Glide forks were described in period sales literature. The fork's lower legs were polished on the touring
Big Twins from this time forward. There was a 10 percent boost in horsepower, with the carb updated to an improved Linkert M-74B.
An adjustable trail feature was introduced to make handling on the sidecar and the three-wheeler package truck applications
better. Other Bro-affecting world news from early 1950 included the French government's call for curbing
the sale of Coca-Cola. Must have been hurting wine sales. The Red Sox Legend Ted Williams signs a then record
contract for $125,000. Cadillac comes out with a new first, the one-piece windshield. Anything to help cage drivers
to see better is a good thing in our book. Meanwhile GM reports record profits of $656.4 million. Things are booming
in the United States. People are buying "nonessential items" in the American pursuit of the
good life. The Motor Co.'s 1950 range of offerings included the 74 cubic inch Hydra Glide (though the name didn't become
official until '52), with a price tag of about $750 and production reaching about 17,000 including all models. The 1950s
would see the introduction of telescopic front suspension and increased power, thanks to the redesigned intake ports on the
OHV twins. But the Motor Co. would also come out with quieter mufflers, because civilians were complaining about the noise.
Of course, the "outlaws" were cutting off their mufflers altogether and further widening the gap between themselves and the "stock"
riders and genteel society as a whole. A sad note came with the passing of Arthur Davidson, the last of the Founding
Fathers, who died not on a bike but in a car crash. He had helped develop the first prototype Harley-Davidson, built
the dealer network, and promoted the company through thick and thin after World War II. 1951:
Winning the War in Korea, Harley WRTTs, and Bagel Strikes January 1951 saw the UN halting the "Red" advance in Korea,
soldiers on both sides suffering in the brutal sub-zero winter. In the news, a bit of American audacity brings some
cheer in the form of pilot Captain Charles Blair, who flies his own Mustang P-51 from New York to London in seven hours and
forty eight minutes, breaking the previous Pan Am record. Averaging 450 mph and flying at 37,000 feet, he also studies
the effects of the jet stream, where the high winds could benefit airline travel. Speed is high on the list of American
thinking. The Harley WRTT factory race had started getting long in the tooth, battling import bikes for dominance
on the track. While World War II had placed motorcycle competition on hold, the company had gotten back into the fray in 1948, when Harley riders took home
nineteen of the twenty-three American championships. In attendance at these races were both the "outlaws" and the Nicest People elements, although they mixed about as well as gasoline and water.
Notable passings include Ferdinand Porsche, designer of
the VW Beetle and the sports cars bearing his name. A less well-known name, that of Charles Nessler, makes the obits
as well. Nessler invented the permanent women's hairstyles and, yes, false eyelashes. In Milwaukee tech improvements
including chromed piston rings were installed with a tighter compression seal and longer life. The engine cam was improved
with ramps to take up deflection in the valve gear. Meanwhile, the Brits were flooding the tariff-friendly U.S. market
with Triumphs, Nortons, BSAs, and Enfields, much to the chagrin of Harley-Davidson. 1952:
Batista, Japan, and Hand Shifters In 1952 Queen Elizabeth took the throne in England, where Triumph, Norton,
BSA, and a bunch more cool bikes were being built and ridden. Goodyear reports $1 billion in sales, the largest ever
for a rubber company. We're talking tires, and they still make them for Harleys. Down on the island of Cuba, about
ninety miles from Miami, (actually Key West) a dictator named Batista takes power by force after figuring he'd lose the normal
election. A couple of years later he'd run into a lawyer named Fidel Castro. Japan is granted full sovereignty
and, among other things, begins its production of motorbikes, and the handwriting is on the wall. You could say this
was the official birthday of the "You Meet the Nicest People" motorcycle era. Okay, now don't start a letter-writing
campaign to declare it an official holiday. The Hand Shifter Gets the Boot .... and Harley Goes "Sporty" While
the "real Bros" rolled their own cigarettes and shifter their bikes by hand, the Factory for 1952 decided to update
things a bit offering an optional foot shifter and hand clutch control for the Big Twin models. The year also saw the end of another tradition: the classic side-valve 74 model was cut from the Milwaukee
lineup. The 74s were still in use and popular in Mexico and South America, where the cops flogged them for untold years, and where today you can still occasionally snap one up for not too many pesos. Harley
also highlighted a "V-Power" sales campaign during this time to go along with the new Ford, GM, and Chrysler OHV
V-8 engines. And Harley-Davidson debuted the new K racing bike, replacing the WR. But it was
the K model that shook things up, and we're not talking just serious vibrations. The lightweight, sport-oriented bike,
set in a low-slung frame with hydraulic forks and rear suspension, was kinda modern and set to do battle with Brit bikes like
the Triumph that were selling like hotcakes. It also made the One-Percenters sit up and take notice. The K bike would eventually morph into the classic Sportster, the mount of choice for many
"rebels" as well as the early customizers. 1953 - 54: Fifty Years of the Harley-Davidson and The Wild One In
1953 Harley-Davidson celebrated its well-earned fiftieth anniversary and women were breaking down barriers, some on Harleys,
some, like Jacqueline Cochran, the first woman to break the sound barrier, in F-86 Sabre jets. The Motor Co. celebrated
its half-century mark with a special Golden Anniversary Model, including an awesome fiftieth-anniversary gold-colored medallion
on top of the front fender plus a new two-tone paint job. Harley-Davidson also tooted its horn so to speak, with the
introduction of the now famous Jubilee horn, the chrome bell, electric diaphragm unit mounted on one side of the engine and
the distinctive trumpet horn on the other. Sadly enough, it was also the end of the famous Factory tombstone-shaped
taillight, but Bros did get the spiffy new detachable Royalite plastic saddlebags for dresser needs. 'Twas
the last year of the EL 61 cubic inch OHV Panhead engine. But new was a revolutionary engine offering in the form of rotating exhaust valves with caps and an improved hydraulic
valve lifter installed inside the tappet body. The biggest bike event, however, took place the following year. This
is a shocking story. It could never take place in most American towns - but it did in this one. It is a public
challenge not to let it happen again. -
Opening voice-over from The Wild One. Talk about movie milestones, this was it. A lot of people would
call it a millstone instead, blaming it for besmirching the image of motorcyclists forever. In the spring of 1954, movie
screens across the country were thrilled and chilled by the landmark biker film starring Marlon Brando and lots of loud, rip-roaring
motorcycles and the rowdy band of "outlaws" that rode them. The seeds of Hollister '47 had again sprouted dangerous fruit. Parents were hiding their daughters and checking their boys' closets for leather
jackets. Next to Commies, bikers were seen as the biggest threat to America, or so it seemed. No doubt Levi's
jeans and engineer boot sales skyrocketed, and perhaps a few more motorcycles got sold as a result of the film, whose impact
wouldn't be matched until some fifteen years later with the second of the greatest ever biker films - Easy Rider.
Stanley Kramer's The Wild One is the story of a small town terrorized by a biker club but actually more by its own paranoia (not unlike the anti-Commie
mania infecting the country). Spawned by the "Hollister Event," this film gave the "outlaw" element something to identify with and the Nicest People something to complain about, so all in all it stirred up the
debate, polarized sides, and got a bunch of B-grade movie-makers hustling to make a bunch of bad biker movies that further
ingrained, or perhaps even created, the bad biker iconoclast. Oddly enough, the biker club in the movie was the Black
Rebels Motorcycle Club. Black might have referred to the color of their leather jackets and bikes, Rebels
to the general take on society. The AMA clubs grouched about the film and the bad press it gave family-oriented bike
riders, even to the point of picketing some theaters. It should be noted that several of the actors in the film were
actual members of so-called outlaw clubs, but no "antisocial" behavior was noted on the set. While the film's hero, Johnny
Strabler, rode a Triumph, the bad guy, Chino, played perfectly by Lee Marvin, rode a Harley, further delineating "them
and us" in the public eye. Some of the heat against the film was directed at the One-Percenter inclination to "chop" valuable old Harleys, a crime that rubbed purists the wrong way. And through the film the American audience got
their first look at what would become the custom bike craze, which started with bobbed fenders and cut-off mufflers. Who knew the gritty look would eventually find itself covered in sparkling chrome?
Maybe the hot rod and custom car people who were already chopping and channeling Mercs and '39 Fords.
Two Voices from Harley: A Thumbs-Up and a Thumbs-Down "I thought The Wild One and the bad boy image it created was all pretty neat because I was always breaking the rules myself. I sympathized
with Marlon Brando's character. All he wanted was to be understood. Just like me." These are the words
of Jean Davidson, granddaughter of the Harley-Davidson founder Walter Davidson in her 2001 book Growing Up Harley-Davidson:
Memoirs of a Motorcycle Dynasty, a very cool read. Jean was in high school when she saw the flick and recounts
it effects on young people around her. She goes on to say, "My cousin Willie G. was riding a motorcycle, and he
was as clean cut as they came. Then there were the boys who were rough and tough and wore their black leather jackets
and boots to school. Naturally, every boy who felt misunderstood went out and bought a black leather jacket and starter
walking and talking like Marlon Brando. They didn't have bikes but they wanted to look like they did. I dated
a couple of them, and all they would ever talk about was the wild side of riding a Harley - and of course they pleaded with
me to ask my dad to get them a bike. I used to ask my dad about the bad-boy image but he would just shake his head and
say, 'Kids will be kids.'" However, others in Milwaukee didn't share this philosophical point of
view. Looking at decades of good reputation going down the media drain, Harley-Davidson's then president, William H.
Davidson, Willie G.'s father, was totally incensed by he film and the extreme image created by biker clubs of the time.
As Jean Davidson says, "Bill Davidson fought tooth and nail for decades to retain Harley-Davidson's clean-cut image."
And censors in apparently appalled England banned the movie for, believe it or not, fourteen years. It's
the Limey Bros While Harleys dominated the American scene during the 1950s (Indian expired in 1953, then was reborn
more or less in the 1990s), they had plenty of stiff upper lip competition, both on the street and on the track, in the form
of excellent motorcycles of British manufacture. Many of the Nicest People (and not a few One-Percenters) rode English
machines, although they were of a sportier plumage and personality than Harleys or the era, which were more cruiser in character.
However, Limey bikes often rode alongside Milwaukee iron in complete harmony. Let's not forget Johnny/Marlon in The Wild One was riding a Triumph (a Thunderbird model) and not a Harley, although people seem to get that confused.
So what's the story behind some of the best known U.K. machines? Today we've seen a rebirth of perhaps the most famous
of the Brit bikes, the Triumph, and you can buy Royal Enfield 350cc singles banded together in India that look (and ride)
exactly the way they did fifty years ago. But other famous marques, such as BSA, Vincent, Ariel, Norton, Brough-Superior,
AJS, and Matchless, have faded away (although Norton made several gasps as a comeback, notably with its Wankel rotary-engined
efforts). So let's make a detour to that island nation and have a look in is garage of goldie oldies. It
all started in the late 1940s, when the lighter, faster, cheaper Brit bikes started to swamp the U.S. market, much to the
chagrin of Milwaukee. Later on it would be Japan's turn to hammer the Harley-Davidson homegrown market. But the
Brit motorcycle industry held the high ground, producing over 70,000 bikes a year during the '60s, until it lost its grip
and self-imploded during the early 1970s. Since 1896, the English had pounded out motorized two-wheelers which,
in the United States, sprang out of bicycle builder workshops. Case in point, Triumph. Think Triumph, think British.
Except the company founded by two Germans, Siegfried Bettman and Mauritz Schulte. No, no the guys with the white tiger
in Vegas. In 1902, after building bicycles for five years, they launched their first mc, inching out Harley-Davidson
by a year. Then, in 1936, they were acquired by Ariel and handed over to the brilliant and innovative engineer Edward
Turner. He came up with the famous 498, say 500cc Speed Twin, a vertical twin design that would be the ancestor of all
the big Trumpets to come. It pumped out 20 hp and could hit 70 mph, a show winner back in 1937, when it wowed the world
of motorcycling. The most famous Triumph was no doubt the Bonneville, unleashed in 1959 and named after the famous Salt
Flats in Utah, where land speed records are made to be broken. Affectionately called the Bonnie, the classic beauty
was equipped with a 649cc, call is 650, engine good enough for 46 hp and a top speed of 110 mph. Following
several years' dormancy after the mid-1970s, Triumph was reborn in 1992 with a totally redesigned line of fine machines that
earned commendation and sales success. As of the 2001 model range, you had your choice of thirteen models, including
the top-of-the-line Trophy 1200 for about $12,000 and, yes, not one but two variations of a retro Bonneville running $7,000
to $8,000, testimony to the Bonnie's magic. As a prepubescent kid, this author got his first indelible impression of
a '60s Triumph Bonneville with TT pipes blasting by his mother's Oldsmobile. That one image set him down the motorcycle
path and resulted in the ownership of several Triumphs, with a special warm spot reserved for the 1966 - 1970 Bonnevilles,
true beauty in motion. Blimey, they are great bikes. Taking a look at the snortin' Nortons, you quickly see they ate up the
racetrack record books for decades, in fact winning the first of the famous British TT races on the Isle of Man in 1907.
Named after its founder, the chain makes James Landsdowne Norton, the company opened in 1901 and eventually created several
milestone machines, notably the venerable line of 350cc and 500cc single-cylinder Manx racers, introduced in 1927, which would
remain in production and winning races into the early 1960s and beyond. The beautiful beasts could clock 140 mph, and
later models featured the famous Norton Featherbed frame, still acknowledged or its fine handling. In 1948 they produced
their first vertical twin, which evolved in to the history-making Norton Commando in 1969. Featuring a potent 750, then
850cc engine, the bike stood out thanks to its innovative "isolastic" vibration-dampening frame design. So
excellent was the fine-handling, 115 mph machine that the Commando was voted Machine of the Year five years straight by Britain's
Motor Cycle News magazine. A factory racer, despite a 25 hp disadvantage to the competition, won the 1973 Formula
750 TT championship with Peter Williams aboard. Norton joined AJS and Matchless under the Associated Motor Cycles (AMC)
group in 1953; it was swallowed up by Manganese Bronze Holdings in 1966, and then Norton formed up with the Villiers and Triumph
group as part of NVT, at which point things went from bad to worse; bankruptcy diminished the famous name in 1997. In
the early 1980s an effort to build a new generation of Wankel rotary-engined bikes gasped and sputtered itself into oblivion.
This author has had the pleasure of experiencing a dozen Nortons over the years, his favorite being the 1969 Fastback Commando.
Slip on a pair of Dunstall exhausts and just listen to the music.
Of that notable trio of BSA, Triumph, and Norton, the Birmingham
Small Arms lineage of motorcycles was third in introduction, the year being 1906, but eventually it would become the largest
producer of motorcycles in Britain. Along with Norton, BSA became extinct in 1873. Noted for rugged and dependable
simplicity, BSA also brought us some hot dogs that still set the back of the neck all goose pimply. Considered the best
of the Brit single-cylindered machines, the 110 mph BSA Gold Star rightly earned ints name as a competition machine throughout
the 1950s; the most famous was the DBD34. In 1962, BSA brought out their A65 Lightning, a vertical twin that, though
relatively popular, paled in the shadow of its rivals, the Triumph and Norton twins. Friends and fans of the BSA's prefer
to call the Beezers. This writer's favorite was the mid-60s 650cc Spitfire, fast, light, and agile, and with a growl
close to Beeeeezzzzer! Many think BSA also had the best tank emblem going. We can speak
of AJS and Matchless in one breath, though not to diminish the shining pedigree of both; the two merged in 1931 under the
aegis of Associated Motor Cycles (AMC). AJS created some serious monsters, like the 1939 Supercharged V-four, a Grand
Prix racer and the first to do the ton (100 mph) on a GP track. During World War I, alongside Harley-Davidson WLAs,
more than 80,000 steadfast Matchless 350cc GL thumpers served in the British armed forces. They went on to civilian
use in the 1950s and were the first Brit bikes to sport telescopic forks. AJS's most famous racer, highly
coveted today, was the 350cc single, 110 mph 7R, often called the Boy Racer. Built from 1948 to 1962, it featured gold-painted
mag-alloy engine components that, complemented by the black paint jobs, make for a most handsome set of wheels. AJS
and Matchless expired in 1966, although their fans still keep the marque alive and well. When a biker
in the know hears the word Vincent, he know they're not talking D'Onofrio or Price or van Gogh for that matter, although you
could say there's a little of all three in the all-vanquishing Vincent. Dramatic, scary and masterfully artful execution
and performance, the HRD/Vincent occupies a special seat in the pantheon of motorcycle deities. Of mythological proportions,
the machines were brought to fruition by Philip Vincent, who acquired the rights to the HRD name in 1928. By 1934, in
conjunction with Phil Irving, Vincent debuted their first new machine, a 500cc single. Two years later they would plug
two of the singles together and unleash the Series A Rapide, capable of 110 mph. We're talking 1936, and good enough
to be called the fastest production vehicle, not just bike, on the road. However, it leaked oil like a sieve, but that
was cured by the Series B, the fifty-degree V-twin becoming a stressed member of the frame. It ran effortlessly at 100
mph and did well in the handling and braking department, too. In 1949 the Series C took on advanced telescopic forks.
But if you say Vincent, say, Black Shadow, the T. Rex of vintage bikes. Right out of the box, the big stand-up
Smith's speedometer could peg 120 mph plus. Rollie Free in 1948 took a Black Shadow to 150 mph at the Bonneville Salt
Flats wearing only a bathing suit in one of the most famous motorcycle photos of all time. The costly and beastly Vincents
growled their last in 1955. Although they went out of production during World War II, as the company
switched to aircraft, the incredible Brough-Superior machines still boggle the mind, and the pocketbook. Bearing the
name of their creator, W.E. Brough, the bikes first appeared in 1908. Heralded as the Rolls-Royces of motorcycles, the
awesome big V-twins were a class act every inch of the way. The most famous owner of a Brough ("bruff") was
T.E. Lawrence, of Lawrence of Arabia fame. He owned several Broughs, including an SS100 that he called George,
named in honor of his friend the writer George Bernard Shaw. The 100 referred to its guaranteed ability to do a hundred
miles per hour .... all day long. Unfortunately, Brough-Superiors are forever linked to Lawrence's death; he took his
last ride on his SS100 in 1935. In this guy's opinion, it was perhaps the most elegant yet purposeful motorcycle ever
made. While its name kinda sounds French or Italian, the company was born in 1904 as Veloce; the first
two-stroke Velocettes were actually built in 1913. The name Velocette itself inspires the sense of speed. They
stopped making two-strokes early on and focused on four-stroke engine designs, the most famous examples being the 350cc overhead
cam models beginning in 1925 and built until 1950. Freddie Frith (say that five times fast) was the 1949 350cc World
Champion on a Velocette. About the most famous of the line was the revered KTT Mark 8. About twenty years later
people were raving over the Velocette Thruxton Venom. The name said it all. Actually named after an English racetrack,
the powerful single won the 1967 500cc Production TT, testimony to its prowess. Velocette did themselves in when they
brought out a radical new bike, the LE, a 192cc side-valve flat-twin with a fully enclosed bodywork. Anticipated sales
appeal met disaster, although the bobbies liked its silent runny stealth for police work. Velocette switched off its
lights in 1971 as the sun set on the Golden Age of British motorcycle manufacture, taking with it several other notable efforts,
including Rudge, Scott, Sunbeam, Greeves, Panther, and Douglas, examples of which still ply the roads thanks to dedicated
enthusiasts.
1955: Harley Stands Alone When Indian fully faded from the picture, Harley-Davidson was top dog as the last
surviving U.S. bike maker. Since they had pepped up the K model a year earlier, they now focused on the FL, adding some
more ponies, including manifolds cast into the heads. The new high-performance FLH was a hit, the H standing for hopped
up. Hopped-Up, by the way, apparently refers to the hops in Milwaukee's famous been and the way mass consumption
made drinkers act. In case you're writing a dictionary, hop-heads, by contrast, referred to drug users at the
time, maybe because they were seen hopping around chasing those pink elephants. In any case, both One-Percenters and the Nicest People - let's call them NPs because I'm tired of
writing the words over and over again - could buy themselves a 60 hp FLH and for fifteen bucks more get the optional compensating
sprocket to cut down on drive-line lash. The price tag in '55 for a standard FL was around $1,015; another $68 would
get you the hotter FLH. In keeping with the atmosphere of impending mutual mass destruction mixed with America as number
one on the planet, you could spruce up your new FLH in "atomic blue with champion yellow side panels." 1956: There Are Two Kings Now: Elvis and the FLH Things continue to speed up, including new fuel-injected Chevys and
Elvi's hips and hits ("Love Me Tender," "Hound Dog," "Heartbreak Hotel"). In America workers
are taking home an average of $74 per week; the minimum wage has been raised to $1.00 an hour. That means if you work
about 1,200 hours you can buy yourself a new Harley. The beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg publishes Howl, in which
he writes, "I have seen the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness." Maybe it's because they got
a look at the new French starlet .... Brigitte Bardot. And in the see-saw battle of the Cold War era Olympics, this
year's games in Melbourne, Australia, see the USSR coming out on top with the most medals. Bros are often into two wheels and four, and see tire-melting action on both official
and "outlaw" tracks across the country. An estimated 350,000 "hot rodders" flock to the sport, with
over a million spectators filling the bleachers. Drag racing is also recognized as a major moneymaking venture, and
sponsors start lining up as what was once anti-social behavior gets socially accepted via the cash register. The first recognized Harley drag racer of note was one Mike Tucker,
who campaigned a basically stock FLH that had been stripped and treated to some tuning tweaks. Other racers that dragged
Harley to the quarter-mile in Pomona, California, were Joe Smith, Ken Tipton, and Bob George, the last building a monster
double-engined Harley-Davidson called the Beast. While
One-Percenters were influenced by what they saw, and felt, at the drag strip, other less oulawish Bros were feeling the custom
fever. The outlaw bikers had generally chopped off extra weight to make their bikes go faster; now designers were manufacturing
and selling lightweight components - gas tanks, seats, oil tanks - the legitimizing of choppers would lead to a Golden Age
of custom motorcycles. The basis for a "custom" bike was the Harley, although Triumphs, and even Japanese
bikes, were treated to the individualistic treatment. The
One-Percenters now were forming organized clubs, with political clout gaining momentum. They even became legally incorporated
and were prepared to sue publications and journalists that criticized their doings. The times they were a-changing ....
Meanwhile the Motor Co. refused to acknowledge the
chopper movement, and authorized dealers still wouldn't put a wrench to an "outlaw" bike, i.e., a chopper.
Of the total sales of 11,906 Harleys in '56, the
largest single number was the FLHF at 2,315, a measure of its popularity. Introduced in '53, these Big Twin OHV 74s
featured foot shifters, thus the F designation. Price: $1,123. 1957: Sputnik, Sportsters, and Sideburns 1957 was a pivotal year for the Bro's world, for rock 'n' roll, and for Harley-Davidson. While the Soviets
take the cake for placing the first artificial satellite (187 pounds) into Earth orbit as the Space Race heats up the Cold
War, Milwaukee launches its own sensation: the XL, better know as the Sportster, better known as the Sporty. Made
to meet the threat of Brit sport bikes, built upon the back of the "underwhelming" K model, the 883cc V-Twin tipped
the scales at 495 pounds and blasted across the American psyche at just over 100 mph, all for $1,013. The Sportster
figured into the current American hot rod fever, the Horsepower Wars signaled by Detroit's V-8 power plants. The short-stroke
Sporty engine, albeit with only 40 hp, was Harley's hot rod motorcycle, a relative term when compared with the FL movable
couches. The first Sporties, dressed out in pepper red and black, carried the proved ironheads, though heavy, buckhorn
handlebars, and biggish fuel tanks, so they ranked somewhere in the sport-touring class, although One-Percenters and NPs were
quick to look for more steam, Milwaukee cooked up higher-compression models a few years down the road. The famous peanut tank would soon replace the bigger tank, while the
new for '58 XLCH, a rip-snortin' "Competition Hot" model turned heads .... away from the Brit bikes. Those
in the know thought the 1962 Sportster was the fastest of them all, and it often appeared at drag strips. In fact, not
until 1972 would any other stock motorcycle keep pace with the hard-charging '62 Sporty. In 1967, the Sporster got electric
starts; by '68 there was no more kicker starter, a tearful moment for the purists and One-Percenters who thought real bikes
had to be kicked over. Buy by '68 the 40 hp had jumped to 58, relatively fearsome for the day. Such was the panache
of the Sporty that it was chosen as the ride for a new TV show called Then Came Bronson starring Michael Parks in
1969. By 1971, the engine had grown to 1000cc,
but the feds started making things difficult, imposing all kinds of restrictions that affected both style and performance.
Yet the Sportster carried on, and customizers retro-fixed most of those annoyances. In 1977 Willie G. would create a
controversial version, the limited edition XLCR or Cafe' Racer, all dressed out in black "ultramodern" styling.
This gamble got mixed reviews, and sales were not setting the bean counters on fire back in Milwaukee. Produced for
only two model years, fewer than 3,400 CRs were built. Now of course they're worth their weight in gold as people have
finally figured out what incredibly cool bikes they were. This writer was fortunate to own one and loved the gnarly
beast; I would certainly like to see the CR design replicated with the new Twin Cam or even V-Rod engine. Then there was the 1983 XR1000, a.k.a. AMA Battle of the Twins road
racing model, with dual Dell'Orto pumpers, XR750 pipes, and aluminum heads. You could say the fearsome burner lived
up to the original intention of the first XLs, pumping out 70 hp and boasting styling with real attitude ... but you couldn't
give these bikes away when they appeared in dealer showrooms, or so it seemed. Twenty-some years later and they're "historic
collectibles." Time heals all sales wounds, especially with Harleys. The Sporster was a gamble for Harley-Davidson, a bold one, and a surprise .... something the Motor
Co. would keep giving the motorcycling world for decades to come. It would become a living legend, an internationally
recognized motorcycle icon, and an awesome success story for Harley-Davidson. 
TV Ads and Tobacco Take Hits in '57 In 1957, in addition to Sportsters, and Sputnik, the country
was all incensed over sideburns - the One-Percenters, a.k.a. outlaws, hooligans, hoodlums, et cetera, going for the hairy thing, the NPs still close-cropped, yet the boundaries
are starting to blur. A twenty-year old Unniversity of Pennsyslvania track star resigns from the team rather then shave
of his Evis-inspired sideburns. He says, "It doesn't make you a hoodlum just wearing sideburns." The
athlete is also studying acting. His name is Bruce Dern .... ring any bells" Speaking of "outlaw" influences, the duck-tail haircut of DA, a.k.a. duck's ass, can get you canned in high school. Echoing the prevalent
"rebel" attitude in a different way, Henry Fonda portrays a dissenting juror seeking justice in the classic film
12 Angry Men, which means to characterize the times in which Bros find themselves. The government cracks down on "false advertising," citing several supposed
arthritis ointments, while a report establishes a link between smoking and lung cancer, which or course the cig syndicate
denies for decades to come. While the Nicest People listen to Pat Boone croon, the One-Percenters prefer the new Alan Freed Rock 'n' Roll prime time TV network specials, and the Everly Brothers have a hit with "Wake
up Little Susie." Seems the sinners are getting the upper hand. A report states, "The problem of juvenile
delinquency has reached epidemic proportions throughout the world. Experts have traded the crisis to worldwide breakdown
of order that followed in the wake of World War II, and point out that the juvenile delinquent most often lacks a suitable home environment." A lot of these
"disaffected youth" from gangs minus motorcycles. 1958: U.S. Gets Spaced, Lima Beans Nixon, and Harley Debuts the Duo-Glide Vanguard rockets are placing the U.S. satellites into orbit, Richard Nixon gets
booed big time while in his "Goodwill Tour" to Lima, Peru, and Milwaukee adds rear suspension to the Hydra Glide, renaming it the Duo Glide .... duo as in two shock absorbers or a duet of front hydraulic shock suspension, take your pick. Nineteen fifty-eight
was now selling 12,000 bikes a year with hand shifters edging out tank shifters. Gone were the hardtail factory frames,
comfort being the new watchword as more riders were coming on-board. Naturally customizers and the One-Percenters where
chopping the new Duo Glides, much to the horror of the NP element. 1959:
Foreboding Announcement from the Land of the Rising Sun The
Soviets are soaring past the Moon with probes while Buddy Holly, the "Big Bopper," and Ritchie "La Bamba"
Valens go the other way in a plane crash that leaves Bros of all categories stunned. In 1959 the deluxe Duo Glides were the unequaled champions of the road, the FLs and FLHs lauded as the most luxurious and most popular road machines in America. "One ride and you'll decide it's a Harley-Davidson
for you" read the '59 factory ad. It
was late in the year, November to be exact, when a small announcement first appeared in Floyd Clymer's Cycle magazine.
Though mostly unnoticed, it would shake up the Bros's world like no other. The ad mentioned the availability of a 50cc
moped-like bike from Japan, the Honda Cub. It also spotlighted the 250cc and 300cc Dream, good for 84 mph and 91 mph
respectively. Proclaimed "the most dependable motorcycle," the Hondas featured electric start. Just
push a button and you could trundle away on a cute little smooth running .... motorcycle, a machine the NPs could cuddle with
in their garage and even let their daughters ride. It was from some company named after some guy named Honda.
The first machines were literally sold off a truck at a street corner in Los Angeles. The ad was in many respects the trumpet blare announcing a whole new era in motorcycling
that would both harm and ultimately help Harley-Davidson and certainly rock the Bro's world .... that of the One-Percenters and the NPs and everybody in between. In
his book A Treasury of the Motorcycles of the World, published in 1965, Floyd Clymer describes how it all came down,
and we quote (and hope we don't get a bunch of lawyers bugging us) from the original because it captures the flavor or the
times and because we like to hear Floyd's voice, an important one in the history of motorcycling: The first we heard of the Japanese Honda was when a U.S. Air Force
Captain stationed in Japan sent us some interesting photos and a short story about Mr. S. Honda and his motorcycle factory.
This was about 1955. Through correspondence, in the fall of 1958, arrangements were made for the company to send the
first Honda to come back into the United States to Cycle magazine for a road test which appeared in the December,
1958 issue. The machine attracted a great deal of attention and had some unique features. Honda then started their
advertising campaign, which was to become a fantastic one, by using twelve full-page ads in Cycle magazine.
As a result of interest created and the letters and telegrams from U.S. dealers and enthusiasts, Honda decided to open a U.S.
branch. Mr. K. Kawashima, who was to become the Managing Director in the United States, came from Japan. Mr William
Hunt, who had been in the Air Force in Japan, was with him, an in our first talk they announced plans for entering the U.S.
market. At the same their sales promotions ideas seemed fantastic and seemingly unobtainable. They first considered
having their main offices in Houston, Texas, apparently because the port facilities there seemed most desirable. I suggested,
however, that Houston was a long distance from the major markets in the United States and they should locate either on the
East or West Coast or Chicago or Detroit. Their decision later was to locate in Los Angeles where they started and later
built a very fine building nearby Gardena where U.S. Honda business is handled today. At first there appeared to be some resentment among many U.S. dealers feeling
that Honda would cut into their business. What actually happens was that Honda, through their advertising and promotional
efforts, helped to create a new interest in motorcycle business which resulted in increased business of motorcycling importers
and dealers in competitive makes. At the end of what are called the Fabulous Fifties, Bros were enjoying the benefits
of Velcrok Metrecal, and the first Sony transistor TV sets. Now what could the '60s do to beat all that? 
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