Harley-Davidson 1903-1968

Harley-Davidson is probably the most famous name in motorcycling history. Over the last 100 years, the company has earned a truly legendary reputation. And Harley-Davidson is more than simply a motorcycle maker—it represents an approach to engineering and styling that is essentially American.

In this pictorial history of the first decades of the world-famous motorcycle manufacturer, John Carroll uses rare archive photographs to show the evolution of the Harley-Davidson from the pioneering machines of the early 1900s to the end of the Panhead era. His book is a sympathetic and expert guide for all Harley-Davidson owners and enthusiasts and for everyone who enjoys motorcycling history.

The author describes how the Harley-Davidson company survived and prospered despite the Depression, two world wars, technical challenges and changes and fundamental shifts in the motorcycle market. He recalls the conception of the robust V-twin engine which has been at the heart of Harley-Davidson motorcycles for almost a century. The company has always favored consistent improvement over radical redesign, and the much-refined V-twin still powers the Harley-Davidsons of the present day.

The book illustrates the wide variety of types of Harley-Davidson that have been produced—military and sidecar versions, machines for police patrol work and escort duty and for racing, including on American dirt tracks, where Harley has dominated for decades—and the first customized Harleys of the mid-1960s. But the author concentrates of telling the story of the long line of strong, simple, powerful street bikes that are just the mainstay of Harley-Davidson's reputation.

John Carroll's closely researched history of the first sixty-five years of Harley-Davidson offers a fascinating insight into the career of America's longest-lived motorcycle.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Chronology
Early Days, 1903-1919
The Roaring '20s
From Depression to War, 1930-1939
Second World War
The Postwar Boom, 1946-1954
Panhead to Shovelhead, 1955-1968
Acknowledgments
Bibliography

About the Author

John Carroll is a motoring and motorcycling writer with a special interest in four-wheel drive vehicles, trucks, and American motorcycles. He has written extensively on the history of Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles.