American Iron Magazine Presents 1001 Harley-Davidson Facts. Tyler Greenblatt
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tables at a fraternity house to pay for tuition. In later life, he became one of the wealthiest men in Wisconsin.
95 In 1915, Carl Peterson and his wife (whose name is unknown) took their Harley-Davidson to Europe to enjoy a tour of the continent, beginning in Scandinavia. Unfortunately, World War I had erupted in Europe the year before. As they were about to head to Germany from Sweden, they were advised to return home to the United States. Carl said that the Swedish riders were extremely impressed with the power of his motorcycle and, although the trip didn’t end as he would have liked, the Harley-Davidson “performed perfectly.”
96 In 1901, Bill Harley and Arthur Davidson attended a performance by French stage performer and singer Anna Held at Milwaukee’s Bijou Theater. As part of her performance, Held rode a shiny French motor-powered bicycle across the stage. The 20-year-olds were likely the only men in the audience who paid more attention to the vehicle than the performer. This is the earliest recorded instance of Harley and Davidson actually seeing a motorcycle, although it’s believed that they had seen at least one previous demonstration in their home city.
97 Legend has it that when Arthur and Bill built a carburetor for their first experimental engine, they crafted the body from a tomato soup can. According to historian Herbert Wagner, it’s more likely that the carburetor simply resembled a tomato can and was therefore given that nickname. Perhaps not surprisingly, they had trouble getting the fuel to flow properly, so they took it to a close friend, Ole Evinrude. At the time, Ole was a friend who had to row his boat out to his favorite fishing spot, just like everybody else. It was on one of these rows that Arthur and Ole thought up the idea for a small engine to power a rowboat. The idea was similar to Arthur and Bill and their need for a motorized bicycle.
98 The March 31, 1914, edition of the Milwaukee Journal featured an article titled “Harley-Davidson Motor Co.: Its Marvelous Growth and Development, Hum Of Wheels Spins Romance – True Tale Reads Like Fiction.” This is one of the earliest pieces of writing that examines the history of Harley-Davidson and uses direct quotes from the founders; these quotes have been used repeatedly in articles since then. Much of the company’s early history, correct or not, has been based on his writing.
99 A letter that Steven J. Sparough wrote, dated April 15, 1912, has become one of the most instrumental tools for historians to piece together The Motor Company’s early history. In his letter, Sparough says that his Harley-Davidson, which had 51,000 miles on it when he bought it, was the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle ever built. He says it was built in 1903 and sold in 1904 to Henry Meyer. The bike was then transferred through several Chicago area owners: Geo. W. Lyon, Dr. Webster, and Louis Fluke. Sparough bought the machine in 1907 after the previous owners managed all those miles, which makes his 1903 year of manufacture seem very likely.
This is the only known photograph of a pre-1905 Harley-Davidson and it is believed to be the very first motorcycle that the company built. That’s Steven J. Sparough standing behind it, the man whose surviving 1912 letter was pivotal in tracing The Motor Company’s early history. (Photo Courtesy Harley-Davidson)
100 On April 30, 1905, Arthur Davidson set off from Milwaukee to Cambridge, Wisconsin, to deliver a motorcycle to his friend, postal carrier Peter Olson. The 50-mile trip took Arthur 5-1/2 hours according to the Cambridge News, and officially made Olson one of the earliest (possibly the second) owners of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
101 After performing well at the Milwaukee Motordrome in 1914, Harley-Davidson racing manager Bill Ottaway invited Leslie “Red” Parkhurst to become the first member of The Motor Company’s race team. Parkhurst piloted the new racebike to victory in most of the initial regional races in which he competed; then they decided to take on a big national race. Parkhurst and five other racers went to Dodge City, Kansas, to compete in the July 4, 1914, Dodge City 300. The H-Ds ran fast, but by the end of racing on the 2-mile track, only two of the six were still running. Nevertheless, Harley-Davidson had entered the world of professional racing, and Parkhurst went on to be one of its biggest stars.
102 Harley-Davidson’s first recorded championship race win was on October 5, 1914 at the 1-hour Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) Birmingham race. Of course, riding a Bill Ottaway-prepped factory 11-K racer was none other than Red Parkhurst. On lap 33, Parkhurst entered the pits with a fuel problem. While there, he tried to clean the dirt and oil from his goggles, but his handkerchief was so dirty that he asked for help from a spectator with a clean hankie. Parkhurst reentered the race and won. An official protest was filed shortly after the race ended, claiming that Parkhurst received illegal aid from a spectator. In the interest of safety, the protest was denied, and Parkhurst was given the championship title.
103 The first Harley-Davidson sold specifically for police use went to the Detroit Police Department in 1908. At the time, the United States had less than 200 miles of paved roads, and automobiles were still very expensive. The only logical solution to the horse was the iron horse, and Harley-Davidson was proving itself dependable, so it was an easy decision. Today, police bikes are separate models from civilian models and have a variety of different equipment. However, the first police bikes differed little from their civilian counterparts. They still offered incredible duty performance in terms of speed, longevity, and the cost of purchase and operation.
104 Initially, three of the four founders wanted no part in racing their motorcycles. They were designed for practicality and durability, not speed and performance. Walter Davidson, the pro-racing founder, began campaigning his personal motorcycle in local events in 1905. He won a handful of Milwaukee-area races, including a hillclimb event over the next couple of years.
105 In 1908, Walter decided that he and his motorcycle could handle much stiffer competition, and headed to New York to compete in the FAM Endurance and Reliability Contest, which covered 365 miles from the Catskills, around Long Island, and ended in New York City. And this was a challenge with very few roads. Unlike his competitors who had automobiles filled with mechanics and spare parts, Walter rode alone with no spare parts. When the dust settled, Walter won the race handily; he earned a perfect score on both days of the event, something never before achieved. In fact, he was awarded an additional five bonus points over his perfect 1,000 for the impeccable consistency of his riding abilities and his motorcycle.
Walter Davidson stands beside his trusty 1908 single; this motorcycle earned him first-place awards at both endurance and fuel mileage events. It’s difficult to believe that this early contraption could be so reliable, but The Motor Company built them that way then, and now! (Photo Courtesy Harley-Davidson)
106 Fresh off his win at the FAM Endurance Run, Walter competed in the FAM Economy Run a week later. Competitors were tested on how far they and their motorcycle could travel on 1 gallon of gas. Walter finished far ahead of the competition, achieving 188.234 mpg on his stock bike. With these back-to-back FAM wins, Harley-Davidson quickly became known as one of the premier motorcycle manufacturers in the country. And these two wins showed off the exact attributes of the H-D motorcycle that the founders wanted to portray to their buyers. Even so, Walter remained the only founder intent on pursuing factory racing.
107 In 1914, Harley-Davidson could no longer sit on the sidelines as its rival Indian continued to win races around the country, including motordrome boardtrack races in Milwaukee. And so, Bill Harley, by now very much a proponent of racing, established a racing department at the company and hired William “Bill” Ottaway to take charge. Bill Ottaway had one of the greatest minds in racing, and he set to work developing a racer that could take on Indian and the rest.
108 While it certainly wasn’t the first Harley-Davidson to go racing, or even the first racing V-twin, the 6E stock racer brought to market in 1910 was the first factory race bike from Harley-Davidson. This V-twin model retailed at $275, and was only sold to customers who were established