6. In the 1970s, Porsche developed a liquid-cooled four-cylinder V-engine for Harley-Davidson
In the mid-1970s, they started designing a motorcycle that would now be called mid-sized sports and touring bikes. Star was equipped with a compact V-shaped four-cylinder 800-cubic engine with a liquid cooling system and a 60-degree angle of the collapse of the cylinder block. The engine was created by the designers of Porsche, and it was planned that the motorcycle will be available in three versions: racing, sports, and cruiser. Then the company H-D was in an awkward position under the wing of yank Machine (AMF), whose management began to realize that it was time to reduce costs and look for a buyer for Harley-Davidson. As a result, the star project, for which about $9 million was invested, was canceled.
5. The record for jumping on Harleys is not held by Evel Knievel
Knievel is probably the most famous trickster, famous for his motorcycle tricks (including Harleys), but he no longer holds the record for the longest jump. In 1975, he was able to jump forty.5 meters on his XR-750, flying fourteen buses. But in 2008, Bubba Blackwell broke the record by jumping forty seven.8 meters on the XR-750.
While Blackwell set the record for the Harley-Davidson XR-750, the longest jump on the Harley was made by Seth Enslow in 2010. The trickster uses the modified XR1200 to jump at fifty-five and a half meters.
4. H-D won the world championship in motorcycle circuit racing
In 1960, Harley-Davidson bought five hundredth shares of the Italian factory Aermacchi, buying it out in 1974. The Italian two-stroke racing bikes were renamed "Harleys" and won three consecutive championships in the class of 250-cubic bikes (1974-1976) with the racer Walter Villa driving RR-250. Villa then won the title in the 350cc Harley-Davidson class in 1977.
Harley-Davidson also tried to return to the AMA Superbike championship in 1994 with its VR1000. The bike was created in cooperation with Porsche, but the car was expensive and not very effective. Many riders participated in this bike races, but could not win.
3. "Harleys" were made in Japan
Since the early 1930s, the Japanese company Rikuo burning Company has been producing motorcycles under license from Harley-Davidson. Later, the name of the company was shortened to Rikuo (the name is supposed to mean "King of the Earth" or "King of the Continent"), and a total of almost eighteen teen thousand motorcycles were produced in the period from 1937 to 1942, many of which were adopted by the armed forces and police stations. Production of Rikuo continued after World War II until 1958.
2. The company produced two-stroke engines since 1948
Harley-Davidson is primarily known for its large V-shaped two-cylinder engines, but the company did not ignore the practicality of small two-stroke engines. After the victory of the Allies in the Second World War the trophies were distributed between Harley-Davidson and British company BSA. The American manufacturer received a reliable two-stroke single-cylinder engine DKW. Harley-Davidson Model S a hundred twenty-five, which later became Hummer, appeared in 1948 with the official price of $325 and modest declared power - 3 horsepower. The bike was not very popular in the U.S., but it was thanks to him that young people learned the joy of riding a motorcycle at an affordable price. The Hummer family eventually grew to 175cc street and cross-country models produced before 1967. They were replaced by Rapido a hundred twenty-five and Baja one hundred with two-stroke Aermacchi engines.
1. Harley-Davidson made the in-line four-cylinder engine
In the mid-60s, the popularity of four-cylinder motorcycles was growing, especially in Europe, and Harley-Davidson decided to launch a four-cylinder transversely located engine at the design stage and even created a wooden model for designing a chassis with it. In the late '60s marketing department of H-D decided that the transverse configuration with air cooling will not be successful in the U.S. market. Then, in 1969, the four-cylinder Honda CB750 was released and hit the world.