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Motorcycle Views Newsletter for 11/08/2015

By Walter F. Kern

 Motorcycle Views Newsletter

Vol. 9, No. 24, November 8, 2015

Articles of Interest on Motorcycle Views:

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Recent Additions to the Motorcycle Views Website:

Harley-Davidson History and a Quiz:

Learn about Harley-Davidson Motorcycle History and Take a Harley-Davidson Quiz Too

The Beginnings of Harley-Davidson

Whole libraries could be built to house all the information that has been gathered regarding the history of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. For those wanting just a little bit of that history, read on and then take our Harley-Davidson quiz. This article is part of a series of motorcycle history lessons and quizzes.

Some may think they already know a lot about the Motor Company, its history and its machines. Perhaps you would like to take a history quiz on Harley-Davidson and skip the rest of this article. That's OK. You may want to come back later for more information.

Here's your chance to take the Harley-Davidson History Quiz now. (Currently, the quiz does not work on mobile devices.) However, I hope you will first want to read more about Harley-Davidson motorcycle history before you take the Harley-Davidson quiz.

The following is a short potpourri of the history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Use it to satisfy yourself that you know Harley-Davidson history now or as a stepping stone to learning more Harley-Davidson motorcycle history later on. There will be a quiz at the end.

Harley-Davidson is a survivor. The Motor Company, as it is affectionately known, was founded in Milwaukee in 1903 by William Harley and the Davidson brothers, Arthur and Walter. Shortly thereafter, William Davidson joined the group. The first motorcycle that Harley sold was the so-called Silent Gray Fellow that had a single cylinder DeDion-Bouton engine. The Harley and Davidson families continued to be a part of the growing success of the company. Even today, the grandson of William Davidson, "Willie G." Davidson, is Vice President of Styling.

There have been numerous engines used by Harley-Davidson and each seems to have received a popular name to distinguish it from all the others. The first popular engine was the Flathead introduced in 1936 that was a side-valve engine. At the same time Harley introduced the Knucklehead, an overhead-valve design. The popular engine names are derived from the look of the top of the engine. The Panhead, introduced in 1948, was actually a new top end to the Knucklehead engine. The Shovelhead engine, introduced in 1966, was again a new top end to the previous Panhead design. Most recently, the Motor Company has produced the Evolution engine (Blockhead), the Twin Cam 88 and the Twin Cam 88B that is counterbalanced. The Twin Cam engines are being called the Fat Head engines.

Many Harley riders cringe when they talk about the AMF years. Harley was forced to merge with American Machine and Foundry (AMF) in 1969. AMF was best known as a manufacturer of bowling balls and sports equipment. These were the years that reliability of the H-D machine suffered most and Harleys "marked their territory" with oil spots. There were bright spots from the alliance though in that at least Harley-Davidson was able to stay afloat financially and grow. In 1981 the company was bought back by a group of H-D executives including Willie G. Davidson.

The Harley models have gone through a dizzying array of letter and number designations over the years. One almost needs a scorecard to figure out what someone means by FXRS, FLHTCUI, or FXSTSB. The ever popular Sportster model always begins with an X such as XLH. Sportsters were first built in 1957 making them the longest production run for a model currently being sold by H-D.

Harley-Davidson motorcycles are part and parcel of the American fabric. They have appeared in numerous movies. Who can forget the thrilling ride of Arnold Schwarzenegger on a Fat Boy in Terminator 2? What a ride! However, Marlon Brando in The Wild One did not ride a Harley. He was on a Triumph.

Read more about Harley-Davidson including: How Harley began a campaign to take the shake out of its engines, and then take the Harley-Davidson Quiz.

The picture above is a 1920 Harley-Davidson Sport model submitted by Louie Hale.

Selected Motorcycle Story - Riding, Icing & Sliding by Jeff Ross (Bonedoggy):

This takes place in December 1972 while I was stationed at Ft Hood Texas and about 19 years old. Back then you had to wear a helmet in Texas. I remember this incident very well, have not exaggerated or embellished it, and I even remember the names of the other riders.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and myself and three friends were returning from the weekend in Dallas. I was solo on my CB 450 in the rear, with John W. on a CB 350 Scrambler (driver and passenger) and Kenny N. on a CB 500 solo up front. We drove those little things everywhere; they seemed like real road machines then. Normally no problem. This day however there was a sudden severe storm developing and we were on I-35 South refusing to exercise good judgment and stop. One of those deals where the temperature drops 30 degrees in a couple hours. It was raining turning to sleet and the temperatures were dropping rapidly but we were cold and wet and so decided to push on and get back because really there was no other good option, or so it seemed at the time. Driving very carefully of course, can you believe this? Sound like a typical recipe for disaster? "Duh!" had not been invented yet.

Icing began just south of Waco. The helmets with face shields were at least keeping our faces from freezing. The daytime speed limit then was 70, and we were doing at least 50. Somewhere just short of Temple, spaced out and running with the flow of traffic, the CB 500 was going over a bridge (just a culvert overpass really) and just went down before my eyes. Boom! Wow! It happened so fast - no skid - it seemed like it just collapsed. Next the 350, with passenger, went down. Oh-Oh . . . No time to brake or swerve (plus I was numb from the cold), physics was totally in charge. As soon as I hit the bridge down I went too. So there we are, four people, three bikes, sliding down the bridge on a sheet of ice like glass. This is a problem yes, but the potential bigger problem was, as I noticed as I went round and round on my back, the semi bearing down on us from the rear, and cars behind him sliding all over trying to get control. As I am spinning round on the ice, I am watching the driver of the cab-over semi sliding left and right across both lanes, heaving on the wheel and trying to slow it down without jack-knifing. I experienced that slow motion effect. I was trying to kinda swim a backstroke on the ice in desperate attempt to get to the shoulder - but just kept going straight along with the rest of the pack. The things you do when you are faced with do or die . . . We slid along for what seemed like forever, finally stopping spread out across the two lanes. The bikes slid a bit further than we did ...

Now read the complete story by clicking here.

Today's Motorcycle Views Poll:

I'm running one new Motorcycle Views Poll in each issue of the newsletter. Please participate in each poll so we can all find out what's happening in motorcycling.

Here's Poll No. 26: Where do you go first to get an answer to a motorcycle question?

The latest Motorcycle Views Poll also appears on the front page of the Motorcycle Views website.

ALL Motorcycle Views Polls

Today's How-To:

I will be featuring one of my How-Tos in each issue of the newsletter.

How To Start a Motorcycle

ALL Motorcycle How-Tos

My New Book:

As mentioned last time, I am now writing my fourth book on motorcycling. It will be a small introductory book.

The book was inspired by my Audible producer who was looking for a 2-hour audio on motorcycles.

I have completed the content of the book. I expect it to be released before Christmas.

It will have Kindle, paperback, and Audible editions.

50 Wild Motorcycle Tales - New Book 2 - I Need Your Help:

It appears that there may be a demand for a 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales - Book 2 in my future. It would be my fifth book. I will be writing some new stories of my own but I want to solicit from you any motorcycle stories you have written or might write to be part of the new book. These stories must involve real events that happened to you while you were motorcycling. You must be the author of the story. Send me stories if you wish to see your work in my new book.

Motorcycle Picture of the Month:

Motorcycle Picture of the Month - November, 2015 - 2001 Indian Drifter:
See the latest Picture of the Month and previous pictures. If you'd like to be considered for Picture of the Month, send me a picture and description of your bike. Submit Picture.

My Book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, is also available as an Audiobook (Audible) Edition on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible:

My new audiobook makes a great gift for those who want to listen instead of read.

I mentioned in previous Motorcycle Views newsletters that I would soon have an audiobook edition of my book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales. On April 14, 2015, that became a reality. The audiobook is available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.

If you click the book cover (or click here), you can listen to a 5-minute sample of the audiobook and hear all three narrators, including one female voice and me.

Should you decide to buy and download the audiobook, I'd welcome any Amazon online reviews you might want to write after you have listened to the audiobook.

Remember, this new audiobook edition is also available for download on iTunes. That means you can access it on all your Apple devices including your iPhone and iPad.

Here are some very popular articles on the Motorcycle Views Site. Take a look:

Latest Motorcycle Pictures:

See the latest received pictures by category.



"This is my 2003 Honda Shadow Spirit 750. I have named her Ruby ... more. -- Luis Marrero"

My Motorcycle Books:

I hope you will take a look at my three motorcycle books, available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com. These books make great, inexpensive gifts. In fact, you can purchase all three for less than $25 total. As I mentioned above, you will also be able to download each of the three color Kindle books FREE, IF you buy the corresponding paperback first.

My first book, Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle, was first published in 2011 but only as a Kindle edition. It was revised in 2014 and also made available in a paperback edition. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

My second book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, contains a collection of stories that originally were only available on my website. Fifty of these stories were selected, intensively edited, and compiled into the book. I wrote five of the stories. The book is available in both paperback, Kindle, and audiobook (Audible) editions. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com. The Audible edition is also available for immediate download on iTunes and Audible.

My third book, Motorcycle Haiku Poetry, also available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle editions, contains haiku poems about motorcycles.

A surprising number of visitors to my site quickly caught on and enjoyed haiku poetry that had been submitted to me over the years from motorcyclists. Haiku is a simple poem of three lines with five syllables in the first and last lines and seven in the second line. Here's a sample haiku poem:

Very Nasty

My motorcycle
Evil, wicked, mean, nasty
A harley panhead

—Preacher

They are easy to write, and most riders like to read them. I coupled each haiku poem with a motorcycle picture and description that tied into the poem itself. I wrote seven of the haiku poems. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

I have reduced the price of my three Kindle editions to $0.0 (FREE) IF you also first purchase the corresponding paperback edition. That way you can always have the book with you if you have a tablet or smartphone with you. None of the paperbacks has color pictures in them owing to the high price of producing a book with color. However, every Kindle edition has color pictures, so the Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle and Motorcycle Haiku Poetry Kindle books are in full color.

Polar Bear Grand Tour Runs to Cape May, NJ and Lewes, DE:

Since the last Newsletter, the Polar Bear Grand Tour has completed runs to Cape May, NJ and Lewes, DE. Click this link (or the picture) to see some of the pictures as they appear on Facebook.

All the pictures and videos for these runs can be found by clicking the following links: Cape May, NJ and Lewes, DE.

The Polar Bears consist of 550 riders from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware, who ride each Sunday to a different prescribed destination where they sign-in and receive points. There is, usually, a restaurant at or near the destination. It gets cold, windy, and snowy on these rides. I've been a Polar Bear member for more than 20 years, and I built and continue to maintain their website.

The picture to the right was taken at Cape May, NJ.

Help Grow Motorcycle Views:

The Motorcycle Views Website is here for you. We encourage you to submit a story, picture, poem, salvage yard recommendation, user review of your own bike, tattoo, YouTube video you made of your bike, motorcycle tip, etc. These will be evaluated for inclusion into one of our major features. Send us a submission today and share part of your motorcycling experience with our many readers. Read how to make a submission.

Send In Your Pictures:

We love pictures of your motorcycles. Even better is a picture of you with your bike. We also like descriptions of bikes so tell us all about your bike. What accessories do you have? What special paint job do you have? How long have you been riding? Tell us more. Women riders are especially requested to send their pictures in. Submit a Picture.

The Motorcycle Views Website is Also on your Smartphone or Tablet:

Are you relying more and more on your cellphone or tablet and less and less on your PC or MAC? Remember that all that great motorcycling information on Motorcycle Views is as near as your cellphone. It's also in a new format designed to fit your portable screen. Check us out anywhere you need motorcycle information.

Be sure to check out the Home Page on Motorcycle Views. It keeps changing daily, now containing links to hundreds of my original articles and features including Makes and Models, Picture Galleries, Motorcycle FAQ, Motorcycle Tips, Motorcycle How-Tos, Rallies, Videos and Movies, and User Reviews.

Social Media:

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Walter F. Kern's Author Page on AmazonThanks again for coming along for the ride in this new edition of the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. -- Walter.

For New Subscribers:

Expect newsletters on Sunday afternoon every other week.

Please understand that the Motorcycle Views Newsletter is NOT the Motorcycle Views website. The newsletter provides a few links to content on the Motorcycle Views website. Once you click a link in the newsletter, you'll be getting access to content on the Motorcycle Views site.

If you'd like to view some recent newsletters, just go to the newsletter sign-up page and look below where my three motorcycle books are described for links.

Thanks for signing up for the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. Using this Newsletter, I'll keep you up-to-date with what's going on in the Motorcycle Views Blog, the Motorcycle Views Website, and the Motorcycle Views Forum. The forum has a new look as of February 13, 2015. Take a look. Not sure what a blog is? It's like a daily readout of what I'm thinking about, similar to a diary at times. Most often, I'm using mine right now to tell my visitors what has been added to the Motorcycle Views site.

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

The Motorcycle Views Website is Also on your Smartphone or Tablet:

Are you relying more and more on your cellphone or tablet and less and less on your PC or MAC? Remember that all that great motorcycling information on Motorcycle Views is as near as your cellphone. It's also in a new format designed to fit your portable screen. Check us out anywhere you need motorcycle information.

END OF NEWSLETTER

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2016

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2014

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