Finally,
they began tooling around town at 25 mph, amazing the citizens and scaring
the horses. People started asking if their motor-bikes were for sale,
and they sold three in 1903. The next year, they increase their output
67% (five motorcycles), and then again 60% the following year (eight).This
dizzying growth curved convinced them to build a 28 by 80 foot headquarters
next to a rail spur. Unfortunately, they built it too close to the track,
so they had to get together a dozen friends and lift the building a
legal distance away. (The company headquarters still stands on this
site.)
Ironically,
Harley-Davidson's first serious model was designed to be quiet. It had
an effective muffler and an understated grey color. Dubbed "the
Silent Grey Fellow," the partners sold all they could make. But
the silence was short-lived. Motorcyclists decided that they liked making
a disturbance.
In 1907, a year they sold 150 motorcycles, William Harley created that
distinctive staccato "potato-potato-potato" Harley sound by
making an inept design decision: Rather than design a true 2-cylinder
engine, he merely grafted a second cylinder onto his one-cylinder design,
using a forked connecting rod to join both pistons to a single crankshaft.
The
result was a engine that can't rev very high and that produces an excessive
amount of vibration... which, for better or worse, has become the essence
of a Harley. So much so, that competitors have been known to take smooth-running
engines and deliberately de-tune them to run as roughly.
Harley-Davidson,
of course, became a success story in the 95 years since, It now accounts
for more than half of US sales of heavyweight bikes. HD just opened
a second manufacturing plant in Kansas City, trying to bring their two-year
waiting list for a new Harley down to something more reasonable, and
expect to open a third one by 2004.
The
company walks a tightrope between keeping their traditional rough-hewn
market happy while simultaneously selling to the more upscale dentists,
lawyers, and CPAs who make up large part of their customer base now.
Whether they can keep pleasing everybody without ending up pleasing
nobody remains to be seen. Still the Harley mystique continues: "Harley's
leak oil, they vibrate bad, and you can't turn the things," complained
one biker to Forbes Magazine. So why do people like him buy them? "You
get laid."
Harley-Davidson,
of course, became a success story in the 95 years since, It now accounts
for more than half of US sales of heavyweight bikes. HD just opened
a second manufacturing plant in Kansas City, trying to bring their two-year
waiting list for a new Harley down to something more reasonable, and
expect to open a third one by 2004.
VIVA
LA REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE
Cuban
motorcyclists, deprived of "hogs" and parts by the US
economic embargo, keep 160 pre-1958 Harleys on the island alive
and running with a great deal of ingenuity and improvised parts.
The fanatical owners (Ernesto "che" Guevara, Jr. owns
two) are jokingly called "Harlistas." |
The
company walks a tightrope between keeping their traditional rough-hewn
market happy while simultaneously selling to the more upscale dentists,
lawyers, and CPAs who make up large part of their customer base now.
Whether they can keep pleasing everybody without ending up pleasing
nobody remains to be seen. Still the Harley mystique continues: "Harley's
leak oil, they vibrate bad, and you can't turn the things," complained
one biker to Forbes Magazine. So why do people like him buy them? "You
get laid."
The
official corporate Harley-Davidson website: http://www.harley-davidson.com/
IN
THE HOG MARKET
One
of the places to see the culture clash between old-time Harley owners
and new Yuppie bikers is at your local Harley-Davidson dealership.
There
was a time when the stores looked pretty much what you'd expect--greasy
garage-like places with lots of parts strewn around and few frills.
Nowadays, a Harley dealership looks more like a Hallmark Store. The
Harley name has been licensed to a wide range of manufacturers, from
the logical (Harley biking jackets) to the ludicrous (Harley-Davidson
Christmas ornaments, ceramics, plush animals, coffee, collectible
plates, baby clothes and even Barbies). It's clear that the Yuppies
have about won. It probably makes sense: Who else can afford to plunk
down $6,000-20,000 (before the inevitable customization) for a fair-weather
form of transportation?
A
FAMILY OF HOGS
"You
don't buy a Harley because it's a superior bike, you buy a Harley
to be a part of a family," says Buzz Kantor, a motorcycle
magazine publisher. The most obvious manifestation of this is
the Harley Owners' Group (H.O.G), which has more than 300,000
members and 900 local chapters located around the globe. |
Still,
it's a little sad to watch toothless long-haired guys wandering in
a culture-shock daze, carrying a greasy ailing carburetor through
the rows of Harley bears and figurines, looking for the concrete comfort
of the parts department. These are the guys that Harley-Davidson likes
to brag about as being their most devoted customers, the ones who
tattoo the name of the product on their arms and backs. We doubt they're
going to see many dentists and lawyers doing that.
