Harley-Davidson, Inc. is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with its historical rival, Indian Motorcycles. The company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements, periods of poor economic health and product quality, and intense global competition to become one of the world's largest motorcycle manufacturers and an iconic brand widely known for its loyal following. There are owner clubs and events worldwide, as well as a company-sponsored, brand-focused museum.
The Honda Magna is a cruiser motorcycle made from 1982 to 1988 and 1994 to 2003 and was the second Honda to use their new V4 engine shared with the VF750S Sabre and a few years later a related engine was fitted to the VF750F 'Interceptor', the later models used a retuned engine from the VFR750F with fins added to the outside of the engine. The engine technology and layout was a descendant of Honda's racing V4 machines, such as the NS750 and NR750. The introduction of this engine on the Magna and the Sabre in 1982, was a milestone in the evolution of motorcycles that would culminate in 1983 with the introduction of the Interceptor V4. The V45's performance is comparable to that of Valkyries and Honda's 1800 cc V-twin cruisers. However, its mix of performance, reliability, and refinement was overshadowed by the more powerful 1,098 cc "V65" Magna in 1983.
A chopper is a type of custom motorcycle which emerged in the US state of California in the late 1950s. A chopper employs modified steering angles and lengthened forks for a stretched-out appearance. They can be built from an original motorcycle which is modified ("chopped") or built from scratch. Some of the characteristic features of choppers are long front ends with extended forks often coupled with an increased rake angle, hardtail frames, very tall "ape hanger" or very short "drag" handlebars, lengthened or stretched frames, and larger than stock front wheel. To be considered a chopper a motorcycle frame must be cut and welded at some point. I.e. the name chopper. The "sissy bar", a set of tubes that connect the rear fender with the frame, and which are often extended several feet high, is a signature feature on many choppers.
Buell Motorcycles is an American motorcycle manufacturer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1983 by ex-Harley-Davidson engineer Erik Buell. Harley-Davidson acquired 49 percent of Buell in 1993, and Buell became a wholly owned subsidiary of Harley-Davidson by 2003. On November 17, 2006, Buell announced that it had produced and shipped its 100,000th motorcycle.
The Honda XR series is a range of four-stroke off-road motorcycles that were designed in Japan but assembled all over the world.
The Honda Shadow refers to a family of cruiser-type motorcycles made by Honda since 1983. The Shadow line features motorcycles with a liquid-cooled 45 or 52-degree V-twin engine ranging from 125 to 1,100 cc engine displacement. The 250 cc Honda Rebel is associated with the Shadow line in certain markets.
The Honda Valkyrie is a motorcycle that was manufactured by Honda from 1997 to 2003. It was designated GL1500C in the US market and F6C in other markets.
Victory Motorcycles was an American motorcycle brand based in Spirit Lake, Iowa, United States. It began selling its vehicles in 1998, and began winding down operations in January 2017 to be succeeded by the revived traditional American motorcycle brand Indian, which are both owned by parent company Polaris Industries.
The Vulcan name has been used by Kawasaki for their custom or touring bike since 1984, model designation VN, using mostly V-twin engines ranging from 125 to 2,053 cc.
The Triumph Rocket III is a three-cylinder motorcycle made by Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. At 2,294 cc (140.0 cu in) it had the largest-displacement engine of any production motorcycle until 2019 when Triumph released the Triumph Rocket 3.
The Honda VTX series is a line of V-twin Honda cruiser motorcycles inspired by the Zodia concept shown at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show. The Honda VTX 1800 was launched in 2001 as a 2002 model. At the time this bike was introduced the Honda VTX engine was the largest displacement production V-twin in the world, but that distinction would be short-lived as the VTX1800 was superseded in 2004 by the 2.0-litre Kawasaki Vulcan 2000. Nevertheless, the VTX 1800 still produced better 0-60 mph and 1/4 mile times.
The Harley-Davidson Sportster is a line of motorcycles produced continuously since 1957 by Harley-Davidson. Sportster models are designated in Harley-Davidson's product code by beginning with "XL". In 1952, the predecessors to the Sportster, the Model K Sport and Sport Solo motorcycles, were introduced. These models K, KK, KH, and KHK of 1952 to 1956 had a sidevalve engine, whereas the later XL Sportster models use an overhead valve engine. The first Sportster in 1957 had many of the same features of the KH including the frame, fenders, large gas tank and front suspension.
The 1964 Ducati Berliner 1260 Apollo was a prototype 1,257 cc (76.7 cu in) V4 engine motorcycle producing 100 bhp (75 kW) and capable of over 120 mph (190 km/h). It was never put into production, but did influence other production Ducatis that followed. Both Ducati and their United States distributor, Berliner Motor Corporation, were experiencing declining sales of existing small-capacity single-cylinder models, and sought to create a bike to compete with Harley-Davidson. Berliner Motor was keen to have a model that could win lucrative police motorcycle supply contracts, and that could also sell as a civilian touring bike.
The Harley-Davidson Twin Cam are motorcycle engines made by Harley-Davidson from 1998 to 2017. Although these engines differed significantly from the Evolution engine, which in turn was derived from the series of single camshaft, overhead valve motors that were first released in 1936, they share a number of characteristics with nearly all previous Harley-Davidson engines. Both engines have two cylinders in a V-twin configuration at 45°, are air-cooled, and activate valves with push-rods. The crankshafts have a single pin with a knife and fork arrangement for the connecting rods. These are sandwiched between a pair of flywheels.
Harley-Davidson FL is a model designation used for Harley-Davidson motorcycles since 1941, when F referred to the new large capacity 74 cui (1200cc) variant of the V-2 Overhead valve engine (″Knucklehead″) that was introduced in 1936 as Model E with 61 cui (1000cc). The presence of an additional letter L indicated higher compression, offering more power but requiring higher octane gasoline. In 1950s, the low compression version was discontinued, and in 1952 also the low capacity EL, making FL the standard engine and model designation for decades to come.
The Harley-Davidson XR-750 is a racing motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson since 1970, primarily for dirt track racing, but also for road racing in the XRTT variant. The XR-750 was designed in response to a 1969 change in AMA Grand National Championship rules that leveled the playing field for makes other than Harley-Davidson, allowing Japanese and British motorcycles to outperform the previously dominant Harley-Davidson KR race bike. The XR-750 went on to win the most races in the history of American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing.
Harley-Davidson CVO for motorcycles are a family of models created by Harley-Davidson for the factory custom market. For every model year since the program's inception in 1999, Harley-Davidson has chosen a small selection of its mass-produced motorcycle models and created limited-edition customizations of those platforms with larger-displacement engines, costlier paint designs, and additional accessories not found on the mainstream models. Special features for the CVO lineup have included performance upgrades from Harley's "Screamin' Eagle" branded parts, hand-painted pinstripes, ostrich leather on seats and trunks, gold leaf incorporated in the paint, and electronic accessories like GPS navigation systems and iPod music players.
The Harley-Davidson Street motorcycle series was announced by Harley-Davidson at the 2013 EICMA show in Milan for 2014 introduction, Harley's first all-new models in 13 years, including Harley's first lightweight motorcycle since the 1974 Sprint. The 750 is powered by a 749 cc displacement version of Harley's 60° SOHC V-twin, water-cooled Revolution engine dubbed the Revolution X. The Street 500 has a 494 cc engine with a smaller bore but is otherwise identical. Production for sale in the United States and Canada is done at Harley's Kansas City facility; production for the rest of the world, including engines, is done at the Harley-Davidson India subsidiary in Bawal with indigenous components. Street series bikes are positioned as Harley's entry-level models, with a price point that is the lowest for Harley's US lineup by over $1,200.
The Harley-Davidson Milwaukee-Eight engine is the ninth generation of "big twin" engines developed by the company, but only Harley's fourth all-new Big Twin in 80 years, first introduced in 2016. These engines differ from the traditional Harley Big Twin engines in that there are four valves per cylinder, totaling eight valves, hence the name. It also marked a return to the single-camshaft configuration as used on previous Harley Big Twin Engines from 1936 to 1999. In addition, the engines all have internal counterbalancers, whereas Twin Cams were counterbalanced only on Softail models, where the engine was rigidly mounted.
The Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, is a V-twin softail cruiser motorcycle with solid-cast disc wheels. Designed by Willie G. Davidson and Louie Netz, Harley-Davidson built a prototype Fat Boy in Milwaukee for the Daytona Bike Week rally at Daytona Beach in 1988 and 1989. Fat Boys produced from 1990-2017 are coded FLSTF, and FLFB from 2018.
