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.
Indian Motorcycle is an American brand of motorcycles owned and produced by American automotive manufacturer Polaris Inc.
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.
A softail motorcycle intentionally looks like vintage motorcycles with a rigid hard-tail frame that has a triangle of steel tubes at the rear axle, as on a bicycle frame, but on a Softail these tubes are actually a triangular swingarm, with the shock absorber(s) hidden, as opposed to clearly visible regular twin shocks on both sides of the rear wheel on standard bikes. Since the introduction of the Harley-Davidson FXST Softail in 1983 as a registered trademark of the Motor Company, softail has become a genericized trademark for other models of cruiser motorcycles with rear suspensions hidden for retro style reasons. This was done even though the rear wheel was often hidden behind bags or exhaust pipes.
The intake/inlet over exhaust, or "IOE" engine, known in the US as F-head, is a four-stroke internal combustion engine whose valvetrain comprises OHV inlet valves within the cylinder head and exhaust side-valves within the engine block.
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 Excelsior Super X was a motorcycle manufactured by the Excelsior Motor Manufacturing & Supply Company from 1925 to 1931. It was the most famous Excelsior motorcycle manufactured by that company and was the first American forty-five cubic inch motorcycle.
The Harley-Davidson XA was a flat-twin, shaft drive motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson for the US Army during World War II.
The Indian 841 was a motorcycle designed by the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Co. for desert warfare. It pioneered the drivetrain configuration later popularized by Moto Guzzi, having a longitudinally mounted air-cooled 90-degree V-twin with shaft drive to the rear wheel.
The Hummer was a motorcycle model manufactured by Harley-Davidson from 1955 to 1959. However, the name "Hummer" is now incorrectly used generically to refer to all American-made single-cylinder two-stroke Harley-Davidson motorcycles manufactured from 1948 to 1966. These motorcycles were based on the DKW RT125, the drawings for which were taken from Germany as war reparations after World War II. The RT125 drawings were also given to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union as war reparations, resulting in the BSA Bantam and the MMZ M-1A Moskva, later known as the Minsk.
A bobber, originally called a bob-job from the 1930s through 1990s, is a style of custom motorcycle. The typical construction includes removing the front fender, shortening the rear fender, which is "bobbed", and stripping excess bodywork as well as all superfluous parts to reduce weight.
The Indian Four was a motorcycle built by the Indian Motocycle Company from 1928 to 1942. It was based on the Ace motorcycle, which Indian bought as part of the assets of the Ace Motor Corporation in 1927.
The Indian Scout is a motorcycle built by the Indian Motocycle Company from 1920 to 1949. It rivaled the Chief as Indian's most important model. The 101 Scout, made from 1928 to 1931, has been called the best motorcycle Indian ever made. A second line of Scouts, with heavier frames, was introduced in 1932 alongside the Standard Scout, which replaced the 101 Scout and shared its frame with the Chief and the Four. The small-displacement Scout and the Sport Scout, introduced in 1934, were continued until the end of civilian production in 1942. Military versions of both models were used by US and other Allied forces during World War II.
The Indian Chief is a motorcycle that was built by the Hendee Manufacturing Company and the subsequent Indian Motocycle Company from 1922 to the end of the company's production in 1953, and again from 1999 to present.The Chief was Indian's "big twin", a larger, more powerful motorcycle than the more agile Scout used in competition and sport riding.
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.
The Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Company, sometimes called Cleveland Motorcycle, was a motorcycle manufacturer in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1902 to 1905 and again from 1915 to 1929.
The Harley-Davidson Model W, also known as the Sport Twin, is a motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson from 1919 to 1923. Unusually for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the Model W had a flat-twin engine and a trailing link fork. The Model W set speed records on runs from New York City to Chicago and from the Canada–United States border to the Mexico–United States border. Slow home market sales led to the end of production after four years.
The Indian Model O was a lightweight motorcycle made by the Hendee Manufacturing Company from 1917 to 1919. Indian expected to sell the Model O to young or thrifty riders. The United States' entry into World War I caused Indian to shift manufacture to military motorcycles, and the low cost of the Ford Model T caused the market for lightweight motorcycles to collapse.
The Indian Powerplus is a motorcycle that was built from 1916 to 1924 by the Hendee Manufacturing Company. Designed by Charles Gustafson, the Powerplus's engine was Indian's first flathead.
