Saturday evening post

[Chris Haynes]

If I understand correctly - some califorinian immigrants possess the ablility to find unobtanium and I beleive chris is an immigrant to california ( 2nd generation ) :-o

the parts will arrive if you beleive

aka HAWG

No, I was born here.

[aka HAWG]

I have a 2,300 sq ft garage. And a lot of other bikes beside the '36 I am gathering parts for. Early '36 parts are a real bitch to find. Most are made from a material called unobtanium.

If I understand correctly - some califorinian immigrants possess the ablility to find unobtanium and I beleive chris is an immigrant to california ( 2nd generation ) :-o

the parts will arrive if you beleive

aka HAWG

[Chris Haynes]

This afternoon I spoke with retired 3rd generation Pasadena, CA H-D dealer Bruce Chubbuck. He says the term Roadhog, shortened to Hog, was coined by Limey bike riders during the late '40's/early '50's.

[T. Cotten]

Think about it Chris: Could a Corman film be at the bottom of the "Hog" phenomenon?

Odds would seem to be in that favor.

I'm not familiar with them myself. I am a "dim viewer".

(Short attention span.)

...Cotten

[Chris Haynes]

Heck yeah! Then he could BUILD his garage AND his '36 Knuckle!!

I have a 2,300 sq ft garage. And a lot of other bikes beside the '36 I am gathering parts for. Early '36 parts are a real bitch to find. Most are made from a material called unobtanium.

[indianut]

PS: Chris!
Just think how rich you would be if you had copyrighted!

Heck yeah! Then he could BUILD his garage AND his '36 Knuckle!!

[T. Cotten]

That would be worth finding to verify the term and to see how it was applied at that time.

I agree, as Chris has me confused with my reputedly-biological father Joseph Cotten. (Actually slightly shorter than the real matinee idol I believe; Pic attached.)

...Cotten

[HarleyCreation]

I could Cotten. But I promised you I wouldn't tell anybody about that movie you made.
Anyway back in the '40's I have read about Hog Scrambles at Gypsy Tours.

That would be worth finding to verify the term and to see how it was applied at that time.

[Chris Haynes]

Chris!
Surely you can pull something out of a B movie for us?...Cotten

I could Cotten. But I promised you I wouldn't tell anybody about that movie you made.
Anyway back in the '40's I have read about Hog Scrambles at Gypsy Tours.

[T. Cotten]

Thanks Perry!

Gosh, that's a chubblehead.
My selfish agenda was to re-write history to declare '65 for the first "hog".
(Consider the weight increase alone.)

At least we are getting something in print....
Now how about film?

Chris!
Surely you can pull something out of a B movie for us?

...Cotten

[Perry Ruiter]

I had this model as a kid in the late 60s. I pulled the picture from an eBay auction and the seller identifies the kit as 1968. I would think if the term was common enough for use on a kid's model in '68 it pre-dates 1965 ... Perry

[HarleyCreation]

Hog

It was niether, it was used more as an identifier or description of the big twins. When I was in high school in Milwaukee in the mid-sixties and the MoCo started selling the Italian lightweights along with the Topper scooters and Scats and Bobcats and all that other junk we used to refer to the DuoGlides as hogs; "Now that's a REAL Hog". So, as Chris has already mentioned, the term was in use before 1965.

We also used to call some of the girls from South Division High School hogs, I'm pretty sure it was a negative term in that context. But that's another story.

Mike

Neutral is how I recall the term when growing up in Racine. That was in 1968 or '69 when I first became interested in motorcycles. My friend Brian brought "Big Bike" and "Choppers Illustrated," etc. to shop class and that got me hooked. I'm sure the term "hog" appeared in those mags and at the time it had a "cool" sound to it. But that is a little later than you guys remember hog being used.

However, after I got my first Harleys in 1971, I can't remember the term "hog" being used by myself or hearing it used by anyone else very much. It was out there, of course, but it was not commonly said, as I recall. It was a "Harley" or a "bike" or more rarely "scooter." But hog? Not used too much at all.

Somehow hog didn't really fit the beast. Altho that fat Brookfield saddle looks kind of "hoggish."

[schmittm]

Was it a positive or a negative term?

It was niether, it was used more as an identifier or description of the big twins. When I was in high school in Milwaukee in the mid-sixties and the MoCo started selling the Italian lightweights along with the Topper scooters and Scats and Bobcats and all that other junk we used to refer to the DuoGlides as hogs; "Now that's a REAL Hog". So, as Chris has already mentioned, the term was in use before 1965.

We also used to call some of the girls from South Division High School hogs, I'm pretty sure it was a negative term in that context. But that's another story.

Mike

[HarleyCreation]

OK Cotten,
I was calling them Hogs before 1965.

How long before 1965?

To your best recollection what year do you first remember the term "hog" being used to describe a H-D motorcycle? Was it a positive or a negative term?

Like Cotten said, that is anecdotal evidence, but still useful.

[HarleyCreation]

I don't think anyone can produce evidence of the origin of "HOG". My opinion is, it was coined by post WW2 racers and outlaws to express their disdain for the increasingly gawdy, overloaded dressers. As for Ray Weisaar and his mascot; that's a pig not a hog. There is a big difference and most Americans in those days would have known that. Besides; if I called Ray Weisaar's Harley a hog, I'll bet he would have popped me in the nose.

What we can find are the oldest uses of the term "hog" (for H-D) in print. Seems I recall the term appearing in 1960s chopper mags. Possibly it appeared in normal motorcycle mags too. That is the published record of our sport (obcession?)

But how far back does the term appear in that record?

At the time the Coke fed little porker appeared, Weishaar & H-D referred to it as "piggy" and perhaps other terms, but I never saw them calling it a hog and I have looked. Because you are right, back then nobody in their right mind would call that a hog. A hog is defined as: "noun pl. hogs, hog. any swine, esp. a domesticated adult (Sus scrofa) ready for market, or, in England, a castrated boar."

That little guy is not an adult nor ready for market.