Radical New Book on the Birth of Harley-Davidson - Plus a Big Thanks!

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by LouieMCman
Herbert;
Can't wait to read the book. I'm going to email you a picture of my new 99th Anniversary bike. I get numerous questions about why I put "99th Anniversary" on the windshield and I tell them to do the math...it's either a 101st or a 99th edition ??? Either way Harley can't count. Thanks for the true story!
Louie

Thanks. 99th Anniversary is really the truth and I'd like to see your bike.

By my reckoning the actual 100th Anniversary (based on the known evidence at this time) will take place on 9 September 2004. That's when the Harley-Davidson motorcycle (25-ci big-bore, loop-frame bike) enters the historical record at a motorcycle race held at State Fair Park at West Allis near Milwaukee. If ANYONE can show it existing at an earlier date, I'ld love to see the evidence. Production and sale of bikes didn't start until 1905.

Of course, since Bill Harley first drew plans for a (7-ci) "bicycle motor" in 1901, Harley-Davidson could have picked any year to celebrate between 2001 and 2007 (when the company formally incorporated). But when you consider that it was the 1954 Models that bore the 50th Anniversary Medallion (probably based on the 1904 loop-frame Meyer-Sparough-Lang-Neg 599 bike prototype), it strongly suggests there was no 1903 Model as claimed today with the BIGGER LIE that Mr. Lang was already a dealer and selling bikes in 1903.

The book reveals all.....mostly.

http://www.atthecreation.com/

[HarleyCreation]

MCHS Talk

For those who didn't make the talk at the Milwaukee County Historical Society, I've posted the contents of my talk on the book website (below).

The crowd was modest and the gathering intimate. It was nice to have those vintage bikes nearby and the Usinger cheese and sausage platter was tasty, although I couldn't "hog" out like I normally would have given the opportunity. I requested beer, but ice tea was served instead. That's ''new" vs. "old" Milwaukee for you...

A club member who is also our Perry E. Mack expert came on his bike. That was nice. My brother Tom who owns "Frank's Knucklehead" (never leaked or needed a battery charge) also came. There were also a few old timers who showed up, including Adolph Roemer who owned the 1938 "Wrong Way Corrigen" Knucklehead before WWII. Mr. Roemer and his bike are pictured in my 1930-1941 book as is his very beautiful wife.

Behind that hangs a story. For years I had been interested in Max Kobs who worked at Harley-Davidson beginning in 1907 or early 1908 and who had the ONLY 1909 Harley-Davidson V-twin registered in Wisconsin. But I never could find out anything about Kobs. He died way back in the 1920s on a sidecar -- hit by a drunken farmer north of Milwaukee. Then one day several years ago, I looked up Mr. Roemer because he owned a 30s Knucklehead and he mentioned in passing that his late wife had been a Kobs. I was thunderstruck. "Max Kobs?" I said. After years of wondering, suddenly I found out about Max Kobs, but unfortunately no photo of that 1909 V-twin. That did, however, turn up that inside view of the yellow brick factory as seen in the book and on the webpage.

http://www.atthecreation.com/

[AdminGuy]

Very nice. Thank-you. A good read.

[HarleyCreation]

For you guys interested in the new book, I am told that it has been shipped to the warehouse in Chicago and should be going out very soon.

I wonder if HDI is going to buy up all the copies and burn them?

http://www.atthecreation.com/

[k.perry]

They ought to give you a new Twin Cam for taking the time to straighten out the kinks in their history.

[Earl]

And now they (HDI) have the reasons to dub the 2004 bikes as their 100th model !!

[Earl]

Maybe everybody/somebody can throw a comment in here about how many books Herbert should bring to Davenport.

[Jim M]

Davenport

Earl, That is a great idea. Count me in.. I much prefer to pick things up personally than to order them. If there will be any books available at Davenport let us know what location at the fairgrounds to look for.

Jim M.

46 Knuckle

[33vld]

At The Creation

I just finished reading your new book Herb and I am impressed.
If your book a doesn't convince the people at Harley-Davdison
that the first year of production was 1905 nothing will. I can only imagine the countless hours you have spent researching this book.

What a great read!

Dick Werner

[HarleyCreation]

Thanks

Dick,

Thank you very much. If you got your copy, that means they have begun shipping them out. I just got my advance copy in the mail yesterday.

It's true what you say: Harley's early years are now revamped to fit the facts and not fairy tales. It is no ones fault today that things got messed up at an early date and a creation myth instead of real history was adopted. Ignoring the facts after this, however, would be a shame.

Yes, it took a lot of digging and years of work to bring this material together and make sense out of it. My only wish is that people who read the book understand that the entire effort was to uncover the truth about the greatest of all motorcycles: Harley-Davidson. It's giving Harley-Davidson a history never known before.

I have seen an early review of the book by a well-known authority and it is VERY POSITIVE.

I will try to get some copies to Davenport, but if doesn't happen for some reason, I still hope to meet you guys there.

HW

[k.perry]

Who's your bootmaker? That first pair you had...with the engineer strap? There has to be a story there.

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by k.perry
Who's your bootmaker? That first pair you had...with the engineer strap? There has to be a story there.

You must be looking at the preface of the book, where there is a couple pictures of my old bikes -- including my long lost yellow chopper.

Believe it or not, the boots you spotted are Herter's snake boots.

Remember Herter's? The big sporting goods outfit in Waseca, Minnesota? Everything they sold was advertised as being the best and most perfect! Actually, their snake boots made darn good motorcycle riding boots. Very thick high quality brown leather. A pal of mine got a pair first and I liked his so much that I bought a pair too. I went thru 3 pair of them over the years and still own the last pair. I still have a 1973 Herter's catalog. They are: "Herter's Genuine Hudson Bay Six Point Pull On Wilderness Boots, Excellent Protection Against Poisonous Reptiles. If you can pay the price, this boot cannot be beat for guides, fishermen, trappers, lumbermen, engineers, foresters, etc., or for horseback riding. Height: 17" Pattern: French Canadian dress shoe hand cut and fitted over handmade hard maple patterns and hand sewn. Leather: Finest procurable bull hides tanned using deer skin method. Color: Dark brown. Price: $33.47"

More recently I have found that the army surplus East German officers' boot make excellent riding boots too with a traditional look.

[k.perry]

Thanks for the tip on the east German officers boots...but we're sort of looking for the Herter's Wilderness boots. (known hereafter as "Wagner" boots). Any chance those are still made?
I've about finished the "Creation" book. A lot of research there, piecing together all the conversations and hunting through old Milwaukee records and people. The "missing link". Thanks.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the first "big" Harley motor was most probably built from a set of nameless re-pop crankcases, possibly from the Clemick-Evinrude Co. around the corner and down the block. You state, "Some unique features found in the 1903 Evinrude engine also show up in the earliest known Harley-Davidson engines. These points of similarity include a distinctive 45-degree down-slanted exhaust port. This style exhaust differs from both the De Dion-Bouton original and its many American off-shoots." and that, "Other points of similarity between the Evinrude and Harley engines include the sharing of a distinctive roller-bearing valve tappet and a drilled flywheel and crankpin that routed lubricating oil to the connecting rod bearing. More signs of a shared ancestry include a pressed-in crankpin, one piece head and cylinder, a two-piece exhaust valve with steel stem and cast iron valve head, and perhaps most indicative of all, a hand starting crank on the engine's timer side. This last piece is an unusual feature for an early motorcycle, but necessary on Evinrude motors meant for auto or marine use."
The final word of proof for me is, "It seems unreasonable to expect Bill Harley, now (in 1903) a freshman in college, to design an entire gasoline engine from scratch no matter how talented he may have been."
Suddenly, the aftermarket has taken on a new respect. The story today is behind the door of Tedd Cycle. Taiwan, being once like Japan. In the 50's Japan was a junk peddler. "Made in Japan" was a joke. Piston's from Taiwan? V-Twin's been selling them at least since 1993. It would be nice to one day read about all they went through to perfect the lower valve spring covers (http://www.hydra-glide.net) >pictures>miscellaneous, but my inquiries to find out more were politely answered with "Those would be kept as quiet as military secrets" and I was left with a feeling that for all intents and purpose's Tedd Cycle will always be what the labor unions would call,"a closed shop".

[HarleyCreation]

Glad you're enjoying the book. http://www.atthecreation.com/

Yes, it took YEARS to gather and put the information together. It was a strange coincidence that it was finished at the time of the 100th celebration -- although as it turns out there probably was no "1903 model." Yet all the twists and turns in getting their motorcycle off the ground makes the Harley-Davidson story an even better one than anyone ever dreamed.

Yes, the boys got a little help from their friends: esp. Henry Melk and Ole Evinrude. What is still missing is all the engine types that Ole offered in 1902 and 1903. Several are mentioned in old periodicals, but I have not seen specific information on all types. No 1902-1903 Evinrude catalogs have turned up yet that might describe all his engines in detail, size, air- or water-cooled, etc. Possibly there was an Evinrude engine that closely matched the first Harley-Davidson engine. It's a strong possibility. More research may turn up additional material for a second improved edition with "de-luxe" yellow leather embossed cover.

These Chippewa 17" Motorcycle boots look similar (same 17" height and same style and straps), although they appear to be black (not brown) and have a different heel and sole. The Herter's boots had a soft heel and sole that wore out on pavement. Herter's boot didn't have a steel toe either. These might be more durable. Looks similar to old Herter's boot from photo and maybe Chippewa made those boots for Herter's.

http://www.bootsusa.com/Chippewa%20B...nch%20Chip.htm

The East German boots are nice too -- if you can still find them. They come in two styles: square toe and round toe. The square toe looks better IMO. That's what I wear now. Pebbled black leather. 15" tall, no straps.

[HarleyCreation]

I'm going to bring a few copies of my new book At the Creation: Myth, Reality, and the Origin of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, 1901-1909 to Davenport on Saturday the 30th of August.

If anyone wants an autographed copy of this never-before-told story (and I'm not fooling about that description either) look for the World's Oldest Running Harley-Davidson Motorcycle at Davenport on Saturday near the concession stand as I will be hanging around that 1905 Harley Single like a bee attracted to honey.

It should still be warm from the long ride....

If you get a copy of the book before that and want it signed, find me near the '05 Single on Saturday and I'll sign it.

Thanks,
HW

http://www.atthecreation.com/