the first Harley's

[HarleyCreation]

Exactly what I was thinking Herb! That's one great machine that's for sure!

And possibly a bike with a great story behind it too. Time will tell. Something really good is forming, maybe.

[jurassic]

i just put the bike back as it was found.it would have been too much major surgery to have put it back to 1905 -06 specs.besides i found after inspecting all the parts and how they were assembled ,that the bike was most likely built this way back in the teens.all the modifications on the bike are improvements,and are very functional ,and show signs of use .i now view the bike as a period modified,instead of a hodgepodge.in the spirit of leaving the bike as it was ,i just did a soft restoration,adding some black paint with no bodywork ,or clear coat.finishing it off with a thin coat of varnish,and a little patina.

[c.o.]

Your doing a great job! I like the direction your heading with it. I hope to hear it run one day!

[jurassic]

prototype

[jurassic]

ive been studying this pic for along time.i got the fork figured out ,but it looks like the neck on the frame has a webbing inside of it,from the top to the bottom.it almost looks like it may not be a repair,or it may be an afterthought.also the oil tank is definatly taller,but is the gas tank bigger too,or is the coil holder smaller?something looks different.it also has three piece pedal cranks,and it looks like the pedal crank hanger casting is below the center of the bottom frame bars.i'm trying to get the frame built but pretty much everything on the bike is different from those that came after it.

[c.o.]

ive been studying this pic for along time.i got the fork figured out ,but it looks like the neck on the frame has a webbing inside of it,from the top to the bottom.it almost looks like it may not be a repair,or it may be an afterthought.also the oil tank is definatly taller,but is the gas tank bigger too,or is the coil holder smaller?something looks different.it also has three piece pedal cranks,and it looks like the pedal crank hanger casting is below the center of the bottom frame bars.i'm trying to get the frame built but pretty much everything on the bike is different from those that came after it.

Can't wait to see how this one turns out. It certainly seems like you're up to a challenge........a noble undertaking for sure!

[c.o.]

Just stumbled on this picture...... I figured you may be able to shed some light on it Herb..... I see a couple of familiar faces on the bikes on the right-side........

[c.o.]

I also just came across this.... not sure where it came from originally.........

[HarleyCreation]

Just stumbled on this picture...... I figured you may be able to shed some light on it Herb..... I see a couple of familiar faces on the bikes on the right-side........

I could have sworn that photo is in the Creation book, but I guess not. Should be....

Anyway, it's a great photo and we know those guys: From right to left is Lacy Crolius (arms folded); Walter Davidson; Oakley Fisher; and (I think) Ralph Sporleder. This was the Milwaukee "factory" team c1908. (Sporleder looks "too cool" and sort of like Lee Marvin in The Wild One).

[Tommo]

That photo is in David Wright's book "The Harley-Davidson Motor Company, An Official 90 Year History' on page 16.

[c.o.]

Tommo, is there much for earlier photos in Mr. Wright's book? I fell out of the Harley world for several years and am slowly trying to catch up. If there's early photos, racing or otherwise, I may have to try and round up a copy.

Herb, thanks for the clarification on that pic!

[Tommo]

There's 10 or 15 early shots but only 3 or 4 of them are what I'd call rare, the rest are the same run of the mill photos every author uses.

[c.o.]

Thanks for the heads up Tommo! I stop in at a used book shop about 85 miles south of me from time to time and I've picked up a few out of print books for a reasonable price. I'll maybe keep my eyes open for curiousity sake.

[HarleyCreation]

Tommo, is there much for earlier photos in Mr. Wright's book? I fell out of the Harley world for several years and am slowly trying to catch up. If there's early photos, racing or otherwise, I may have to try and round up a copy.

Herb, thanks for the clarification on that pic!

David Wright's book is worth having. There is some inside info gleaned from old employees plus like Tommo said a few rare early pix. One that stands out is a c1907 sidecar photo with Oscar Becker in the saddle and all the "boys" gathered around.

Another good book for the photos is Wolfgang Wiesner's book: "Photographic History of H-D" with some seldom seen archives photos of several early Harley collection bikes taken in the 1920s plus others.

When I look at photos like these I can't help but wonder about the final fate of each bike. Where it ended up. Was it scrapped or maybe lying today in some farm ravine junk pile or under the ruins of a collapsed chicken coop or barn loft somewhere out in the coulee country....

[jurassic]

florida tank