Cycle World Book Review

CYCLE WORLD BOOK REVIEW

The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. An Official Eighty-Year History

by David K. Wright Published by Motorbooks International, P. O. Box 2, Osceola, Wise. $24.95

When you know what you want to see, sometimes you see what isn’t there.

When I first read this book, I was disappointed. There’s never been what I would consider a real, complete, satisfying book about the Harley-Davidson. So I began anticipating this book when I heard it was in the works, and I rushed home and curled up with the book

the day it arrived . . . and I felt let down.

Then I read the title. This isn’t a history of the motorcycle, it’s a history of the motorcycle company.

And it’s the fully approved, authorized history, meaning the company gave the author access to all the files, etc., while in return getting to read the book first and order whatever changes the company wanted.

Sponsorship itself is no bad thing. Without sponsors racers wouldn’t have rides and Monday night wouldn’t have football. But the man who signs the check also gets to order dinner. The author here was working for Harley, instead of you or me or future generations.

So this book tries to be three books in one; the machines, the manufacturer and the people. There are chapters on the founding of the firm, the production models, the military and police, the dealerships. There are source lists for museums, chapters about clothing, lists of famous people who own or have owned Harleys. There are pictures of outlaws, dressers, the Motor Maids.

This is all neat stuff. But the actual motorcycles get 51 pages of model history, plus some data on production.

Speaking as a motorhead, this isn’t enough. I hoped for the complete story of the K, the KH, the KHK. I wish for all the details I missed. Did Harley invent the twist grip? What was the XLR? Worse, there are far too many mistakes and contradictions. The automatic valves in 1911 weren’t exhaust, they were intake. One photo captioned 74 is a 45. We’re told a Daytona show bike is a Panhead engine in a Sportster frame when anybody can see it’s a Panhead top end on Sportster cases and barrels. There are models left out and the data one place contradicts data somewhere else.

Picky? Sure. But this is supposed to be the official history book, complete with H-D part number. If Harley had the right to read and correct the book, then dammit they had an obligation to get the facts right.

I am getting carried away. In fairness, I spent a couple of happy hours reading and looking. The price seems steep but then, unless it’s parts I need I am notoriously cheap. This is a good book. It just isn’t the complete history of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Allan Girdler