Harley-Davidson Servi-Car

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Harley-Davidson Servi-Car

The Harley-Davidson Servi-Car was a three-wheeled utility motorcycle manufactured by Harley-Davidson from 1932 to 1973.

Concept and uses

The Servi-Car was designed during the Great Depression when Harley-Davidson was desperate to expand its product base to increase sales.[1]. Targeted at the automotive service industry, the vehicle was designed to be towed behind a car to be delivered to a customer; when the car was delivered at its destination, the driver would unhitch the Servi-Car and ride back to the garage.[2][3] For this reason, it was available with a tow bar at the front and a large 60 Ah battery.[4]

In addition to its intended use for car delivery and retrieval, the Servi-Car was also popular as a utility vehicle for small businesses and mobile vendors. They proved to be particularly popular with the police departments, some of which still used Servi-Cars into the 1990s.[4]

Models

The models offered in 1932, the first year of production were:

  • G - with small box and tow bar
  • GA - with small box and no tow bar
  • GD - with large box and no tow bar
  • GE - with large box and air tank

In 1933, the GDT, with large box and tow bar, was added to the line.[5]

In 1942, the small and large boxes were replaced with a standardized intermediate-sized box that was manufactured for Harley Davidson by the Chas. Abresch Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A gold, red, and black water transfer decal from this company was affixed to the top inside of the box lid. This box lasted until 1966, after which it was replaced by a fiberglass box; all preceding boxes were made from steel.[6]

Engine

The engine initially used by the Servi-Car was the 45 cubic inch flathead used in the 1932-36 R model.[1] It was changed in 1937 to the engine used in the W model, which differed mainly in having a recirculating oil system instead of the constant-loss system of the R.[4][7] The "W" flathead engine continued until the end of production in 1973, despite the "W" solo series being replaced by the "K" series in 1952.[4][8]

An electric starter became available on the Servi-Car in 1964, making it the first civilian Harley with an electric starter, one year before the debut of the Electra Glide.[4][9][10]

Transmission

When the Servi-Car was introduced in 1932, it used the same transmission as the R solo model.[4] This was replaced the next year by a constant-mesh transmission with three speeds and a reverse gear.[11]

Chassis and suspension

Early Servi-Car with springer forks

The Servi-Car was designed for the road conditions of the day, where surface roads might still be crude and unpaved. It had a rigid rear axle with a differential.[12] The rear axle had a track of 42in, similar to the track of most available cars. This was done so that the vehicle could use the same tracks that had been made by regular cars.[3]

A prototype of the Servi-Car with rear suspension had been tested and was found to be unstable.[3] The production model had its axle mounted directly to the frame with no suspension at all. [13]

Until 1957, the front forks of the Servi-Car were the springer-type leading-link forks used on the R-series and W-series solo motorcycles. From 1958 on, the Servi-Car would use Hydra-Glide front forks.[9]

Brakes

As introduced, the Servi-Car had a drum brake on the front wheel and another drum brake inside the rear axle housing, decelerating both rear wheels.[11] In 1937, the braking system was upgraded to have a drum brakes on each wheel.[14] A hydraulic rear brake system was introduced in 1951.[15] The very last Servi-Cars, built late in their last model year, would have disc brakes on all three wheels.[4]


References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Mitchel, D. "Harley-Davidson Chronicle - An American Original" p. 68-69 Publications International Limited, 1997 ISBN 0-7853-2514-X
  2. Mitchel, D. "Harley-Davidson Chronicle - An American Original" p. 88 Publications International Limited, 1997 ISBN 0-7853-2514-X
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Servi-Car Homepage - History
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Auto Lemon - Used Car History Check - Motorcycle: Twins - Servi-Car, 1932 - 1974
  5. Servi-Car Homepage - Yearly Statistics and Pricing
  6. Mitchel, D. "Harley-Davidson Chronicle - An American Original" p. 94-95 Publications International Limited, 1997 ISBN 0-7853-2514-X
  7. Mitchel, D. "Harley-Davidson Chronicle - An American Original" p. 150 Publications International Limited, 1997 ISBN 0-7853-2514-X
  8. 9.0 9.1 American V History: Timeline
  9. Harley-Davidson XA History
  10. 11.0 11.1 Servi-Car Homepage - Changes: 1932-36
  11. Servi-Car Homepage - Technical Diagrams and Pictures
  12. Heavy Duty Cycles - Trike Rear Ends
  13. Conner, R. "Harley-Davidson Data Book" p. 59 Motorbooks International, 1996 ISBN 0-7603-0226-X
  14. Conner, R. "Harley-Davidson Data Book" p. 84 Motorbooks International, 1996 ISBN 0-7603-0226-X