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Difference between revisions of "Harley-Davidson history"
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Meanwhile, certain advances did trickle down through the range. In 1993, the 883 Sportster finally acquired belt-drive and a five-speed gearbox, both long overdue. It was still relatively cheap to buy, undercutting even some of the equivalent Japanese cruisers and played a crucial role in attracting new riders into the Harley fold, It was still doing that in 2000, seven years on from belt-drive, and 16 from the 883 Evolution motor introduction. It also retained a charming simplicity that was lacking in some of the bigger, more expensive bikes, The Dyna Glide of 1993, on the other hand, had a new frame, but paradoxically the sole reason was to make it look like an old one! The bike was an update of the mid-range rubber-mounted FX series, but the idea here was to emulate the 1970s Low Rider, the engine of which kept its rubber mounts, but were cunningly hidden by the new frame, The names also evoked nostalgia, and the first Dyna Glide was a limited-edition Sturgis (remember 1980), followed by the raked-fork Wide Glide. Mechanically, the Dyna stuck with the 82ci (1340cc) Evolution engine, now in its tenth year and still in a very mild state of tune. | Meanwhile, certain advances did trickle down through the range. In 1993, the 883 Sportster finally acquired belt-drive and a five-speed gearbox, both long overdue. It was still relatively cheap to buy, undercutting even some of the equivalent Japanese cruisers and played a crucial role in attracting new riders into the Harley fold, It was still doing that in 2000, seven years on from belt-drive, and 16 from the 883 Evolution motor introduction. It also retained a charming simplicity that was lacking in some of the bigger, more expensive bikes, The Dyna Glide of 1993, on the other hand, had a new frame, but paradoxically the sole reason was to make it look like an old one! The bike was an update of the mid-range rubber-mounted FX series, but the idea here was to emulate the 1970s Low Rider, the engine of which kept its rubber mounts, but were cunningly hidden by the new frame, The names also evoked nostalgia, and the first Dyna Glide was a limited-edition Sturgis (remember 1980), followed by the raked-fork Wide Glide. Mechanically, the Dyna stuck with the 82ci (1340cc) Evolution engine, now in its tenth year and still in a very mild state of tune. | ||
Harley-Davidson's foray into the law courts in the mid-1990s underlined how important its image had become. With the Japanese making big, reliable, | Harley-Davidson's foray into the law courts in the mid-1990s underlined how important its image had become. With the Japanese making big, reliable, V-twins, Harley became increasingly concerned to protect those things that made it unique. The names 'Glide', 'Sportster' and '[[Hog]]' were all registered as trademarks, and even the distinctive 'potato-potato' exhaust note (a product of the Harleys' 45-degree cylinder and a common [[crankpin]] for both con-rods) was subject to a patent application. 'The Harley-Davidson sound functions as a (trade) market and identifies Harley-Davidson alone as the source of the goods emitting that sound.' The company actually withdrew that application after a few years, but the fact that it attempted at all underlines the fact that these bikes weren't being bought for their A to B transport capability. | ||
So strong was the nostalgia element that the touring FLs had been losing sales to the more obviously retro Heritage Softails. So Harley unveiled the FL Road King, a stripped-down tourer that harked back to the original Electra Glide, with no fairing and a detachable pillion seat. There were signs, though, that Harley-Davidson realized that all this wasn't sufficient on its own. | So strong was the nostalgia element that the touring FLs had been losing sales to the more obviously retro Heritage Softails. So Harley unveiled the FL Road King, a stripped-down tourer that harked back to the original Electra Glide, with no fairing and a detachable pillion seat. There were signs, though, that Harley-Davidson realized that all this wasn't sufficient on its own. | ||