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Interesting new Harley Davidson
Warbirds
Member Posts: 16,943 ✭✭✭✭
Nothing says Harley Davidson like an electric bicycle....
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He's probably the only one though.
I used to ride motorcycles with a group of guys who rode AMF harleys. The usual routine was ride an hour or so and then work on a Harley for an hour or so . Repeat as needed . One 5 day mountain ride took a total of 12 stops to adjust or fix something on one of the 6 Harley Davidson in the group . The rest of us were on “ rice burners “
Lifetime rider of Honda and Yamaha. Ran a 1983 Yamahas venture up until 4 years ago
Another few years of AMF control and they would have disappeared from the market
My dad snapped this shot of his friends up in the Smoky Mountains one day back in the middle 50s. All but 2 of these guys fought in WWII and a couple fought in both WWII and Korea and survived. I used to follow them around like they were rock stars when I was a little kid in complete awe of them. I enjoyed every minute listening to those guys laughing, joking and telling their stories while throwing jabs at each other. They were just great men.
I was just a kid but I wanted to be just like them.
Capt. Jack Sparrow.
FCD, you are correct, AMF did buy HD. Following a number of years where product quality and desirability went in the toilet, a group of (I believe) employees/company execs were able to buy the business from AMF somewhere around mid 1981 into 1982.
The dealer fixed these problems and we all put several thousand miles on them.
One friend still has his 1982 Wide Glide, along with a few others he’s bought.
^^that last part is funny @Flying Clay Disk !😀
Jim, many similar issues occurred with the ‘81-‘82 models especially. I have an ‘82 Low Rider, have had it from day one. The quality sure wasn’t all that. Began a complete, frame off restoration a few years back and discovered the lower end was late 81 and the upper early 82. Different bearings used and all sorts of other things, including the miserable 5 part crank set up. Ugh, an S&S crank now resides in its place. Sourcing the right parts was a treat. I did keep every original part that ever came off of it so it’s going back nearly 100% original. I did take advantage of the factory paint program a few years back. They stripped/repainted/hand pinstriped the tins in all original colors.
Even as they were, those 80 cu in Shovelheads sure had some low end torque.
That they do, they scream their guts out at highway speeds with the factory trans sprocket and 4 speed. Bumping it up one tooth makes a major difference. My ’82 is “Harley Red” and black with gold factory pinstripes. The kicker is always a conversation piece with younger folks who never seem to have seen such an item.
Not that they improved anything - just kept them afloat till the mid 80's [Evo era] when the brand took off.