April 03, 2004

Hog Heaven: Celebrating 100 Years of the Harley-Davidson. "In 1903, the same year Henry Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company and the Wright brothers first flew, William Harley and his friends Arthur and Walter Davidson launched the Harley-Davidson Motor Company."

I especially enjoy the vintage ads. Via Vigna Maru.

  • eek...runs screaming.... lived with an ex and several hogs and many biker types visiting for 17 years and have a great aborrence of them anymore. now i prefer to approach these guys and say...'is this one of those honda-davidsons?' then smile sweetly and watch response!
  • I'm not really a "hog man" myself, but I do appreciate the appearance of these machines. I am also fascinated with vintage anything, and those old ads really struck my fancy. Sorry about your bad experiences with hogs and biker types, though. Certainly didn't mean to dredge up old memories.
  • my great-grandpa herb was a harley / indian dealer back in the day. have a neat photo of him and some other dealers outside the harley plant in wisconsin; he's standing right next to mr. davidson. i have an ashtray, 1952 dealer sales conference inside a harley logo. i imagine it's collectible in some way, not that i'd part with it.
  • While I'd be completely terrified to actually ride a motorcycle, I can still dream about driving one cross country, lookin' so cool in my Viking helmet and leathers, wind in the face, hair flowin' out behind, takin' the scenic route, listening'to the rumble of the engine. This is why I should never have been allowed to watch any of those old biker movies.
  • Very cool, clf, having that photo. I love Harleys, beautiful machines. Very close to where I live, there is the annual 'Oyster Run' which is a massive gathering of Harley riders, similiar to the one in Sturgis, South Dakota, but not as big. I'm curious, does any other monkey have something like this around their home?
  • i was being facetious, exclamationmark...or i wouldn't have opened the link. actually i still have quite a bit of harley collectabilia around here....it's the majority of the people who ride them that irk me. darshon...in south-west ontario they have 'friday the thirteenth' which has turned into a major gathering of harley folks from all over....it's a small town, port dover, that started this practice on, naturally, friday the thirteenth, one year and it has been going on for about 15 years now and growing exponentially in recent years. they now pull in massive police surveillance as the gangs set up shop there as well. they always predict calamities that never happen. i've only been once but was overwhelmed by how a small community accomodates and welcomes such a big weekend long street party. miles of hogs parked and touring the street. fantastic.
  • path: One of my wife's uncles has a motorcycle, and, yes, a helmet with horns. And a broadsword. This has caused problems with a less than understanding constabulary.