Riding Vintage: Military Machines Page 1 of 13

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1933 HARLEY-DAVIDSON VL RESTORATION

By the end of World War II, the United States had sent hundreds of thousands of military vehicles to Europe, either for their own troops or to their Allies through the Lend Lease Program. Once the War was over, it was impractical to ship all these vehicles back to the US, so many of them were destroyed. For years, stories have been told about how hundreds of vehicles, including Harley-Davidsons, were dumped off of ships, buried in large pits or otherwise destroyed. There has probably even been a quest or two launched to locate these secret dumping grounds filled with now valuable military machines. Read more »

on Wednesday, May 07, 2014 1 comment: +51 Recommend this on Google

The First Yank and Harley to Enter Germany

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Chances are, you've probably seen this old photo of a Harley-Davidson riding through the streets of a German town at the end of WWI. While this in itself may not make for much of a story, the events that led up to it are worth reading. It turns out that after this photo was published in "The Enthusiast" magazine in 1943, the man riding the Harley in the photo turned up at the offices of "The Enthusiast" to get a copy. What follows is an article published in "The Enthusiast" in 1944 which tells the story of that famous picture. Already a member? Sign in Read more »

00x250 on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 No comments: +31 Recommend this on Google

Cygnet Rear Car

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In the early teens, Cygnet Rear Car Company took the idea of the horse drawn carriage and adapted it so that the horse was replaced by a motorcycle. Their business plan was simple, provide a form of transportation that was cheaper to own than a car, but carried more passengers or equipment than a standard motorcycle. They boasted that their rear cars could be removed in 30 seconds, allowing the owner to switch back to a standard motorcycle with ease. The Cygnet rear cars are pictured attached on both Harley-Davidson and Indian , but it is unclear whether they made specific models for each manufacturer or if the rear car was a "universal fit" for any motorcycle. Read more »

on Sunday, January 19, 2014 No comments: +53 Recommend this on Google

Harley Half Track

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Another interesting Harley-Davidson based motorcycle from Japan. This vehicle was supposedly a gun platform built before WWII. Two wheels have been added to the rear end to allow for the use of a single track similar to a tank or bulldozer. Read more »

on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 No comments: +39 Recommend this on Google

Female Gun Crew

7/26/1918-WOMEN’S MACHINE GUN SQUAD, POLICE RESERVE: Practicing the Lewis machine gun which is to be sent to the front. The killing range of this gun is 2 miles, and it fires 600 to 800 shots per minute. Photo shows Captain Elise Reigner, manning the gun. Miss Helen M. Striffler in the side car/rear seat, and Mrs. Ivan Earasoff driving an Excelsior motorcycle.

on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 No comments: +55 Recommend this on Google

Harley's Last True Military Motorcycle

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During WWII, Harley-Davidson produced thousands of WLA motorcycles for the United States and it's Allies. Some sources estimate the total number of motorcycles at 70,000 units and enough spare parts to build 30,000 more. Other sources are more conservative, but the fact is, Harley-Davidson produced a lot of motorcycles for the military in the 1940's. This left a huge surplus of motorcycles after the war and with the motorcycle being phased out in favor of the Jeep 4x4, it wasn't until 1957 that the military placed another order for motorcycles with Harley-Davidson. This time they weren't interested in an combat ready machine, but instead a patrol vehicle to use on base. Harley's answer was the Sportster XLA. Read more »

on Monday, October 28, 2013 No comments: +120 Recommend this on Google

Harley's Machine Gun Flathead

Here is Harley's answer to the US Military's desire for a motorcycle mounted machine gun. This prototype is based on a 1940 model UL. The UL was powered by a 74" side valve motor, commonly referred to as a flathead. This was the big twin model, not to be confused with the smaller 45" side valve motor which powered the WLA during WWII. The motor was mated to a tank-shifted four-speed transmission that drove the rear wheel via a chain. Mechanically, it's basically your standard issue UL, but to make it battle hardened, Harley added some interesting options. Read more »

on Thursday, August 22, 2013 No comments: +65 Recommend this on Google

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Motorcycles Join the US Cavalry

Even though the motorcycle had proved itself both in the Pershing Expedition and throughout WWI , the US Army still relied on horses for it's cavalry regiments. In 1928, the US Army put together it's first experimental regiment composed solely of vehicles than ran on gasoline (rather than hay). The regiment was given the nickname "Gasoline Brigade" and was made up of trucks and tanks. Oddly enough, some of the trucks were used to transport horses and riders so they would be well rested when they reached the battlefield. Initial tests were promising, but the vehicles could not stand up to the sustained high speed maneuvers and soon the regiment was plagued with mechanical failures. This led to the disbanding of the regiment, but the idea of a fast attack motorized unit was not abandoned. Finally in 1931, a new cavalry regiment was formed in Fort Eustis, VA and this time it included motorcycles, armored cars and fast tanks. Read more »

on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 No comments: +62 Recommend this on Google

The Harley-Davidson XA

During the first half of WWII, BMW produced the R71 motorcycle for the German Wehrmact, while Harley-Davidson produced the WLA for the US Army. Both motorcycles used side-valve air-cooled twin cylinder engines, but the R71 had a couple of distinct design differences when compared to the WLA. First of all, it used an enclosed shaft, instead of an exposed chain, to drive the rear wheel. Besides keeping out dirt and debris, shaft drives also do not need constant adjustment nor do the wear out as quickly as a chain. This results in a machine that is much easier to maintain and more reliable, something that is very important for an army on the move. The R71 also had opposed cylinders which provided better cooling since both cylinders stuck out of the sides of the engine versus the WLA's 45-degree V-twin which had trouble cooling it's rear cylinder.

As fighting moved into the deserts of North Africa, these advantages became important enough that the US Army contracted

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with both Harley-Davidson and Indian to produce a shaft driven desert-ready motorcycle. Borrowing heavily from the R71, Harley-Davidson produced the Experimental Army (XA) model. Indian also developed a shaft driven motorcycle, but used a 90-degree longitudinal-crankshaft V-twin engine similar to a Moto-Guzzi in their 841 model. Read more »

on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 1 comment: +49 Recommend this on Google

The Wrens: Female Dispatch Riders in WWII

As Americans, when we think of the role of women in WWII, we often envision factories filled with women wearing headscarves, riveting together airplanes. That may have been what was happening here in the US, but across the Atlantic in Britain, things were definitely more dangerous for the women that helped with the war effort. Read more »

on Thursday, June 20, 2013 No comments: +99 Recommend this on Google

A 1934 Harley-Davidson VL, Built for the Japanese Imperial Navy

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At the end of the Great Depression, Harley-Davidson sold exclusive rights to the Sankyo Corporation to manufacture both Harley-Davidson motorcycles and spare parts in Japan. As part of that agreement, Sankyo would continue to purchase motorcycles directly from Harley-Davidson until their factory was completed and ready for production. It took Sankyo almost five years to complete their factory during which time Harley-Davidson sold them the VL pictured here for use by the Japanese Imperial Navy. Read more »

on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 No comments: +23 Recommend this on Google

The Canadian Model ELC Knucklehead

Working for Harley-Davidson during the WWII-era must have been an exciting time. Harley engineers were building prototypes and doing small production runs of a variety of machines. Everything from military variations of stock motorcycles to dual Knucklehead powered tanks were being tested during this time. Read more »

on Sunday, May 26, 2013 No comments: +10 Recommend this on Google

Australians go to War on Harley WLA's

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Even before the US entered WWII, we had already begun to supply our Allies with equipment and supplies to help with the war effort. Through the Lend-Lease program, over 30,000 Harley-Davidson WLA's were shipped around the world for use by Allied Nations including the Soviet Union, China, France and Britain. During this time period, Australia was still part of the British Empire, so an unknown number of WLA's were also shipped "down under" for use by Australian troops. Read more »

on Saturday, May 25, 2013 1 comment: +6 Recommend this on Google

The US Military Police and Their Harley-Davidson Motorcycles

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The US Military has a long history in using motorcycles, which dates at least as far back as the Pershing Expedition in 1916 and perhaps even earlier. Motorcycles saw action on the battlefields of Europe, rode across the African deserts and even made their way through the jungles of Korea and Vietnam. These war time exploits are often highlighted in historic accounts of motorcycle use by the military, leaving out one of their longest standing uses of the motorcycle. Read more »

on Saturday, May 11, 2013 No comments: +17 Recommend this on Google

Harley Builds a Jeep

During WWII, the US Army was faced with getting vehicles to ground troops which were sometime located deep inside enemy lines. As a possible solution to this problem, the Army came up with the idea of a lightweight 4-wheel vehicle which could be dropped from a plane. They solicited prototypes from a variety of companies including Ford, Chevrolet, Crosley, Kaiser, Nuffield and Willys.

The Willys prototype was called the WAC or Peep and used a Harley-Davidson two cylinder engine. This was not the standard V-twin motor the Harley was known for, but instead was a 750cc opposed cylinder engine based on a BMW R75. Harley had previously experimented with a side valve opposed cylinder engine for it's XA and the XS prototype, but this was an updated version of the XOD engine with overhead valves. Read more »

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on Saturday, April 27, 2013 No comments: +12 Recommend this on Google

Sleeping with the Enemy

Dispatch riders had a rough time during WWII, as they were often sent out on solo missions without the support of additional troops or vehicles. The stress of being constantly targeted by the enemy and the physical demands of riding a motorcycle over harsh terrain definitely took its toll on riders from both sides. It is no surprise that when they did get back to camp or found themselves in a protected area, they used that time to get some much needed rest. Often they didn't even get off their motorcycles, but just laid across their gas tank or stretched out in a . Sleeping in this fashion must have been fairly commonplace as there are many photographs that capture this practice. Surprisingly, it is the German troops who were most often caught snoozing by photographers, although there are a couple Canadians at the end of the collection that look pretty comfortable... Read more »

on Saturday, April 20, 2013 No comments: +13 Recommend this on Google

WWII Motorcycle Training

Soldiers use their motorcycles as shields in a training exercise at Camp Carson, CO, 1943.

Depending on the source, the number of motorcycles produced by Harley-Davidson during WWII can range from 50,000 to 90,000 units. Regardless of the exact number, the US Military needed to train thousands of soldiers on the operation and maintenance of these machines. Harley-Davidson stepped up and provided mechanical training at its Service Schools, but the job of teaching soldiers to ride was left to the US Military. Military bases across the US provided various types of training as permitted by their local terrain and resources to prepare troops for duty in Europe.

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Read more »

on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 No comments: +19 Recommend this on Google

Post WWII Japan Rebuilds Harley's for the US Military

Take a minute to study this photo. What you are seeing is a shipload of used military vehicles, including Harley WLAs, which have just arrived in Yokohama, Japan for salvage and refurbishment. This was part of an effort starting in 1948 by the U.S. Eighth Army Ordnance Section Industrial Group, Fifth Echelon. These vehicles and many more, were collected from all over the Pacific Theater and sent to Japan. The idea was to help build Japan's economy by teaching them modern industrial methods. Factories were built to rebuild engines, drive trains and to manufacture tires. The US also contracted with 25 additional Japanese companies to produce necessary spare parts. The operation claimed to save American taxpayers $27,000,000 a year, although it is unclear if this is because the Japanese were doing the work at such low rates or because the US Military did not need to purchase additional vehicles during the operation. It's interesting that in the US Army's report on this operation, they refer to the Japanese as having a"backwardness in technological development" and other similar deficiencies. Makes you wonder where they got all those ships, planes, tanks, etc that they were attacking us with just a few years earlier...

on Monday, April 15, 2013 No comments: Recommend this on Google

The Italian Bersaglieri

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The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (the predecessor of modern Italy) formed the Bersaglieri in 1836. They were a highly mobile light infantry unit which was used in place of the more expensive cavalry units. Recruits had to be in excellent physical condition as they moved at a fast paced jog to make up for lack of horses. They also had to be expert marksmen. The Bersaglieri were easily recognized by their distinctive helmets which were adorned with black capercaillie feathers, a practice that is still upheld in present day. Read more »

on Saturday, April 13, 2013 No comments: +21 Recommend this on Google

US Army's Motorcycle Corps at Fort Brown

This collection of photos was taken in May of 1918 by Robert Runyon at Fort Brown. Located on the southern border of Texas, Fort Brown was used for the training of the US Army's Motorcycle Corps. The soldiers are astride Harley-Davidson J-models outfitted with or armored gun carriages. Based on the date these photos were taken, it is likely that these troops were training for possible service in WWI. Read more »

on Friday, April 05, 2013 No comments: +16 Recommend this on Google

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