Harley-Davidson — Did You Know?

Ted Gilbert on his Sport Model on top of Larch Mountain

Did you know, that in August 1919, Ted Gilbert became the first motorcyclist to ride a machine to the top of the rocky butte near Portland, Oregon?

His motorcycle of choice was a Harley-Davidson Sport Twin. Sitting at 4,045 feet above sea level, Larch Mountain is 11,000 feet of narrow, brushlined trail. Rugged and heavily timbered, with huge boulders, sharp stones, and logs lining its sides, it had previously withstood all attempts for anyone to reach its summit on a motor vehicle. The three-mile climb took 2 hours and 20 minutes and needed neither chains nor a tractor band to help the Sport Model along. A big sign measuring 4 feet by 6 feet nailed to the side of a huge fir tree marks the time, the name “Harley-Davidson Sport Model,” and the name of its rider, so that when Mazamas and various other organizations of mountain climbers would later reach the top, they would be able to see that a motorcycle could climb the hazardous cliffs of Larch Mountain.

“Hot Road” Perfume and Cologne

Did you know, Harley-Davidson offered a line of perfumes and colognes?

During the “Disneyfication” era which included branding any merchandise product such as T-shirts, leather jackets, caps, helmets, socks, gloves, knifes, signs, wedding cake decorations and key chains.  This was a product to complete the all-encompassing Harley-Davidson lifestyle and smell like your favorite bike at all times. The line of perfumes and colognes were called “Hot Road” and featured woody aromas with hints of tobacco.  It was 1996 and Harley-Davidson thought they’d attempt to capitalize on the company’s unique brand loyalty and decided to produce their own line of perfumes and colognes.

The woodsy scent with faint traces of tobacco did not make the top of the list for even the most loyal Harley-Davidson fans, yet you can still purchase some HERE.

Jeffrey L. Bleustein

Did you know, Jeffrey L. Bleustein is considered the “Father” of the Kevlar Belt?

Mr. Bleustein was Harley-Davidson Chairman from December 1998 to April 25, 2009.  He retired as Chairman of the Board in April 2009.  Previously, he served as Harley-Davidson CEO from June 1997 to April 2005.  He also served at Brunswick Corp in many capacities and was President of Tri-Hawk, Inc., a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, 1984 to1985.  Mr. Bleustein was a technology consultant with AMF.  In 1969, AMF merged with Harley-Davidson and in 1975, AMF assigned him to help reorganize H-D engineering operations.  Led by AMA Hall of Famer Vaughn Beals and 11 other Harley-Davidson executives (including Willie G. Davidson), Bleustein helped execute an $81.5 million leveraged buyout of the company from AMF Corporation in 1981.

Mr. Bleustein was responsible for engineering innovation which included the rubber engine mounts, redesign of the V-Twin and introduction of the Kevlar drive belts.

More on the CEO’s of Harley-Davidson HERE.

Harley Owners Group

Did you know, Rich Teerlink established HOG?

Mr. Teerlink  — served as Chairman and CEO until 1999 at Harley-Davidson until he retired.  Mr. Teerlink joined Harley-Davidson in August 1981 as CFO where he enjoyed great success over his 18-year tenure.  He started just two months after a group of 13 Harley managers had bought the company from its then parent company, AMF, in a leveraged buyout.  Mr. Teerlink’s greatest accomplishment was establishing the Harley Owners Group (HOG) in 1983.

More on the CEO’s of Harley-Davidson HERE.

Did you know, the birthpace of Harley-Davidson in Australia, is considered to be Morgan & Wacker in Brisbane?

Many people don’t realize that Harley-Davidson started operations in Australia just 14 years after the U.S.  At the Morgan & Wacker dealership is a 1917 V-Twin, the exact bike that was one of the first in Milwaukee, and it sits half-way around the world in Brisbane, Australia.  Bill Davidson recently visited and was photographed by the motorcycle.

Oregon Fueling Experts

Did you know, Oregon Regulation of gasoline dispensing recognizes the special fueling requirements of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and makes the motorcycle rider the expert at fuel dispensing?

According to Oregon’s legislature, ORS 480.330 it’s all about the inconvenience and hazards of self service.  I feel it’s just another step in the government ladder of dependancy.  At any rate, the law states that an owner, operator or employee of a filling station, service station, garage or other dispensary where Class 1 flammable liquids, except aviation fuels, are dispensed at retail may not permit any person other than the owner, operator or employee to use or manipulate any pump, hose, pipe or other device for dispensing the liquids into the fuel tank of a motor vehicle or other retail container.  However, on June 11, 2001, Oregon motorcyclists won the right to pump their own gas. Governor John Kitzhaber signed House Bill 3885 into law, which gives motorcyclists the choice of fueling their own bikes. Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states which prohibit “Self-Serve” gas pumps, and motorcycles are the only class of vehicle allowed to actually dispense fuel into their own tanks in Oregon, which was effective January 1, 2002.

The law recognized the special fueling requirements of various motorcycles which then made the rider the expert at fuel dispensing. This bill also removed a liability for gas station owners who permitted the common sense practice of allowing motorcyclists to fuel their own motorcycle.

Bruce McGill “D-Day”

Did you know,  Bruce McGill, “D-Day” character in Animal House, rides a Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle up the Delta House internal staircase?

The 1978 John Landis movie was filmed in Eugene, Oregon and starred John Belushi. Many campuses rejected the filmmaker’s location request, due to the raunchy content of the script, before the University of Oregon approved it. Then-President William Boyd even allowed his office in Johnson Hall to be used as that of Dean Vernon Wormer (John Vernon).

The movie’s Delta House was an early-20th-century Eugene residence that served as the home of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity from 1959 to 1967. Although it was demolished in 1986 and replaced by a suite of doctors’ offices, a large building outside the new building bears a plaque that commemorates the Delta House location.  Many of the interior scenes were filmed within the adjacent Sigma Nu house, which still stands today on East 11th Avenue; the exterior of the frat house was cast as a sorority house through whose window Belushi peered at half-naked coeds.

The movie’s climactic parade scene, featuring actor Kevin Bacon’s film debut, took place in downtown Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Did you know, Harley-Davidson has multiple manufacturing plants in Asia?

The motor company announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in Thailand where motorcycles will be assembled from parts manufactured and shipped from the U.S. The company said the plant will cater to the Asia-Pacific market, particularly China and Southeast Asia with plans to begin production in Thailand in 2018.  The factory is being erected in the Rayong province, Thailand which is geographically located southeast of Bangkok. This will allow the Harley-Davidson to circumvent Thailand’s tariffs of up to 60 per cent on imported motorbikes.

The Thailand plant is the second factory in Asia as Harley Davidson has a plant in Bawal, India, where the Street 750 model and Street Rod is produced. In addition, Harley-Davidson manufactures motorcycles at a plant in Brazil and has a wheel factory in Australia.

Tri-Hawk, Inc.

Did you know, Harley-Davidson sold a no-doors, no-roof, no-regrets, Polaris Slingshot knockoff back in the 1980’s?

Called the Tri-Hawk it was viewed as a semi-automobile.  Harley-Davidson acquired the company in 1984 and the cost for a Tri-Hawk was nearly $12,000.  Jeffrey L. Bleustein — who had a long tenure at Harley-Davidson, served at Brunswick Corp and was President of Tri-Hawk, Inc., a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, 1984 to1985. Mr. Bleustein was also a technology consultant with AMF.

For many years Harley-Davidson made three-wheelers in the form of utility and police “trikes,” but they were not like the svelte looking Tri-Hawk’s.  They product appeared only briefly in Harley-Davidson showrooms as it was determined to be a marketing miscalculation and they were quickly pulled from the motor company line-up.  The two-passenger Tri-Hawk had already been in limited production before Harley-Davidson decided to take it on to fill some niche. In 1983, prior to acquiring Tri-Hawk, Harley-Davidson made a deal with an Austrian Rotax company for engine-gearbox racing units destined for 500 cc short track racing, but the Tri-Hawk was powered by a French-built Citroen four-cylinder motor.

Tri-Hawk

The Tri-Hawk design was developed by race car engineer Robert McKee with deep pockets by millionaire sportsman Lou Richards who was underwriting the project . The Trip-Hawk was assembled in a small plant located in the beachside town of Dana Point, CA. The 1299 cubic inch flat four air-cooled engine rode up front while the frame and suspension echoed McKee’s racecar experience. Borrowing even more from French technology, the builders incorporated a hydraulic braking system manufactured by Renault.  Weighing over 1300 lbs., and powered by 80 horsepower through a 5-speed transaxle transmission, theTri-Hawk had what marketing called, “exhilarating performance characteristics.”

The product had appeal, but the motor company decided not to sell them through their dealers, leaving only the factory in Dana Point and three other franchise locations to sell all the Tri-Hawk’s.  With limited availability and about eleven Tri-Hawks leaving the factory per month they became a sales failure.  Not from design flaws, but from management and company neglect.

Photos courtesy of Harley-Davidson; Harley-Davidson perfume photo courtesy of Sofie Lindberg; photo of Bruce McGill courtesy of IMBD, photo of Ted Gilbert on his Sport Model on top of Larch Mountain courtesy of Motorcycle Enthusiast;

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Doyle’s Harley-Davidson In Eugene Has A New Owner

A long time ago… back in 2010, Victoria Doyle, who along with her husband Mike owned Doyle’s Harley-Davidson in Eugene, Oregon (aka Duck Country).  They had recently closed their store in Roseburg because of the economy and were in a meeting at the Oregon Election Station talking about the impact to their Harley-Davidson business if Measures 66 and 67 passed.

You remember those “tax fairness” measures, right?

It was a special election where the public employee unions spent millions on “yes” campaigns to raise taxes on what they deemed were the wealthy.  Unlike previous failed tax measures, 66 and 67 was positioned to pit the financially challenge against the wealthy.  The wealthy should pay even more tax because there was a need to fix the broken tax system and funding structure in the state – it was portrayed as a “fairness issue” which resonated with many who were un/under-employed at the time because it would not affect them.

In the meeting hall, Victoria Doyle boldly stated “we’ll either lay people off or raise prices.”  At the same time, H-D corporate was pressuring Doyle’s to upgrade the building of which they didn’t own to come more in line with their other dealer “mega stores.” All this pressure had to create anxiety for the owners on whether the business could remain profitable given the weak sales environment.

Steve Dorn (L) and George Latus

Jump ahead a couple years and the dealership was sold last month to George Latus of Latus Motors.

On my recent trip to the Street Vibrations  we rode past the dealer and noticed the temporary Latus signs on the building.  As we rolled by on I-5 I was reminiscing about my Road Glide purchase from Mark Doyle last August.  He and his wife Janie were absolutely a joy to work with and Melody McCauley made signing the paperwork quick and easy.  This would have been Doyle’s 18th year anniversary celebration and I’m sure it was a difficult decision to sell the business.

There was a part of me that was sad for the Doyle’s, but I’m sure the new owner will do right in Eugene.

Back in the 80’s Mr. Latus was a motorcycle mechanic and Harley-Davidson had suffered a very bad decade.  It was an era when you could waltz in from Montana and open a dealership in Spokane and then later in Portland/Gladstone with relative ease.  Mr. Latus is  heavily involved in various racing activities from sponsorship of racers on the AMA Flat Track series and is the primary sponsor of Steve Dorn, Top Fuel racer for the All Harley Drag Racing series.  He is passionate about motorcycles and has established a good reputation with customers in all his dealerships.

I wish the Doyle’s the best of luck and much success in whatever they decide to pursue.

Photo courtesy Shetech/Flickr, and Latus Motors.

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Person Behind The Curtain

Reminiscent of the sly wizard in Frank Baum’s classic The Wizard of Oz, chances are most people have probably never heard of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) program manager of motorcycle safety and safety standards, Michele O’Leary.

Who is Michele O’Leary?   A person who wants you to wear a helmet and protective clothing.  The person who manages the motorcycle endorsement funds and determines how it gets allocated.  But wait there’s even more…

The Statesman Journal has an interesting interview with O’Leary and it provides insight on the person behind the curtain.

First off, O’Leary came to the job with a motorcycle endorsement and owns a motorcycle!  It’s good to be able to relate to rider issues and in my book this was a step ahead of the Harley-Davidson CEO (Keith Wandell) when he was hired last year with neither.   As a member of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on motorcycle safety, O’Leary has the inside track and has been successful in getting legislation changed to increase fines/penalties on certain types of infractions deemed safety oriented.  Is that good?

I became acquainted with O’Leary as part of my safety rants back in April to do anything and everything to encourage the use of the States variable message signs (VMS) for motorcycle awareness. Those neon signs are peppered across the metro area roadways and provide information about traffic congestion and accident reports and in my little world I thought they would make an excellent public safety reminder for drivers to watch out for motorcycles.  My request was promptly denied and I got “schooled” on the ‘correct’ usage of variable message signs by the ODOT traffic engineers. Previous posts related to this subject matter at: Motorcycle Safety Tactics, Spotlight On ODOT, Wanna Be Policy Makers.

Many might debate that we need to ‘just say no’ to the ever increasing attempts by the government to manage every aspect of our lives through increased regulation.  Others will say it’s a noble cause to help make Oregon motorcycle riders safer.  Read the interview, learn who is looking out for you and judge for yourself…

And finally, if the above wasn’t enough to digest… from the edges of the internet come information about a tornado strikes festival celebrating The Wizard of Oz.

Photo courtesy of Picasa.

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Wanna-Be Policy Makers

May is Motorcycle Awareness Month.

There are so many interests groups out there these days. Sometimes the noise level and the drum beat volume gets so loud that you can’t determine if they’re about discrimination or empowerment.

As a “wanna-be” policy maker I planned to get more involved in this year’s safety efforts and do more than just sit back and pontificate via this blog that May is the celebratory occasion.   But, sometimes making a difference is harder than you think.  You might recall back in February I blogged about reaching out to the various city and state government entities to advocate the usage of the “Amber Alert signs” during Motorcycle Awareness Month.  My ask was they display the words: “LOOK TWICE. SHARE THE ROAD WITH MOTORCYCLES“ or something to that effect.  I wrote the “Gov”, but I suspect he read one of my previous “Lazy Ted” enough with the higher taxes for the working folk posts and…I got a non response, response?!  I even sent a number of emails to Oregon State Police and ODOT in hopes of getting a positive response, but was shot down in a blaze of blogging glory.  Don’t these people know who I am?  Interestingly OSP has time for a cell phone campaign, but has no enforcement effort tied to Motorcycle Awareness Month.

It’s my view that as these type of issues become more complex, these representatives are not empowered or entrusted to make on-the-fly changes and this becomes problematic whenever public servants are ask to make modifications contrary to the initial intent or it is in question with the letter of the law on sign usage.  Oh well…what seems clear cut and logical to me isn’t to them.  So be it.

But, there is good news!   There will be more visibility this year for motorcyclists because the Motorcycle Safety Program and Vehicle Safety Equipment Program Manager was successful in obtaining billboard placements around the state (see above photo). This is a FIRST in Oregon and the messages will be specifically targeted to make drivers aware of motorcycles.

The billboard placements will be on I-84 @238th, Hwy-97 (somewhere – not sure just yet) and I-5 at Keizer. Unfortunately these billboards won’t go up until June due to advertising timing. It doesn’t sync up with Motorcycle Awareness Month, but June works and is better than nothing.

The are other placements too.  They include: Transit in Portland, Salem, Albany, Corvallis, Eugene and Medford. There will be print and radio ads available to all markets and Water Closet media placements will be at “motorcycle friendly establishments” in Portland and Eugene. There is also web banner logo’s available for groups, organizations, bloggers and motorcycle dealerships to use on their website or blog. All of the placements will be up throughout the summer months, starting in May (except billboard).

All this is coming exclusively from the hard working folks in the ODOT Transportation Safety Division!  A major shout-out to Michele O’Leary for the efforts on this front and helping make Oregon a little safer for motorcycles.

Important to note is the motorcycle rally on the State Capitol that is being sponsored by BikePac this Saturday, May 1st. ODOT’s role is to read the Governor’s Proclamation that May is declared to be Motorcycle Safety Awareness month. The rest of the event is coordinated by BikePac and ODOT is not affiliated with any other part of the event.

Lastly, there is a Governor’s Advisory Committee on Motorcycle Safety and if you have the opportunity I am sure they would appreciate hearing from motorcyclists.  Their next meeting is July 16th and you’ll find logistics and email information HERE.  They always have an open spot on the agenda for any motorcycle group, organization or individual to come and speak.

Photo courtesy of ODOT and used with permission.

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