Harley Davidson 1920 Eight-Valve Racer

Committed to bike racing in 1914, Harley Davidson soon began to take the sport seriously. Special eight-valve racing twins were introduced in 1916. The cylinders and heads on the eight-valve racers were the work of British engineer Harry Ricardo and featured a hemispherical combustion chamber that had been developed on airplane engines during WW1. The bike shown here is a 1920 version with distinct open-port cylinder heads that have no exhaust headers. The eight-valve racer had no gearbox or brakes. Riders slowed their machines using a combination of the throttle, the engine-kill button, and old-fashioned boot leather. Harley riders, however, were up to the task, winning a number of prestigious races this year. It is possibly one of only eight built, with very few of these still in existence. On the rare occasions when they are sold, they command substantial prices. These were built in very limited numbers until 1927 for the use of the factory’s own race team and chosen riders. Four versions of the machine were produced over an 11-year period, giving serious credibility to Harley as a racing-bike manufacturer. The race team secured numerous victories on the eightvalve racers and earned itself the nickname “the Wrecking Crew.” The sight and sound of these—quite literally—fire-breathing machines must have been incredible as they reached speeds of around 120mph (193km/h) on the steeply banked wooden tracks.

Harley Davidson 1920 Eight-Valve Racer

SPECIFICATIONS
Harley Davidson 1920 Eight-Valve Racer
• ENGINE Overhead-valve, V-twin
• CAPACITY 61cu. in. (1000cc)
• POWER OUTPUT 15bhp
• TRANSMISSION Single-speed, direct drive
• FRAME Tubular loop Keystone racing frame
• SUSPENSION Leading-link front forks,rigid rear
• WEIGHT 692lb (314kg)
• TOP SPEED 120mph (193km/h)

Harley-Davidson 1918 Model J Sidecar

Harley-Davidson first added sidecars to its model line in 1914, and later offered specially tuned engines for sidecar use. Before then, standard bikes such as this Model J just had a sidecar bolted onto them. Harley’s big F-head V-twin was ideal for pulling a sidecar and the company began offering sidecars as an option in 1914. From then until 1925 Harley’s sidecars were built by the Rogers Company, but when Rogers ceased production Harley started building its own chairs. Production has continued, but they are now built in small numbers.

Harley-Davidson 1918 Model J Sidecar

A sidecar meant motorcycle riders could now transport their family, large packages, or even a nervous crinolene-clad girlfriend, for whom the sidecar was a poor substitute for a proper motor car. Period sidecar production was influenced by the horse-drawn buggy. The body was mounted to the chassis by springs that isolated the passenger from the worst jolts of the road surface. The sidecar peaked in the years leading up to the 1920s, with some Harley examples even used on the battlefields of World War I, but the Model T Ford made the car cheaper, and from around 1920 the sidecar became a minority interest for the eccentric enthusiast.
SPECIFICATIONS
Harley-Davidson 1918 Model J Sidecar
• ENGINE Inlet-over-exhaust, V-twin
• CAPACITY 61cu. in. (1000cc)
• POWER OUTPUT Unknown
• TRANSMISSION Three-speed, chain drive
• FRAME Tubular loop
• SUSPENSION Leading-link front forks
• WEIGHT 325lb (147kg)
• TOP SPEED 55mph (89km/h) (est.)

Harley-Davidson 1918 Model J Sidecar