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Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009
Harley-Davidson's new motorcycles are built to meet noise and pollution standards. But bikers say they miss "the sound of rebellion."
May 19, 2003 | Back when he was the editor of Cycle magazine, Phil Schilling wrote what could have served as the Harley-Davidson Motor Co.'s official mission statement for much of its hundred-year existence.
"Harley-Davidson makes lousy motorcycles and great Harley-Davidsons," Schilling wrote. "And since they're in the Harley-Davidson business and not the motorcycle business that's exactly what they should be doing."
Mechanically, Harley-Davidson motorcycles have improved considerably since Schilling wrote his edict 20 or so years ago. But the spirit behind the words hasn't altered one bit. The better Harleys get, the less some purists like them.
"Harleys have become civilized over the past few years and that's a shame. The last thing most people want is a mannerly motorcycle," said Elliot Borin, former editor in chief of Supercycle magazine. "Harleys don't even sound right anymore."
The classic Harley sound is pure machine music -- valves clattering, push rods jamming up and down, gears whining -- all rattling up through that thumping exhaust noise in an ascending roar. But the sound is a big problem for Harley-Davidson engineers, who have to carefully incorporate new technology into their factory-fresh models to suit modern environmental, noise, pollution and performance standards without destroying the sound, which the company considers to be a trademark and one of the fundamental reasons many people opt to purchase a Harley.
"I was 5 years old the first time I heard a Harley. I thought the heavens had opened up and that Thor was smashing the world to atoms," Dave Nichols, editor of Easyriders magazine, recalled. "You could hear that Harley thunder coming from miles away. It was, and is, the sound of rebellion. It is a sound as unique as American rock 'n' roll.
"Is the Harley sound as big an attraction to sales as Harley-Davidson thinks? Abso-fuckin'-lutely!"
The sound was created by engineering techniques that may have been cutting edge, or at least acceptable, when the first H-D hit the road, but they are not considered correct or efficient now. William Harley created the thumping staccato in 1907 when he opted to graft a second cylinder onto his one-cylinder engine design rather than whip up a true two-cylinder engine. Harley used a connecting rod to join two pistons to a single crankshaft. This, combined with Harley's V-shaped engine design, resulted in a rough rumble caused by pistons that don't fire at even intervals. And so the sound was born.
Spine-rattling vibrations that stress the bike's structure and components were a byproduct of that design choice. Due to all that shaking, rattling and rolling, classic Harleys tend to age rapidly, needing a lot of loving care to keep them road worthy. Happily the company over-engineers almost every component of the bike, so Harleys don't exactly break -- they just leak, snap, crackle and pop, something that more than a few of their owners can relate to.
But while the faithful want their Harleys to sound just like they always have, some of Harley's newest customers prefer to have the Harley look without the attendant performance and maintenance issues.
Finding a balance between building a contemporary bike that people can hop on and ride without spending three days in the garage prepping it, a bike that doesn't threaten to Mixmaster its riders' internal organs, and maintaining the Harley mystique is a major design and engineering challenge, but one that Harley-Davidson executives believe is absolutely essential to the continued success of their product.
