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Harley-Davidson Sport Model

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https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/d37df4b0-0d92-0135-23f6-0050569601ca-1
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Descriptive Information

Title
Harley-Davidson Sport Model
Description
The Harley-Davidson 1919 Sport Model is a one-passenger motorcycle with a storage rack behind the seat. The gasoline tank is positioned between the chrome handlebars and seat. The cycle’s engine is two-cylinder and its rubber tires are chain driven. The Sport Model is painted flat army green. The rider’s seat is black.
Interpretation
In a small shed behind the Davidson family home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, William S. Harley (1876-1943) and Arthur Davidson (1881-1950) started experimenting with bicycles in 1901. By 1903 the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. was founded. Its first commercial motorcycle was the "Silent Gray Fellow," a single-cylinder vehicle. The company sold just 150 cycles in 1907, but that same year it also had its first sales to police departments. Harley-Davidson’s trademark forty-five degree V-Twin engine, introduced in 1909, became a customer favorite and sold 1,149 vehicles that year. Harley motorcycles with this engine type could reach top speeds of sixty miles-per-hour. Step-starters and internal expanding brakes were introduced in 1914. The following year, three-speed transmissions were added to the motorcycles for the first time. The U.S. Army ordered its first motorcycles for military duty in 1916. By 1920 Harley-Davidson had become the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. The company had dealerships in sixty-seven countries. Harley-Davidson has continued to expand and evolve in both design and production to this day.
Lesson Plans / Themes
How We Learn About Communities  
Learning Standards
  • 13 Science, Technology and Society  
  • 10-12 Science  
  • 16 History  
Author or Creator
  • Davidson, Arthur, 1881-1950  
  • Harley, William S., 1876-1943  
Other Contributors
Harley-Davidson Motor Company  
Source
  • Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Accession File #47.13  
  • Wise, David Burgess. Historic Motor Cycles, New York: Hamlyn Publishing Inc., 1973. Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archives  
Subject / Keywords
  • Transportation  
  • Land transportation  
  • Motorcycles  
Temporal Coverage
1919
Collection Publisher
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Rights
Copyright Not Evaluated
Resource Identifier
47.13
Date Created
37487
Collection Title
Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)
Collection
Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)
TitleHarley-Davidson Sport Model
DescriptionThe Harley-Davidson 1919 Sport Model is a one-passenger motorcycle with a storage rack behind the seat. The gasoline tank is positioned between the chrome handlebars and seat. The cycle’s engine is two-cylinder and its rubber tires are chain driven. The Sport Model is painted flat army green. The rider’s seat is black.
InterpretationIn a small shed behind the Davidson family home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, William S. Harley (1876-1943) and Arthur Davidson (1881-1950) started experimenting with bicycles in 1901. By 1903 the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. was founded. Its first commercial motorcycle was the "Silent Gray Fellow," a single-cylinder vehicle. The company sold just 150 cycles in 1907, but that same year it also had its first sales to police departments. Harley-Davidson’s trademark forty-five degree V-Twin engine, introduced in 1909, became a customer favorite and sold 1,149 vehicles that year. Harley motorcycles with this engine type could reach top speeds of sixty miles-per-hour. Step-starters and internal expanding brakes were introduced in 1914. The following year, three-speed transmissions were added to the motorcycles for the first time. The U.S. Army ordered its first motorcycles for military duty in 1916. By 1920 Harley-Davidson had become the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. The company had dealerships in sixty-seven countries. Harley-Davidson has continued to expand and evolve in both design and production to this day.
Lesson Plans / ThemesHow We Learn About Communities  
Learning Standards
  • 13 Science, Technology and Society  
  • 10-12 Science  
  • 16 History  
Author or Creator
  • Davidson, Arthur, 1881-1950  
  • Harley, William S., 1876-1943  
Other ContributorsHarley-Davidson Motor Company  
Source
  • Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Accession File #47.13  
  • Wise, David Burgess. Historic Motor Cycles, New York: Hamlyn Publishing Inc., 1973. Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archives  
Subject / Keywords
  • Transportation  
  • Land transportation  
  • Motorcycles  
Temporal Coverage1919
Collection PublisherMuseum of Science and Industry, Chicago
RightsCopyright Not Evaluated
Resource Identifier47.13
Date Created37487
Collection TitleTeaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)
CollectionTeaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)

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