HARLEY DAVIDSON  & BUELL

A Little Bit Of History - Harley Davidson

Once you get your legs around a motorcycle and feel the freedom of the breeze through your hair as you maneuver your way through traffic, it's pretty safe to say that you are "hooked"; You will probably make it your transport means of choice for a long time

The Harley softail motorcycle is easy to spot for its big twin, hard tail appearance. This is due to the moveable rear suspension that has hidden shock absorbers aligned along the bike’s axis, under the transmission to absorb bumps.

Harley-Davidson has been in operation since the turn of the 20th Century. They have managed to distinguish themselves from the proverbial pack by providing great after-sale service. They have also managed to stick to their original motorcycle design not to mention the exhaust note that sounds more like a "chopper" and reminiscent of all their bikes. Softail motorcycles have been on their production lines since the early seventies, designed by an engineer and Harley rider Bill Davis. All Harley-Davidsons's fall into distinctive model families namely the Sportstar, the Touring, the Softail, Dyna and the modern VRSC.

Buell was at its inception a sport bike manufacturer that used to buy engines from Harley-Davidson until the latter gradually began to take it over and finally acquired majority ownership by virtue of share holding in 2003. Buell has supplemented Harley's bike production by introducing motorcycle brands like Buell Blast but this was discontinued in 2009 following a nine-year run. They have since released a statement saying that they will not be producing any more brands.

Harley-Davidson motorcycles have undergone several transformations over the decades. Beginning with the single cylinder models in the 1910's, V-Twin models came to replace these models, resulting in increased horsepower. By the following decade, the V-Twin was improved into a non-automatic version that came with mechanically operated income valves, seen with most of the Harley's produced today. Engines have also graduated to include the Flathead that was first produced in the thirties, the Knucklehead, the Panhead that was introduced to the market in the late forties, the Shovelhead and the more modern Twin Cam. Sport engines include the Ironhead and the Evolution.
 
With the Softail Harley Davidson motorcycles, the shock absorbers are aligned along the motorcycle's axis, just underneath the transmission. Softail brands to look out for are the Deluxe and the Deuce. Softail motorcycle are the only models in the Harley-Davidson fold with a choice of front suspension telescopic forks to pick from. You can choose between using the X-type fork on a 21-inch wheel or a Springer fork. The FL-type fork can be used with a 16-inch wheel, as does the Springer fork. The softail also does not come with rubber-mounted engines.

Softail motorcycles are lightweight and reliable, great for both short and long distance journeys. A true die-hard softail owner will want to replace the parts with genuine Softail Harley-Davidson parts for the sake of durability. However, this may be a bit difficult since the company has ceased production of some parts. Nevertheless, whatever your club, clique or solo adventure is, you will not be disappointed with the softail scaling the roads under you.