Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/726231
CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE T he three-part Harley and the David- sons miniseries on the Discovery Channel last week was by most ac- counts a highly entertaining watch. The actors were compelling and you cared about what happened to them and the company they founded. But if you were looking for an accurate reading of the ac- tual history of The Motor Company and the first three decades of motorcycling in general, this series was lacking. To say the producers played fast and loose with the history of the sport would be an un- derstatement. Many movie productions of historical events take creative liberties, but Harley and the Davidsons flat out distorted facts beyond all recognition. Nevertheless, the movie taken for what it was, a completely dramatized romp through the history of Harley-Davidson, it was a well worth watching. Episode One begins with showing the pre-motorcycle making days of the main characters Walter "Walt" David- son, Bill Harley and Arthur "Art" Davidson. According to the series Walt Davidson, a big guy with hard fists, had lost his ranch by way of eminent domain purchase by the railroad. Harley, an aspiring engineer and college student who loved to tinker, worked for the railroad, and Bill's best friend Art Davidson was a fast-talking troublemaker who was always scheming for a way to make a quick buck. Interestingly, eldest founding brother William "Big Bill" Davidson is in the movie, but has a much smaller role than his brothers Art, Walt and family friend Harley. As Harley and Art worked on building the first proto- type, they run into issues of being able to buy the right tools and raw materials, Walt steps in to save the day by giving them the money from the sale of his ranch after becoming overjoyed upon riding the prototype. The movie depicts Harley and the Davidsons trying to work with fellow Milwaukee motorcycle maker Joe Merkel, getting a carburetor from Merkel in the beginning in trade for some engineering tricks Harley is coming up with. The carb proves faulty and causes the prototype Harley to catch fire. For the most part the first episode sticks to fairly plau- sible things that might have happened when the four founders of Harley-Davidson are getting things off the ground. The one exception to that comes when Indian Motorcycle founder George Hendee just happens to show up in a field turned motorcycle proving grounds outside of Milwaukee, and challenges the group of Milwaukee motorcyclists to come and prove themselves by racing against Indian. That most assuredly never actually happened. To make Hendee even more villain- ous, he always has a guy with him wherever he goes who's dressed up in full American Indian regalia as a live promotional tool. The early challenge was to get Bill Harley to continue work on the bike, with his time occupied by engineer- ing classes in college, another company making him an attractive offer and his parents wary of the Davidson brothers. The big race meet hosted by Indian (which, again, is not based on reality) was the highlight of the first episode. When Hendee hears of the impressive specs of the Harley-Davidson, he bans them from entering the race due to being underweight. Walt pulls the Harley off the starting grid, but then starts the race anyway on an access road that runs alongside the racecourse. In "HARLEY AND THE DAVIDSONS" A FUN, BUT LOOSE INTERPRETATION P134