Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson is an American manufacturer of motorcycles. Harley-Davidson motorcycles are distinctive in design and attract a loyal following. Bikers who are not fans contend that the bikes are badly engineered, under-powered and under-performing, and have poor handling, mainly as a result of their American pedigree (designed for long, low-speed cruising on flat, straight roads.)
The Harley-Davidson Motor Company supplies many police forces with their motorcycle fleets.
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2 History |
The Harley-Davidson V-twin engine
The classic Harley-Davidson engines are two-cylinder, V-twin engines with the pistons placed at a 45 degree angle. The engine design, which is covered under several United States patents, produces the unique, signature throbbing sound of the Harley-Davidson power plant.
The crankshaft has a single pin, and both pistons are connected to this pin through their connecting rods. This design causes the pistons not to fire at even intervals.
The V-twin runs like this: The first piston fires. Then, the other piston fires at 315 degrees into the stroke. There is a 405-degree gap until ... the first piston fires again. This give the Harley-Davidson V-twin it's unique pop-pop...pop-pop...pop-pop sound.
Harley Davidson Co endeavoured to file as a registered trade mark the distinctive sound of a Harley Davidson motorcycle engine. On 1 February 1994, the company filed an application for a sound trade mark: "The mark consists of the exhaust sound of applicant's motorcycles, produced by V-twin, common crankpin motorcycle engines when the goods are in use". Nine of Harley Davidson's competitors filed oppositions against the application, arguing that cruiser-style motorcycles of various brands use the same crankpin V-twin engine which produces the same sound. After six years of litigation, with no end in sight, in early 2000 Harley Davidson withdrew their application.
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Harley-Davidson
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Photograph
Courtesy of Classroom
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