1914 Harley Davidson 10B... this was an iconic motorcycle. It was the first year of the step start, two speed rear hub and the last year of the belt drive. It was 35 cubic inches and delivered 5 horse power, not a whole lot. I wonder what it must have been like to ride long distance.
It must have been something for these old timers to ride across the country with the lack of good roads, good tires or for that matter even service stations. It would be cool to do the Cannonball but I hardly think it compares to what originally took place in 1914 !
The two speed rear hub was an improvement but as good as a transmission. The three sets of bevel gears worked as long as they were greased every 1,500 miles (or so). The purpose was, with the choice of ratios the engine could be tuned for more revs and power. The first factory racer, the 11K V-twin, appeared in 1914 as well as a 61 inch magneto. 1914 was also the first use of the F letter for model designation. In 1915, the J model appeared, the twin with three-speed transmission and battery ignition. That was also the year of the first K model, a racing twin. More than 13,000 of the 16,427 production bikes produced for 1914 were twins. If you look at old pictures most people were riding twins.... more power.
The lines are about as clean as it gets, Harley Davidson did build some nice bikes !
Cool little video I found on the web https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN-z3_OI00Y&feature=player_embedded
