UP AND COMING NEW SERVICE VEHICLE
Posted in TRANSPORTfolio on August 31, 2009 by therideofyourbikeMMTS is adding a new kid on the road.
Just recently, we have acquired a Nissan Cabstar vehicle carrier.
Still bare and basic.
With this new truck’s longer bed and lower profile, we aim to cater to service requests such as multiple units in a single trip and choppers which are greater in length or bikes with bigger displacements that used to be lifted and transported using our motorcycle trailer.
It is yet being handled and soon fit to hit the road and give you the ride of your bike…
OUR FEW FAVORITE TRIPS
Posted in TRANSPORTfolio on August 29, 2009 by therideofyourbike
The BMW C1
BMW K1200S
1953 INDIAN
HARLEY DAVIDSON
Posted in THE TWO-WHEEL DEAL on August 28, 2009 by therideofyourbikeHARLEY-DAVIDSON
This will be my first post on this specific category where the objective is to review all that I have collected from my researches on various motorcycle makes and models, whether they be my personal favorite or yours. Mostly, what might come by are bits and pieces of what I have read, seen on tv, browsed on the net or simply stories of bikeriders themselves. I’m hoping that the little slice of my acquaintance with these two-wheelers will be something new that I share with you.
Who rides a Harley?
Well, I don’t. But, I definitely know that you have to be either a serious rider or bike collector to have one and a distinct passion to maintain it.
For those who share the same obsession to detail as mine, these are my clips of the Harley-Davidson Company’s story…
In 1901, William S. Harley, age 21, drew up plans for a small engine with a displacement of 7.07 cubic inches (116 cc) and four-inch (102 mm) flywheels. The engine was designed for use in a regular pedal-bicycle frame.
Over the next two years Harley and his childhood friend Arthur Davidson labored on their motor-bicycle using the northside machine shop at the home of their friend, Henry Melk. It was finished in 1903 with the help of Arthur’s brother, Walter Davidson. Upon completion the boys found their power-cycle unable to conquer Milwaukee’s modest hills without pedal assistance. Will Harley and the Davidsons quickly wrote off their first motor-bicycle as a valuable learning experiment.
Work immediately began on a new and improved second-generation machine. This first “real” Harley-Davidson motorcycle had a bigger engine of 24.74 cubic inches (405 cc) with 9.75 inches (25 cm) flywheels weighing 28 lb (13 kg). The machine’s advanced loop-frame pattern was similar to the 1903 Milwaukee Merkel motorcycle (designed by Joseph Merkel, later of Flying Merkel fame.) The bigger engine and loop-frame design took it out of the motorized-bicycle category and would help define what a modern motorcycle should contain in the years to come. The boys also received help with their bigger engine from outboard motor pioneer Ole Evinrude, who was then building gas engines of his own design for automotive use on Milwaukee’s Lake Street.
The prototype of the new loop-frame Harley-Davidson was assembled in a 10- by 15-foot (3 by 5 meter) shed in the Davidson family backyard. Most of the major parts, however, were made elsewhere, including some probably fabricated at the West Milwaukee railshops where oldest brother William A. Davidson was then toolroom foreman. This prototype machine was functional by 8 September 1904 when it competed in a Milwaukee motorcycle race held at State Fair Park. It was ridden by Edward Hildebrand and placed fourth. This is the first documented appearance of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in the historical record.
In January 1905, small advertisements were placed in the “Automobile and Cycle Trade Journal” that offered bare Harley-Davidson engines to the do-it-yourself trade. By April, complete motorcycles were in production on a very limited basis. That year the first Harley-Davidson dealer, Carl H. Lang of Chicago, sold three bikes from the dozen or so built in the Davidson backyard shed. (Some years later the original shed was taken to the Juneau Avenue factory where it would stand for many decades as a tribute to the Motor Company’s humble origins. Unfortunately, the first shed was accidentally destroyed by contractors in the early 1970s during a clean-up of the factory yard.)
In 1906, Harley and the Davidsons built their first factory on Chestnut Street (later Juneau Avenue). This location remains the Motor Company’s corporate headquarters today. The first Juneau Avenue plant was a 40 by 60-foot (18 m) single-story wooden structure. That year around 50 motorcycles were produced.
In 1907, William S. Harley graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in mechanical engineering. That year additional factory expansion came with a second floor and later with facings and additions of Milwaukee pale yellow (“cream”) brick. With the new facilities production increased to 150 motorcycles in 1907. The company was officially incorporated that September. They also began selling their motorcycles to police departments around this time, a market that has been important to them ever since.
Production in 1905 and 1906 were all single-cylinder models with 26.84 cubic inch (440 cc) engines. In February 1907 a prototype model with a 45-degree V-Twin engine was displayed at the Chicago Automobile Show. Although shown and advertised, very few V-Twin models were built between 1907 and 1910. These first V-Twins displaced 53.68 cubic inches (880 cc) and produced about 7 horsepower (5 kW). This gave about double the power of the first singles. Top speed was about 60 mph (97 km/h). Production jumped from 450 motorcycles in 1908 to 1,149 machines in 1909.
By 1911 some 150 makes of motorcycles had already been built in the United States – although just a handful would survive the 1910s.
In 1911, an improved V-Twin model was introduced. The new engine had mechanically operated intake valves, as opposed to the “automatic” intake valves used on earlier V-Twins that opened by engine vacuum. With a displacement of 49.48 cubic inches (810 cc), the 1911 V-Twin was smaller than earlier twins, but gave better performance. After 1913 the majority of bikes produced by Harley-Davidson would be V-Twin models.
By 1913, the yellow brick factory had been demolished and on the site a new 5-story structure of reinforced concrete and red brick had been built. Begun in 1910, the red brick factory with its many additions would take up two blocks along Juneau Avenue and around the corner on 38th Street. Despite the competition, Harley-Davidson was already pulling ahead of Indian and would dominate motorcycle racing after 1914. Production that year swelled to 16,284 machines.
In 1917, the United States entered World War I and the military demanded motorcycles for the war effort. Harleys had already been used by the military in border skirmishes with Pancho Villa but World War I was the first time the motorcycle had been adopted for combat service. Harley-Davidson provided over 20,000 machines to the military forces during World War I.
By 1920, Harley-Davidson was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. Their motorcycles were sold by dealers in 67 countries. Production was 28,189 machines.
In 1921, a Harley-Davidson, ridden by Otto Walker, was the first motorcycle ever to win a race at an average speed of over 100 mph (160 km/h).
During the 1920s, several improvements were put in place, such as a new 74 cubic inch (1200cc) V-Twin, introduced in 1922, and the “Teardrop” gas tank in 1925. A front brake was added in 1928.
In the late summer of 1929, Harley-Davidson introduced its 45 cubic inch flathead V-Twin to compete with the Indian 101 Scout and the Excelsior Super X.
The Great Depression began a few months after the introduction of their 45 cubic inch model. Harley-Davidson’s sales plummeted from 21,000 in 1929 to less than 4,000 in 1933. In order to survive, the company manufactured industrial powerplants based on their motorcycle engines. They also designed and built a three-wheeled delivery vehicle called the Servi-Car, which remained in production until 1973.
In the mid-’30s, Alfred Rich Child opened a production line in Japan with the 74ci VL, which became Rikuo after the parent company severed its business relations with Harley-Davidson.
An 80 cubic inch flathead engine was added to the line in 1935, by which time the single cylinder motorcycles had been discontinued.
By 1937, all the flathead engines were equipped with the dry-sump oil recirculation system that had been initially introduced on the 61E and 61EL “Knucklehead” OHV models. This prompted the 74 cubic inch V and VL models to be renamed U and UL, the 80 cubic inch VH and VLH to be renamed UL and ULH, and the 45 cubic inch RL to be renamed WL.
In 1941, the 74 cubic inch “Knucklehead” was introduced as the F and the FL, replacing the 80 cubic inch flathead UH and ULH models.
Harley copied the BMW R71 to produce its XA model.
One of only two American cycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression, Harley-Davidson again produced large numbers of motorcycles for the US Army in World War II and resumed civilian production afterwards, producing a range of large V-twin motorcycles that were successful both on racetracks and for private buyers.
Harley-Davidson, on the eve of World War II, was already supplying the Army with a military-specific version of its 45″ WL line, called the WLA. (The A in this case stood for “Army”.) Upon the outbreak of war, the company, along with most other manufacturing enterprises, shifted to war work. Over 90,000 military motorcycles, mostly WLAs and WLCs (the Canadian version) would be produced, many to be provided to allies. Harley-Davidson received two Army-Navy ‘E’ Awards, one in 1943 and the other in 1945, which were awarded for Excellence in Production.
Harley produced the WLC for the Canadian military.
Shipments to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program numbered at least 30,000. The WLAs produced during all four years of war production generally have 1942 serial numbers. Production of the WLA stopped at the end of WW II, though porduction did resume production from 1950 to 1952 due to the Korean War.
The U.S. Army also asked Harley-Davidson to produce a new motorcycle with many of the features of BMW’s side-valve and shaft-driven R71. Harley largely copied the BMW engine and drive train and produced the shaft-driven 750 cc 1942 Harley-Davidson XA. Due to the superior cooling of an opposed twin, Harley’s XA cylinder heads ran 100 °F (55 °C) cooler than its V-twins. The XA never entered full production: the motorcycle by that time had been eclipsed by the Jeep as the Army’s general purpose vehicle, and the WLA—already in production—was sufficient for its limited police, escort, and courier roles. Only 1,000 were made and the XA never went into full production. It remains the only shaft-driven Harley-Davidson ever made.
As part of war reparations, Harley-Davidson acquired the design of a small German motorcycle, the DKW RT125 which they adapted, manufactured, and sold from 1947 to 1966. Various models were made, including the Hummer from 1955 to 1959, but they are all colloquially referred to as “Hummers” at present. BSA in the United Kingdom took the same design as the foundation of their BSA Bantam.
In 1960, Harley-Davidson consolidated the Model 165 and Hummer lines into the Super-10, introduced the Topper scooter, and bought fifty percent of Aeronautica Macchi’s motorcycle division. Importation of Aermacchi’s 250 cc horizontal single began the following year. The bike bore Harley-Davidson badges and was marketed as the Harley-Davidson Sprint.
After the Pacer and Scat models were discontinued at the end of 1965, the Bobcat became the last of Harley-Davidson’s American-made two-stroke motorcycles. The Bobcat was manufactured only in the 1966 model year.
Harley-Davidson’s entry in the lightweight two-stroke market for 1967 was the M-65, built by Aermacchi and offered in base form with a semi-step thru frame and tank and as the M-65S (Sport) with a larger tank (later used on the 1968 Rapido).
The company re-entered the 125 cc two-stroke market in 1968 with the introduction of the Aermacchi-built Rapido, a 125 cc bike to replace the American-made 2-stroke bikes.
The engine of the Sprint was increased to 350 cc in 1969 and would remain that size until 1974, when it was replaced by the 250 cc two-stroke SX.
Harley-Davidson purchased full control of Aermacchi’s motorcycle production in 1974 and continued making two-stroke motorcycles there until 1978, when they sold the facility to Cagiva.
In 1952, following their application to the US Tariff Commission for a 40% tax on imported motorcycles, Harley-Davidson was charged with restrictive practices. Hollywood also damaged Harley’s image with many outlaw biker gang films produced from the 1950s through the 1970s, following the 1947 Hollister, CA biker riot on July 4. “Harley-Davidson” for a long time was synonymous with the Hells Angels and other outlaw motorcyclists.
In 1969, American Machinery and Foundry (AMF) bought the company, streamlined production, and slashed the workforce. This tactic resulted in a labor strike and a lower quality of bikes. The bikes were expensive and inferior in performance, handling, and quality to Japanese motorcycles. Sales declined, quality plummeted, and the company almost went bankrupt. The “Harley-Davidson” name was mocked as “Hardly Ableson”, “Hardly Driveable,” and “Hogly Ferguson”, and the nickname “Hog” became pejorative.
In 1981, AMF sold the company to a group of thirteen investors led by Vaughn Beals and Willie G. Davidson for $80 million. Inventory was strictly controlled using the Just In Time system.
In the early eighties, Harley-Davidson claimed the Japanese manufacturers were dumping motorcycles on the US market. After Harley-Davidson rejected aid from Japanese manufacturers, the US International Trade Commission imposed in 1983 a 45% tariff on imported bikes and bikes over 700 cc engine capacities specifically to protect Harley-Davidson.
Rather than trying to match the Japanese, the new management deliberately exploited the “retro” appeal of the machines, building motorcycles that deliberately adopted the look and feel of their earlier machines and the subsequent customizations of owners of that era. Many components such as brakes, forks, shocks, carburetors, electrics and wheels were outsourced from foreign manufacturers and quality increased, technical improvements were made, and buyers slowly returned. To remain profitable Harley continues to increase the amount of overseas-made parts it uses, while being careful not to harm its valuable “American Made” image.
The “Sturgis” model, boasting a dual belt-drive, was introduced. By 1990, with the introduction of the “Fat Boy”, Harley once again became the sales leader in the heavyweight (over 750 cc) market. At the time of the Fat Boy model introduction a story rapidly spread that its silver paint job and other features were inspired by the World War II American B-29 bomber; and that the Fat Boy name was a combination of the names of the atom bombs (Fat Man and Little Boy) that were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima respectively. However, the Urban Legend Reference Pages lists this story as an urban legend.
1994 saw the replacement of the FXR frame with the Dyna, though it was revived briefly in 1999 and 2000 for special limited editions.
In 1999, Ford Motor Company added a Harley-Davidson edition to the Ford F-Series F-150 line, complete with the Harley-Davidson logo. This truck was an extended-cab for model year 1999. In 2000, Ford changed the truck to a crew cab and in 2002 added a super-charged engine (5.4L) which continued until 2003. In 2004, the Ford/Harley was changed to a Super-Duty, which continues through 2006. Ford again produced a Harley-Davidson Edition F-150 for their 2006 model-year, as well.
Building started on $75 million 130,000 square-foot (12,000 m2) Harley-Davidson Museum in the Menomonee River Valley on June 1, 2006. It opened in 2008 and houses the company’s vast collection of historic motorcycles and corporate archives, along with a restaurant, café and meeting space.
Harley Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG) stock price (source: ZenoBank.com)
During its period of peak demand, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Harley-Davidson embarked on a program of expanding the number of dealerships throughout the country. At the same time, its current dealers typically had waiting lists that extended up to a year for some of the most popular models. Harley-Davidson, like the auto manufacturers, records a sale not when a consumer buys their product, but rather when it is delivered to a dealer. Therefore, it is possible for the manufacturer to inflate sales numbers by requiring dealers to accept more inventory than desired in a practice called channel stuffing. When demand softened following the unique 2003 model year, this news lead to a dramatic decline in the stock price. In April 2004 alone, the price of HOG shares dropped from over $60 to under $40. Immediately prior to this decline, retiring CEO Jeffrey Bleustein profited $42 million on the exercise of employee stock options. Harley-Davidson was named as a defendant in numerous class action suits filed by investors who claimed they were intentionally defrauded by Harley-Davidson’s management and directors. By January 2007, the price of Harley-Davidson shares reached $70.
On February 2, 2007, upon the expiration of their union contract, about 2,700 employees at Harley-Davidson Inc.’s largest manufacturing plant in York, PA went on strike after failing to agree on wages and health benefits. During the pendency of the strike, the company refused to pay for any portion of the striking employees’ health care.
The day before the strike, after the union voted against the proposed contract and to authorize the strike, the company shut down all production at the plant. The York facility employs more than 3,200 workers, both union and non-union.
Harley-Davidson announced on February 16, 2007, that it had reached a labor agreement with union workers at its largest manufacturing plant, a breakthrough in the two-week-old strike. The strike disrupted Harley-Davidson’s national production and had ripple effects as far away as Wisconsin, where 440 employees were laid off, and many Harley suppliers also laid off workers because of the strike.
In a landmark agreement reached during discussions between the U.S. Trade Representative, Susan Schwab, and the Minister for Commerce and Industry of India, Kamal Nath, on April 12, 2007 at New Delhi, Harley-Davidson motorcycles will be allowed access to the Indian market in exchange for the export of Indian mangoes. India had not specified emission standards for motorcycles over 500 cc displacement, effectively prohibiting the import of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, along with most models of other manufacturers, such as Yamaha Motor Company Ltd. and Suzuki Motor Corporation. The company placed a hold on plans to export their motorcycles to India, due to import duties of 60% and taxes of 30%, which effectively doubled the cost of the motorcycles for the Indian consumer.
On July 11, 2008 Harley-Davidson announced they had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the MV Agusta Group for $109M USD (€70M). MV Agusta Group contains two lines of motorcycles: the high-performance MV Agusta brand and the lightweight Cagiva brand. The acquisition was completed on August 8 of the same year.
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT
Posted in TRANSPORTfolio with tags bike, CHOPPER, FATBOY, HARLEY DAVIDSON V-ROD, HONDA GOLDWING, MOTORCYCLE, motorcycle towing, SUZUKI SKYWAVE, YAMAHA R6 on August 27, 2009 by therideofyourbikeMETRO MOTORCYCLE TOWING SERVICES
… A degree beyond innovation
Metro Motorcycle Towing Services offers both EMERGENCY ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE and MOTORCYCLE TRANSPORT SERVICES, from and to any point of Luzon, 24 hours, every day. *
THE WORTH OF SECURITY
MMTS ensures your safety.
Beyond the specialized aid it offers, its clients receive the assurance of the preservation of each motorcycle’s expected condition, from and to locations, through highly capable professionals, respectively designated to take calls, safely handle and secure the bikes, and closely monitor the due system of the transport operations.
To every single aspect is a relative specific demand. And, MMTS has exceptionally designed its vision to provide for its clients’ motorcycle assistance needs.
* AN EXTENSION TO CONVENIENCE
When your two-wheeler causes you trouble, MMTS is equipped to give you a worry-free alternative to be excused from the hassle.
When faced with unanticipated motorcycle-related circumstances, the closest to the most practical way to deal is to rely on people who are well-trained and are genuinely willing to manage the situation for you at any given time (even on holidays). With just a dial away, MMTS becomes your method of solution.
* MOTORCYCLE TRANSPORT SERVICES
For motorcycle units which are running yet need to be transported, MMTS also provides for this. Fees are dependent on the number of units, motorcycle displacement, distance from and to specified locations, and toll charges, if necessary.
Formerly Philippine Motorcycle Assistance and Towing Corporation (PMATC), MMTS has always maintained its primary purpose and aims to progressively come up with more ways of offering both its existing and future clients with improvements on these said services.
Located at Lots 19 & 20, Block 47, C4 Road, Longos, Malabon City, MMTS is always available to entertain calls through its 24-hour hotline numbers;
287-5663, 287-4827 & 2322669.
MMTS CONTACTS
Posted in TRANSPORTfolio with tags bike, bike towing, metro motorcycle towing services, mmts, motorcycle towing, pmatc, scooter, towing on August 26, 2009 by therideofyourbike
METRO MOTORCYCLE TOWING SERVICES LOGO
You may also please get in touch with us through the following:
PLDT MOBILE: (02)2322669
MOBILE NOS.: (0918)3585153 and (0921)6499154
EMAIL ADDS.: therideofyourbike@yahoo.com
writeus.mmts@gmail.com
