Harley & The Davidson's TV Show

[YellowRose]

I really enjoyed the 3 days special this week that was the story of the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company. It goes through their start, their competition with Indian, the near collapse of HD, their recovery, and to the development of the Knucklehead. (A beautiful motorcycle IMHO). According to my DirectTV schedule, it is airing again this Saturday on the Discovery Channel HD, in three parts, 8am, 10am & Noon Central time. Check your TV schedule. It was a very well done show, and story of the company I thought.

http://deadline.com/2016/09/harley-a...el-1201815621/

[Dan Leavens]

Ray I too caught some of this and was very well done. Will PVR the rest as Marg and I have a car show today.

[JohnG]

I really enjoyed it - - a wonderful look into both the company and what it was like to get along in American in the first half of the (most challenging )century. Harley and the two Davidsons come across as first rate people you can't help but like.

Long before he got a Squarebird, my father used to race 20s and 30s Harleys on the ice a lake in central Mass.

Whatever became of Shrimp Burns ????

[YellowRose]

Harley & The Davidson's TV Show

Hi John, I am glad you had a chance to see that series. I really enjoyed it, though it has been about 62 years since I last rode a motorcycle. I did some research on the axle driven Kawasaki I was riding back then. I was in Japan from the middle of 1954 to 1956. I think it was 1955 when I bought the Kawasaki, and according Kawasaki history, it had to be a KE-1, the only one, according to the Kawasaki records, that they were making back then. My girlfriend and I spent a fair amount of time touring around Central Japan on it, sightseeing and visiting interesting towns, and cities. I sold it to someone before I left Japan.

John, you asked about what happened to "Shrimp" Burns. Motorcycle racing caught up to him young in life and he died during a motorcycle racing accident. Here is the Wiki account of his life. That was not uncommon back then for several reasons. Motorcycle racing was a tough sport, with riders trying to make a name for themselves and not always being chivalrous about it. The equipment was rudimentary back then, and often had to be pieced back together with whatever parts they could scrounge. Here is that link.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert...(motorcyclist)