The first V-twin Harley prototype was displayed at the Chicago Motorcycle Show in February 1907, but it wasn’t until 1909 that the first twins were for sale; officially they were still considered prototypes and only 27 were sold. Harley-Davidson is noted for a style of customization that gave rise to the chopper motorcycle style.
source.image: Buzz Kanter
The company traditionally marketed heavyweight, air-cooled cruiser motorcycles with engine displacements greater than 700 cc. Recently pulled out of a house and unmolested in many years a vintage 1918 Harley v-twin. The standard colour of these machines was Renault Gray with carmine striping.
The engines were not as good as the company expected so for 1910 no twins were offered and further development work was done. In 1911 a new engine was presented with 811 cc capacity and IOE configuration.
Advertisement
Finding a mostly unmolested, original paint Harley about to turn 100 years old, and then taking it home to cherish and get back on the road. Buzz Kanter does a brief walk-around video of this bike. This proved to be a sound design and it was developed further year after year. In 1912 a bigger, 989 cc engine was an option and in 1913 the 989 cc engine became standard
