The Harley-Davidson Experience

Harley riders have a saying, “If I have to explain, you wouldn’t understand.”  You may have seen it on a T-shirt at a motorcycle event alongside some other great classics. At risk of being caught in this Zen biker-wisdom Catch-22, I’ll roll the dice and continue. You decide if you’re clueless or in the choir. I don’t think it has to be so black and white.

Here at Cycle World, most of us are unapologetic performance nerds. Some of us have even, on occasion, been guilty of privately expressing a dismissive attitude towards any motorcycle that isn't on the cutting edge of technology and performance. I could tell you that we still "get it" when it comes to the idea that bikes can stir the soul in ways that don't equate in any way to a bunch of stats, but hopefully, the "Characters" issue (July, 2012), speaks for itself. We can appreciate the immeasurables as much as the next guy.

That’s what the H-D Experience was all about, a chance to show some motojournalists around Milwaukee to get a deeper understanding about what makes The Motor Company (and its customers) tick. Maybe they didn’t see the T-shirt.

The entire “experience” consisted of a guided tour of the factory, museum, parts and accessories division and an extremely rare opportunity to tour Harley’s research and development operation. Finally, we went to Elkhart Lake for some racing and to talk with some of the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 racers and organizers. Throughout, we rode as a group on Harley models of our choice, including an absolutely gorgeous rural Wisconsin ride from Milwaukee to Elkhart Lake.

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Harley-Davidson Museum

First opened in 2008 and continually being added to ever since, the Harley-Davidson Museum costs $18 for an adult admission and is worth every penny. It's an amazing presentation, with motorcycle eye (and ear) candy throughout. Too bad we couldn't smell some old burnt panhead oil.

In a stroke of genius-level foresight, Harley-Davidson started setting aside one example of every brand-new model right off the production line starting in 1915. 1903 to 1914 was filled in with purchases and restorations, making for a complete collection on display.

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We didn’t have to go to detention or anything, but we did see some cool stuff in the back, like the trike that almost was (twice). The Harley-Davidson Penster leaning trike was ultimately scrapped by Willie G., first in 1998 and then in 2006. They’re now available to the public for viewing.

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We were also able to preview "Worn to be Wild: The Black Leather Jacket" exhibit, now running through September 3rd, 2012, then continuing on to the EMP Museum in Seattle. Infectiously excited museum curator, Jim Fricke, gave us a sneak peek at some of the amazing jackets that are now on display in the exhibit.

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Alongside the visually impressive displays is an amazing amount of deeper information and context on the history of Harley-Davidson, including how the bikes have been marketed through two World Wars and a Great Depression.

Don’t miss the advertising campaign from 1933, which uses the sex-appeal angle. Please excuse the scandalously dressed women.

The notes for the very first stockholders meeting, in 1907: Another example of the thoroughness of the museum and how you could spend days exploring the multi-level building.

Each display stuns and informs. The museum is a must for anyone with any interest in motorcycles or motorcycle history.

The “Steel-Toe” Factory Tour

For $38 per person, you can grab a shuttle straight from the museum for the “Steel-Toe Tour” of the factory. The Milwaukee plant produces the engines for all of the air-cooled Harley models.

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The union-staffed factory is thoroughly modernized, utilizing modern robotics and a “just in-time” methodology. That’s probably something I should try on my story deadlines.

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A look at the Harley gearbox and an introduction to the phrase “the clunk of confidence.” That just sounds so much better than “clunky.” There are multiple opportunities to play with various internal components, including spinning the bottom-end of the engine to understand the firing sequence, crankshaft, counterbalancers and flywheel operation.

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After numerous supply and quality-control issues with vendors, Harley fixed its charging system problems the sure-fire way: do it yourself. Here we see stators being built in-house.

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From slug to heat-hardened steel: Various steps in the process keep the steel either flexible or hardened without making it overly brittle. Large firing ovens in the plant treat the steel at various steps in the process to create the desired effect. Kevin Cameron explains: “First a slug of the desired alloy is squeezed into shape, possibly by a rotary process. Then on a lathe the forged blank is machined so that it can be moved on to the gear-cutting stage. Several options present themselves for hardening the surfaces of the teeth--carburizing is one: Holding the metal at a specified high temperature in a carbon-rich atmosphere allows carbon to diffuse into the surface, forming hard carbides that resist wear. The part as a whole is heat-treated for toughness, including everything but the carburized surface layer on the teeth. Hardening the whole part would make it--and most especially the teeth--brittle.”

Product Development Center

After touring the factory and museum, both open to the public, we were afforded the extremely rare opportunity to visit Harley’s R and D lab, the Product Development Center. Employees who’ve worked at the facility for years have family members that have never been allowed past the cafeteria. After a presentation and Q&A session with Paul Wiers, VP of Engineering, and Ray Drea, VP of Styling, Paul gave us a tour of the facility. All new products had been cleared out or covered with sheets, which our chaperones were careful not to let us touch. Even the bulletin boards in the hallway had light paper-sized outlines revealing the recent removal of just about anything that could be considered on lock-down. This was probably a flattering overestimation of our powers of observation, but it gives you an idea of the level of secrecy involved in our tour.

Weirs and Drea gave us a great overview of the approach The Motor Company takes when designing its products, the main thrust of which is “customer-led.” Harley identifies what the customer wants, what the trends are, and then creates products to fill that need (after extensive testing to make sure whatever it is really works). A new windshield or saddlebag design doesn’t just stop when it looks right; it goes to the wind tunnel to double-check everything. Engineers are even able to model acoustics in a 3D hologram simulation to see how the new components might affect the way the bike sounds to the rider at different speeds, passenger and innocent bystanders. Then comes real-world testing at H-D’s Arizona proving grounds (shared with Chrysler) to make sure things stand up in terms of durability. Harley believes the level of collaboration between design and engineering is a key component of the success of its development efforts. Design and engineering, in fact, take place concurrently.

One of the most eye-opening and amazing pieces of the tour was witnessing the level of effort Harley devotes to sound design. I’ve mentioned the 3D acoustic modeling software, but check out this X-Men-esque dyno room with world-class sound baffling and three-dimensional ultra-sensitive microphone array. Sandbags simulate the weight of a rider, which of course affects the sound of the bike. The only thing missing was Wolverine on the bike. No nuance is overlooked when designing the classic potato-potato thump of each individual Harley. There might not be a patent, but they make sure each model has the right sound for its application. Touring bikes have a different sound design than the Sportsters, etc.

A recurring theme throughout this intimate tour of what defines Harley-Davidson as a company, is the idea that Harley is committed to “giving customers what they want.” Not a bad idea for success if you ask me--or you can just ask the guy in the T-shirt. He just might not be in the mood for explanations.