![]() As one road-tester put it in August of 1949, the new fork had made the Big Twin into “a marvelous road motor.” A self-styled humorist noted that the look of the massive fork was that of a couple of beer cans. They were quite simple, really, with long helical springs located in the fork tubes, more than 5 inches of travel, using a high-viscosity synthetic oil for damping and added cushioning effect. Telescoping forks had been around since the late 1930s, were obviously the “coming thing,” and Harley did not want to be left too far behind. Rumor was that The Company had wanted to include the new fork with the new engine in ’48, to give the consumer a big double-whammy of newness, but cooler heads decided to take this a step at a time. In truth, the factory had come up with the design right after the war, but the economics of using up the extant supply of girder forks, and developing a production line for the new ones kept the girders in business until 1949. ![]() That changed in 1949, when the first Hydra-Glide appeared-with a hydraulic telescoping fork. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |