The grumbling rumble of these bikes is, technically, not a trademark sound. However, the company did try to trademark it. In 1994 they filed a lawsuit, but many competing motorcycle companies fought it. H-D dropped the suit. The sound is definitely unique. It comes from the exhaust of the distinctive V-Twin engine. The crankshaft inside the engine works off a single pin so that both pistons are connected. The atypical rhythm of those pistons firing causes the choppy sound some call “potato potato.”
The real reason for the distinctive sound has nothing to do with engines and parts if you ask riders. They will tell you that the loud, ground-vibrating sound is not only a cherished H-D characteristic but also a safety feature. It’s true. Well, it’s a genuine belief in HOG culture, at least. Since motorcycles cruise down between lanes, cars are less likely to accidentally take out a bike while changing lanes—if they hear them coming.
The Racing Department
They kept making them faster. Harley-Davidsons were the first motorbike to clock speeds at 100 miles per hour. In 1913, the first Racing Department was formed. William Ottaway was its first racer, as well as its assistant engineer to lead engineer, William Harley. This was Harley-Davidson’s chance to directly challenge Indian’s dominance. The next year, in 1914, the company formally entered racing. Team Harley-Davidson precipitously earned themselves a nickname, the “Wrecking Crew,” referring to their overwhelming supremacy on the track.
The first race tracks were offroad courses on extremely rough terrain. The first Harley that ever raced broke completely in half when it hit a deep pit. Leslie “Red” Parkhurst broke several speed records in 1920. After the races, Parkhurst would showboat by taking a pig, his team’s mascot, around the track on the victory laps. By 1922, all eight national championship races were swept by Harley-Davidson’s riders. The bike became synonymous with total domination.
The Police Department
The motorcycle has a long history with America’s police departments, and it all goes back to the HOG. Naturally, Harley-Davidson’s rugged reputation for offroad supremacy caught the attention of police departments. During that time in America, only 144 miles of paved roads existed. The Harley was faster and handled better than both the horse and the automobile. Affordability was also an advantage.
In 1908 the first H-D motorcycle was sold to the Detroit Police Department. It was the perfect solution to patrolling rural areas. This makes H-D the longest-serving motorcycle of any police force. The city of Milwaukee added the bikes to their force in 1910. In 1911, Chief August Vollmer set up an H-D motorcycle patrol unit in Berkeley, California. By the 1920s, Harley-Davidsons were used by 3,000 police departments across the United States.
Too Loud or Not Loud Enough?
The gentle roar of a Harley is pretty loud. Straight off the factory floor, Harleys emit 80 decibels of sound, a noise level equivalent to a garbage disposal. While Harley owners wouldn’t call it noise, it’s certainly got volume. Some owners opt to make the bikes even louder by removing the muffler. This engine tweak, sorry, modification, raises the bike’s decibel performance to 100. It’s also illegal.
They argue it’s safer and makes the bikes faster. (No oxymoron here.) What removing the muffler will do is cause hearing-loss. Unprotected ears subjected to 100 decibels of sound will suffer irreparable hearing loss after just 15 minutes of exposure.
Hog Production
This year the company plans to produce and ship out about 222,000 new motorcycles. In 2018, Harley-Davidson sold 132,868 bikes domestically with a worldwide total output of 228,051 machines. These sales generated about $6 billion. Harley-Davidson dominates the motorcycle business, comprising half of all domestic sales. However, sales have been a little soggy over the past few years.
Always the innovator, the company plans to release an electric Harley soon. The biker look is wildly popular in some circles. Motorcycle-related product and specialized Harley merch brought in $262 million in 2017. Selling logo-heavy leather gear represents a respectable 5% of the company’s sales.