1-19-18 Garand Picture of the Day

[Mark in Rochester]

U.S. Army Ranger on motorcycle, Sicily, 1943.
Phil Stern Archives

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[Bill Hollinger]

My dream bike! A Harley Davidson WLA

[Cosine26]

That was my first ride!

[CINDERS]

Whilst on the ocean liner we had a slack day so watched a mini series think it was 4 parts about Harley & Davidson what an intuitive mind Harley had basically everything came from his head they struggled to get up & running they borrowed Davidsons brothers last penny to build their 1st bike ($175 I think) later on the Ford Company nearly broke them in a deal to build service carts, them but in the end they boys beat Ford. I think apart from their humble beginnings in a back shed through the grass flat tracks and also the banked boards the trials and hills were many but soldier on they did and won a good contract with the Army for WWII. The crowning bike was the Knuckle Head with the tear drop tank, it was well put together and worth watching if you can find it pretty sure it was called Harley And Davidson.

A chap I worked with in the mid 70's at a service station had one done up with the high screen leather seat with leather tassles, gear shift on the left with a foot clutch from memory it was really well restored got allot of admirers from the apron, just do not have eye balls in your hands in other words do not touch it, he was ex US Navy and a Service Champion boxer as some found out. Actually it was a good place to work as the customer was always wrong and we were always right in the bosses eyes had some very funny happenings there.
Lastly I have always ridden rice burners only because I like warp speed done quietly as no use doin' couple of hundred clicks plus and advertising your presence by an exhaust note that would drown out a Jumbo, on the whisper jets by the time they zap you and jump into their mobile lounge room your long gone not that I have ever done that!

[browningautorifle]

He has a rifle, normally you'd see those guys carry a Thompson...or ours a Sten...

[oldpaul]

Also my first motorcycle, a 1945 '45' as in 45 cu. in. It had good low end torque but weak otherwise. Automobile type foot clutch and foot brake, shift lever on the tank. One of the tanks held gasoline the other engine oil, and that wonderful Linkert carburetor that needed tuning after nearly every ride and often during a ride. I also had a Servi-car of similar vintage for parts and always thought it would be interesting (groovy) if I installed the Servi-car transmission, with reverse, in the motorcycle. If one learns how to ride on one of these, any other design is cake. Tom

[Cosine26]

I later owned a 1936 & a 1938 "knuckle head" hard tail. One of our club members pulled a "Hack" (sidecar) and had a reverse gear installed. Sometimes he would remove the hack and we would try to ride the bike backwards. I do not remember that anyone ever had any success at it