Tag: harley davidson

Military Motorcycles, Part 4: Andy Keel’s Motocrossboard as a Possible Alternative? – Core77 For reasons we can only guess at, the U.S. military has sharply drawn down their use of motorcycles. Might there be an alternative? Georgia-based inventor Andy Keel thinks so. Way back in the ‘90s Keel was looking to create an off-road vehicle…

Military Motorcycles, Part 3: The Modern-Day Decline – Core77 Nearly seventy years after the end of World War II, motorcycles still have a place in the military, however tiny. They’re still a fast, nimble way to transport crucial documents or personnel (forward observers and artillery spotters, for instance) from point to point. But the relatively…

Military Motorcycles, Part 2: WWII and BMW – Core77 BMW’s R12 from the 1930s Harley-Davidson had been building motorcycles since 1906. BMW got a much later start, around 1921; but by the time World War II rolled around, BMW’s design & engineering was already world-class. In the 1930s BMW had mastered the emerging production method of…

Military Motorcycles, Part 1: WWII and Harley-Davidson – Core77 Most of us know that motorcycle clubs, whether of the law-abiding or outlaw biker gang variety, are descended from WWII vets who caught the “riding” bug in the combat zone. But what role, exactly, did motorcycles play in the military? Next to a jeep or tank,…