For those of you true motorcycle enthusiasts, we wanted to present to you our choices of the Best Harley Davidson Books.
As a companion piece to our 8 Top Sites for Motorcycle Parts and Accessories and simply our Harley Davidson Accessories posts, we thought this would be a great resource.
These Harley Davidson books will provide history, maintenance advice, motorcycle parts and engine building tools, and more.
The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archive Collection
Who knew, over a century ago, that the speed-hungry, cutting-edge motorcycle fanatics who founded Harley-Davidson were making history as well as bikes?The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archive Collection, showcasing more than 100 years of bikes that shaped motorcycle history, brings that history to gleaming life on page after page of motorcycles beyond compare.
Created in cooperation with the official Harley-Davidson Museumin Milwaukee, this book gives motorcycle enthusiasts an opportunity to pore over milestone bikes from the collection. And to linger over every detail that has made Harley-Davidson an icon of American open-road power and performance. With exquisite, detailed photographs and histories of more than 200 motorcycles from Harley’s collection. From serial number one built in 1903 to pre-World War II racers to the latest Street Glide, the book captures the excitement of the best-known motorcycles in the world.
From the earliest singles and twins through street, race, and military bikes powered by Flatheads, Panheads, Knuckleheads Evos,Twin Cams, and more,The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archive Collectionis a stunning collection, all that’s missing is the patented roar, which readers are invited to supply!
Harley-Davidson: The Complete History
Cruise through this collection of Harley-Davidson’s most iconic motorcycles!
When most people imagine a motorcycle, chances are they picture a Harley-Davidson. That’s because Harley-Davidson machines look the way the primordial biker inside each of us feels a motorcycle should look. In short, Harley-Davidson makes mythic bikes.Harley-Davidson: The Complete Historycelebrates these iconic motorcycles, presenting them all in one beautifully illustrated book.
The most beloved and recognizable motorcycles are included here. The Knucklehead, the Panhead, the Peashooter, the KR, the Sportster, the XR750, the Shovelhead, the Evolution, the Twin Cam, the V-Rod, and all the rest. Pages in the book reveal historic images as well as modern photos from the top motorcycle photographers working today. Additionally, there are chapters from some of the most celebrated motorcycle writers of all time–Peter Egan, Kevin Cameron, Ed Youngblood, Allan Girdler, Steve Anderson, and many more. All of this material combines to tell the story of every major motorcycle that Harley-Davidson has built, from the very first prototype to the Silent Gray Fellow to the latest liquid-cooled CVO Electra Glides and Softails. Harley-Davidson: The Complete Historyis the ultimate history of the ultimate motorcycle company.
Harley-Davidson: An Illustrated Guide
This illustrated guide is packed with interesting facts and follows the history of the famous Harley-Davidson company and the development of its famous bikes. Which have earned a special place in the hearts of enthusiasts everywhere. The story dates from 1903 when Bill Harley and the Davidson brothers, with no thought of fame or fortune, decided to build a motorcycle that really worked. This led to the gradual formation of a company that has survived through good times and bad.
Through good times and bad, losing and winning back police contracts, as well as weathering various other vicissitudes, the company has achieved lasting success. Harley-Davidson came to the ultimate decision of giving its customers what they really wanted. Not by providing year-on-year innovations, but by remaining true to the Founders’ original concept. The result, as everyone knows, are bikes of mythic status, imbued with a mysterious quality of their own and generating a passion in enthusiasts amounting almost to a love affair. The name has come to personify America and is up there alongside Coca-Cola, Ford and McDonald’s.
The bikes are described in detail, not only in mechanical terms, but also with glorious photographs. They will be of interest to everyone who loves motorbikes. Even aficionados of Japanese and European bikes, who have never even ridden a Harley-Davidson, will be able to recognize the unique marriage of style and nostalgia and the fact that there are no other bikes quite like them.
Ultimate Harley Davidson
Updated for a new generation of bike lovers, this visually stunning and comprehensive history of Harley-Davidson charts the company and its bikes decade by decade.
From the moment the first model rolled out of a backyard shed in Milwaukee, through Harley’s postwar golden age. To the sought-after bikes that distinguish the company today. Ultimate Harley-Davidsonpresents seventy of the most beautiful and coveted Harleys of all time.
Whether it’s the 1911 V-Twin or the 1999 X1 Lightning, the seventy Harley-Davidson bikes examined are presented in minute detail, with close-ups of the engines and in-depth technical specifications.
Harley-Davidson: American Freedom Machines
Harley-Davidson: American Freedom MachinesexploresHarley-Davidson’s fascinating history.
- 70 Harleys profiled, illustrated with photography and informative text.
- Hardcover
- 320 pages
Scholars have estimated that roughly 300 motorcycle manufactures set out their shingles across the U.S. in the early in the early part of this century. By 1954, the exact figure was much easier to pin down: There was just one. Why Harley-Davidson survived when others failed is a story these pages can only begin to reveal.
Harley-Davidson EVO: Hop-Up & Rebuild Manual (Motor-Head)
Do you want to knowhowto build a performance Evo-style engine, not what to build? Written by Chris Maida, the man who put in nearly 20 years as editor forAmerican Ironmagazine, with help from the crew at R&R Cycles, this book is a must-have for anyone who wants to wrench on his or her own engine. Each section covers a specific subassembly of an Evolution engine. You can pick and choose what chapters are necessary for your project, from installing a new camshaft to installing a top-end kit.
For anyone planning to build an Evo that combines power with durability, this book provides detailed photo sequences that show every part of the building or rebuilding process. The crew at R&R Cycles shows how they do a simple top-end hop-up in the chassis. The also show how to build a complete crate engine, assembled on the bench.
If you’re a rider who takes pride in doing most of your own work, this is a book you need. From a simple rebuild to a complete scratch-built engine, the how-to information and photo sequences you need are right here.
Harley-Davidson Sportster: Sixty Years
Go on a 60-year ride with Harley-Davidson’s Sportster
Things got a little weird in the American motorcycle industry after World War II. People hungered for new motorcycles, buying just about everything manufacturers could build. But on rare occasions a manufacturer produced a machine that nobody wanted. Such was the case with the Harley-Davidson Model K. The Model K had most of the features buyers wanted in a modern machine. Like hand-operated clutches, foot-operated shifters, and cool-running aluminum heads, but it lacked perhaps the most important technological upgrade: a modern overhead-valve valve-train design.
The Model K retained the antiquated side-valve design because of arcane AMA racing rules. Written when Harley-Davidson and Indian competed head-to-head on American racetracks, but by 1952 Indian was on its last legs. This should have made the Model K a massive sales success. What nobody counted on was the British bike invasion. Thanks to their modern overhead-valve engines, the lightweight British bikes humiliated the side-valve Harleys. Upgrades to the Model K didn’t help; Harley finally relented and introduced a new overhead-valve middleweight for the 1957 model year. Dubbed the Sportster, it was everything the Model K was not. More importantly, it was faster than the British competition. Thus began the Sportster’s sixty-year reign.
Harley-Davidson Sportster: Sixty Years tells the complete Sportster story. Sportster expert Allen Girdler covers all the bikes–the XLCH, Café Racer, XR1000, XLX, 883, Iron, Forty-Eight, Seventy-Two, and Nightster–that have made the Sportster one of the most iconic motorcycles on earth.
American Iron Magazine Presents 1001 Harley-Davidson Facts
Discover 1001 entertaining facts about Harley Davidson’s company history. Also, its legendary motorcycle powertrains, pop culture, racing heritage, military use, and more!
Author Tyler Greenblatt compiled 1,001 Harley-Davidson facts into this single volume. He organized them into eight eras, one for each chapter. He starts with the 1915-and-earlier era, ends with the twin-cam era from 1999 to present. And covers everything in between, including F-heads, Flatheads, Knuckleheads, Panheads, Shovelheads, and more.
During a time when a motorcycle was not much more than a bicycle with an engine attached, the evolution is shown in how 15,000 were put into service during World War I. During the 1920s, Harley-Davidson grew into the largest manufacturer in the world. That momentum helped carry it through the Great Depression and into World War II. Postwar development and AMF ownership are also covered in detail, as well as the restructuring and revival of the brand in recent years.
Harley-Davidson is among the oldest surviving motorcycle manufacturers; the company began in 1903 and continues to this day. Over the course of more than 100 years, the company has seen prosperous times as well as lean times, changes in focus and direction, evolution and revolution. All of that leads to a lot of company history and trivia.
Whether you’re a casual rider, racer, or restorer, Harley-Davidson enthusiasts will be sure to find something in this book for that next conversation with fellow hobbyists. This book will keep Harley-Davidson enthusiasts entertained for hours and is a great addition to any motorcycling library.
Harley-Davidson Classics: 1903 to the Present Day
These are the masterpieces of motorcycling! Explore the history and iconic machines of the most famous name in biking: Harley-Davidson.
No other motorcycle matches the style or sound of a Harley-Davidson, with its rumbling V-twin engines.Harley-Davidson Classicszooms in on more than 50 of the company’s greatest creations, giving a close-up portrait of each machine. Superb double-page photos and close-up shots highlight every aspect of each motorcycle. Comprehensive specification boxes accompany each model. Covering all the technical aspects, including engine type and size, frame, transmission, suspension, and brakes. An in-depth description explores the bike’s development and manufacturing history. This unique and highly illustrated volume provides insight into the fascinating world of this legendary marque. This book is essential reading for all Harley-Davidson fans.
