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39-555: From 1934 to 1970, with the exception of the Servi-Car , there have been two distinct lines of V-Twin Harley-Davidson motorcycles, the small twins and the big twins. However, individual bikers would sometimes customize bikes by changing parts around or cutting and rewelding frames and other components to suit their tastes. Harley-Davidson styling director Willie G. Davidson was aware of this phenomenon and decided to design

78-424: A bob-job from the 1930s through 1990s, is a style of custom motorcycle . The typical construction includes removing the front fender, shortening the rear fender , which is "bobbed" (as in bob-tail ), and stripping excess bodywork as well as all superfluous parts to reduce weight. The bob-job evolved from an earlier type of American custom motorcycle, the 'Cut Down', which appeared in the late 1920s, and which

117-418: A drum brake on the front wheel and another drum brake inside the rear axle housing, decelerating both rear wheels. In 1937, the braking system was upgraded to have a drum brake on each wheel. A hydraulic rear brake system was introduced in 1951. The very last Servi-Cars, built late in their last model year, have disc brakes on all three wheels. Bobber (motorcycle) A bobber , originally called

156-684: A sport-tourer . A revised version of the FXDL Low Rider returned in mid 2014, and replaced the FXDC Super Glide Custom in the line up. Midway through 2016 Harley-Davidson released a special edition FXDLS Dyna Low Rider S with the Screaming Eagle 110 cubic-inch engine, dual front disks, and electronic cruise control. Harley-Davidson discontinued the Dyna platform in 2017 for the 2018 model year, having been replaced by

195-505: A car from one location to another and drive themselves back; after driving the car to its destination, the delivery driver would unhitch the Servi-Car and ride it back to the garage. In addition to its intended use for car delivery and retrieval, the Servi-Car was also popular as a utility vehicle for small businesses and mobile vendors. It proved to be particularly popular with police departments, some of which still used Servi-Cars into

234-500: A completely-redesigned Softail chassis; some of the existing models previously released by the company under the Dyna nameplate have since been carried over to the new Softail line. Harley-Davidson Servi-Car The Harley-Davidson Servi-Car is a three-wheeled utility motorcycle that was manufactured by Harley-Davidson from 1932 to 1973. The Servi-Car was designed during the Great Depression when Harley-Davidson

273-410: A continuation of the original Class C inspiration. Bob-jobs reflected the aesthetic tastes of their owners, and were home-built, there being no commercially produced road-going bob-job available until the late 1990s. The style has also influenced motorcycle manufacturers, such as Harley-Davidson and Honda . In the late 1990s, the term bob-job became shortened in popular parlance to 'bobber', and

312-603: A motorcycle for production that would have the look of the custom bikes. To accomplish this, he started with the frame and rear suspension, but not the electric starter, from the FLH Electra Glide , to which he then mated the smaller telescopic forks from the XLH Sportster . This combination was referred to as the FX chassis, where "FX" meant " F actory E x perimental", The drivetrain and engine accessories were from

351-465: A must on choppers with their long extended sissy-bars. Springer forks are popular on both bikes, but often mounted with a higher rake in the chopper's triple-tree, to move the front wheel forward. Instead of glossy flake-paintings and chrome parts used for many choppers, a bobber more often comes as a Ratbike in flat paint and/or some rusty parts, though this is more of a modern trend as motorcycles are built to resemble vintage motorcycles that had received

390-468: A recirculating oil system instead of the constant-loss system of the R. The "W" flathead engine continued until the end of production in 1973, despite the "W" solo series being replaced by the "K" series in 1952. An electric starter became available on the Servi-Car in 1964, making it the first civilian Harley with an electric starter, one year before the debut of the Electra Glide . When

429-462: A smaller gas tank, raised handlebars, and exhaust pipes which turned upwards at the rear. Such modifications became the standard for bob-jobs, which grew in popularity, whether as show bikes or ordinary road bikes. The bob-job evolved through the 1950s and 60s in several directions; some were strictly for the popular motorcycle and hot rod show circuit, some had a distinctive 'club bike' style, some reflected drag racing practice, and some were simply

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468-571: A track of 42 inches (1,100 mm). A prototype of the Servi-Car with rear suspension was tested but found to be unstable. The production model's axle is mounted directly to the frame with no suspension at all. Until 1957, the front forks of the Servi-Car were the springer-type leading-link forks used on the R-series and W-series solo motorcycles. From 1958 on, the Servi-Car's neck stem length and inner diameter were changed to fit Hydra-Glide front forks . Early production Servi-Cars have

507-438: A traditional bobber's style is the original form of the bike. Some parts could be swapped, such as turning around a stock Harley FL front fender and running it on the rear of the motorcycle, but in general stock parts were modified (trimming a fender shorter) or removed. Instead of the large diameter front wheels of choppers, bobbers usually come with a size similar to the rear rim. Builders mostly use spring saddles, which isn't

546-463: A ‘bob-job’ (hence the moniker 'Bobber'), that is, had extraneous parts removed for simplicity and weight-reduction. Thus, bobbers are fairly easy to create from stock motorcycles, as it is an exercise in subtraction for the sake of performance. Choppers, on the other hand, often sport features that actually decrease the safety, handling, and braking ability of the machine. Choppers are more about overall style than overall performance. The driving force of

585-401: Is a more stylistically and technically extreme evolution of the bob-job, which emerged after the highly elaborate, heavily chromed bob-jobs which appeared in the late 1940s and 1950s. Bobbers are typically built around unmodified frames, while choppers use either highly modified or custom-made frames. Chopper frames are often cut and welded into shape. A bobber is a motorcycle that has undergone

624-556: The 1990s. The models offered in 1932, the first year of production, were: In 1933, the GDT, with large box and tow bar, was added to the line. In 1942, the small and large boxes were replaced with a standardized intermediate-sized box that was manufactured for Harley-Davidson by the Chas. Abresch Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin . A gold, red, and black water transfer decal from this company

663-624: The FLH, the front headlights and brakes were from the XLH. This use of a mixture of FL and XL parts has also been used to explain the FX designation. To complete the Super Glide, he added buckhorn handlebars and a "boattail" tail/fender unit similar to those being used on the XLH Sportster. The production FX Super Glide was released in 1971 to a lukewarm reception. Particularly not well received

702-670: The FXDS-Conv Dyna Convertible in 2001, and was discontinued in 2003. The FXDC returned to the line in 2005 as the Super Glide Custom. In 2006, a new Dyna chassis was introduced along with a new six-speed transmission. In the same year new models were the FXDBI Street Bob (a minimal, single seat Dyna Glide motorcycle available in the new 'denim' (matte) black color) and the limited edition FXDI35 35th Anniversary Super Glide (colored to resemble

741-475: The Servi-Car was introduced in 1932, it used the same transmission as the R solo model. This was replaced the next year by a constant-mesh transmission with three speeds and a reverse gear. The Servi-Car was designed in the early part of the Great Depression for the conditions of its day, in which roads might be crude and unpaved. It has a rigid rear axle with a differential . The rear axle has

780-527: The base model. The 1985 FXEF was the first and last FXEF to have the Evo motor along with being the last year for the 4sp and chain drive. In 1986, all FX-based bikes except the Wide Glide were supplanted by FXR-based bikes. The Wide Glide was discontinued the following year as the new line of Softail models provides chopper-like looks. The FXR and FXRS Super Glide II was introduced in 1982 and sold alongside

819-668: The early models had a silver powder coat on the frame. Later production units had a black frame. In 1993 the faired and bagged FXRT Sport Glide was discontinued and the FXRS Low Rider was displaced by the FXDL Dyna Low Rider, although the FXR, FXLR, FXRS-Conv Convertible and the FXRS-SP Low Rider Sport continued to be sold. The FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide was introduced in the same year. The Low Rider Sport

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858-432: The existing FX models. The FXR was the base model with solid black paint and laced wheels. The FXRS was the deluxe model with two tone paint, lowered suspension, mag wheels and a backrest. The FXR chassis was essentially an FLT Tour Glide chassis with slightly bigger diameter frame tubes and a more conventional design around the steering head. As such, it had a rubber-mounted engine and a five-speed transmission, as opposed to

897-506: The front wheel, extended forks with a 32° rake, and a 26" seat height. Unlike the Super Glide, the Low Rider was an instant hit; outselling all other Harley-Davidson models in its first full year of production. All three FX models returned to using Fat Bob tanks, but with a special center divider that included a tachometer. A 1977 Harley-Davidson Confederate Edition of the Super Glide that had commemorative paint and tank and fender decals

936-727: The inspiration of the 'bob-job'; these stripped-down racers had no front fender, an abbreviated rear, and no excess weight. Road riders directly copied the look of the racers for better performance and a measure of style. The first bob-jobs appeared in the mid-1930s, and tended to reflect their somber competition origins, with plain paint jobs and no extra chrome or decoration. Immediately after World War II , bob-jobs, in parallel with hot rods , were subject to increasingly decorative modifications, including extra chrome plating , metal flake paint jobs, pin striping , and colored upholstery . As early as 1946, Kenneth Howard (' Von Dutch ') began modifying his Indian Scout bob-job with wild paint jobs,

975-414: The last FXR models in regular production. The FXDX Super Glide Sport was introduced in 1999. The first blacked out Dyna with dual front disc brakes, tach/speedometer (the iconic mickey mouse ears) at the handlebars and higher rear end. In 2000 it got fully adjustable rear and front suspension. The FXDX-T Super Glide T-Sport, with a detachable fork mounted fairing and improved detachable saddlebags, replaced

1014-566: The original white 1971 Super Glide). The FXDX Super Glide Sport was discontinued. In 2007, the Twin Cam 88 engine was replaced by the fuel-injected 1584 cc Twin Cam 96 engine across the entire Harley-Davidson Big Twin lineup, including the FXD series. The 'I' model designator was dropped for all models, since all Big Twins from then on had fuel injection. The FXDF Fat Bob was introduced in 2008. In

1053-631: The same year, the FXDWG Wide Glide was sold as a limited edition 105th Anniversary model before being retired, re-emerging in 2010 with a different ( bobber ) rear treatment. 2010 also saw the discontinuation of the FXD base model (replaced by the FXDB) and the loss of the FXDL Low Rider. 2012 saw some Dynas obtain the TC103 engine, available in the FXDF and FXDWG models as well as the new FLD Switchback,

1092-675: The solid mounting and four-speed transmission of the original FX chassis. The next year Harley introduced the FXRT Sport Glide in 1983, a Super Glide variant with a fairing and saddlebags. Upon the discontinuation of the corresponding FX-based models, the FXR Super Glide II became the FXR Super Glide and the FXRS Low Glide became the FXRS Low Rider. The Wide Glide was discontinued because the FXR frame

1131-421: The style saw a resurgence in popularity in the custom motorcycle scene. The bobber continues to be favored today; although hybrid styles have emerged, such as the "bobber chopper", and "retro-bobber". Such bobbers exemplify the continuing evolution of the style, and its enduring popularity. The term ' chopper ' did not appear in print until the mid-1960s, over 30 years after the bob-job was invented. The chopper

1170-596: The tank. In 1983, the Low Rider was converted from chain drive to belt drive and given the designation FXSB, at which point the FXB was discontinued. In the same year, the FXDG Disc Glide was introduced. This model had a disc-type rear wheel instead of the wire-spoked wheel of the Super Glide or the solid-spoked wheel of the Low Rider. The FXE Super Glide was discontinued in 1985, with the FXEF Fat Bob becoming

1209-612: The wheelbase shortened, resulting in a lower, shorter machine, with a sweeping diagonal line between the steering head and rear axle. In 1933 the AMA introduced Class C racing, which stipulated only catalogued racing motorcycles could be used in sanctioned competition, with points gained towards the National Championship. Class C racers such as the Indian Daytona Scout and Harley-Davidson WLDR and WR were

Harley-Davidson Super Glide - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-426: Was affixed to the top inside of the box lid. This box continued to be installed until 1966, after which it was replaced by a fiberglass box; all preceding boxes were made from steel. The Servi-Car used variations of Harley-Davidson's 45 cubic inch flathead. From 1932 to 36, the Servi-Car used the engine from the solo R model . It was changed in 1937 to the engine used in the W model, which differed mainly in having

1287-404: Was based on the Harley-Davidson 'J' series v-twin. The cut-down was created to modernize the appearance and improve the performance of the aging J-series Harley-Davidson. By removing the front fender, shortening the rear, and removing all excess accessories, the motorcycle was significantly lightened. The cut-down was also characterized by a modified frame, in which the seat tube was lowered and

1326-599: Was changed from three rubber mounts to two, resulting in poorer vibration control, but speedier production on the assembly line. The Sturgis was followed in 1992 by the limited-edition FXDB Daytona. Also introduced in 1992 was the FXDC Dyna Glide Custom. Apart from the paint scheme, the Dyna Glide Custom was virtually identical to the Daytona. Dyna Customs were all painted black and silver, and

1365-466: Was desperate to expand its product base to increase sales. Targeted at the automotive service industry, the vehicle was designed for assisting at roadside breakdowns and delivering cars to customers. For this reason, it was available with a tow bar at the front and a large 60 Ah battery. (The tow bar was used to tow the Servicar from the rear of a car, not vice-versa). It allowed one person to transfer

1404-635: Was discontinued in 1994, and the Low Rider was discontinued after the 2009 model year. Between the 1991 introduction of the Dyna chassis and the end of the 1994 model year, all Dyna models had a 32° rake. In 1995 the FXD Dyna Super Glide and the FXDS-Conv Dyna Glide Convertible were introduced. These Dynas had a 28° rake and replaced the FXR Super Glide and the FXLR Low Rider Custom, which were

1443-484: Was not suitable for the wide forks. The 1984 Disc Glide as it was known was a very rare motorcycle. It had the first Chrome Package: chrome rocker boxes, nose cone, and primary cover. It was called the FXRSDG. Design work began on the replacement for the FXR chassis shortly after the first FXR bikes were sold. The Dyna chassis was introduced in 1991 with a limited-production FXDB Sturgis model. The engine mounting system

1482-549: Was produced but in such low volume numbers - only 228 units - as to make it one of the rarest of the company's motorcycles. The base, kickstart-only FX was discontinued in 1979. In that year, the FXEF Fat Bob was introduced. The following year would bring the FXB Sturgis, an all-black Low Rider with primary and secondary belt drives, and the FXWG Wide Glide, a Low Rider with wide forks and a flame pattern painted on

1521-744: Was the "boattail", which also proved to be unpopular on the Sportsters that had it. Sales of both models improved when less radical rear styling was made available. In 1974, the FX was joined by the FXE, a version of the Super Glide with an electric starter. Both versions also got an exclusive one-piece tank instead of the Fat Bob tank used by the FL. In 1977, the FXS Low Rider was introduced. The Low Rider had alloy wheels front and rear, two disc brakes on

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