1955 Harley-Davidson 74 OHV - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1955 Harley-Davidson 74 OHV - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, Vintage Magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
USUALLY, in the various road tests
tests conducted by CYCLE, it has
been our practice to begin the article
with a series of descriptive phrases il-
lustrating the particular model involved.
However, before we go too far into this
phase, it would be well to point out
that this motorcycle is designed and de-
veloped for many specific uses: sport,
commercial, police, and competition in
the large category. For years the Har-
ley-Davidson 74 OHV has been a means
of transportation to thousands of indi-
viduals, both here and abroad. With
this very evident fact in mind, CYCLE
has endeavored to test this machine,
not only for speed, but for endurance
and ability to perform tasks for which
it was originally designed.
As is our practice with bikes capable
of high top speeds, the tests of the 74
OHV model were for the most part
conducted at Rosemond, California, at
the dry lakes in that region. At first
we found it difficult to locate a
spot that would allow much high
speed. Most of the lake’s surface was
torn up in small ruts, caused by hun-
dreds of cars and motorcycles during
several recent speed trials at the lake.
It wasn’t as bad as it might have been
and, after about ten minutes of driving
around the lake’s edge, Frank Christian
and I found a very good location near
the extreme west end of the lake bed.
At this spot the whole crew—consisting
of Dick Hutchins, Sales Manager for
Rich Budelier, Harley-Davidson dealer
in Los Angeles; Bill Metz, their long-
time mechanic; Asher Lee, CYCLE
photographer; Frank Christian, CY-
CLE’S official timer; and myself as
tester—prepared to proceed with the
speed trials.
The boys from Budeliers unloaded
the 74 from the trailer and began their
job of checking the machine, prior to
the speed tests. Just for the record, the
first test run was conducted with full
trim, including a regular windshield,
fender guards, crash bars, and saddle
bags. If you had asked me how fast I
thought the job would go with all
“that,” I would probably have replied,
“Seventy-five m.p.h. at the most.” Well,
as you may have noticed in the per-
formance summary, the “Big Twin”
steamed through the traps at 90 m.p.h.
and just as steady as you please. In
fact, the 74 OHV is probably as steady
at 100 m.p.h. as it is at 40 on the pave-
ment.
We made several attempts at speed
under various conditions so that our
readers could have a report with and
without equipment. Bill Metz removed
the windshield and saddle bags, and I
gave it another blast through the mea-
sured mile without equipment. It didn’t
surprise me that the 74 turned 103.97
m.p.h. in its new trim.
Now the age-old argument about how
much mufflers actually hinder top speed
can be settled, at least as far as the Har-
ley-Davidson 74 is concerned. In the
test to follow, with the muffler removed
entirely, the 74 really smoothed out
and purred like a kitten over the mea-
sured speed course at 110.13 m.p.h.
A question might be raised as to the
pertinence of such high speed testing.
I can best answer this by reminding
those who may be a bit skeptical that
the H-D 74 is usually purchased by
individuals who, for one reason or an-
other, desire a machine that can cruise
long distances at comparatively high
speeds, and many times for riding dou-...
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