A couple years later, our monthly calls occurred more and more frequently as he started chemotherapy and talking about Harley-Davidsons on the phone was the best way I could think of to help take his mind off it. After his passing, at his funeral, we displayed copies of the tour story for people to read and I was sure to wear my Harley-Davidson tie! Although we had a lot of great times over the years, the absolute best memory I have from our time together will always be that one Harley ride.
by Buzz Kanter, Editor-In-Chief, American Iron Magazine
Buzz Kanter is the publisher and editor-in-chief of American Iron Magazine and American Iron Garage, both based in Stamford, Connecticut. A dedicated enthusiast, Buzz competed in the first three Motorcycle Cannonball coast-to-coast endurance rides on Harley-Davidsons (1915 twin, 1929 JDH, and 1936 VLH) and often rides his classic Harleys to work and for fun.
It would be a tough call to think of any topic that is so studied or argued about than the history of Harley-Davidson. Okay, sports and politics rank up there for friendly bar bets. But, after that, you’d be hard pressed to match the obsession and passion for Harley-Davidson history and trivia.
Most enthusiasts can tell you the company started out in a small shed in 1903. And that a band of dedicated ex-AMF executives rescued The Motor Company from extinction mere hours before it was too late. Others can share years of manufacture by model (such as the Knucklehead from 1936 to 1947) or when specific engine changes were made (the last Ironhead Sportster was 1985, and 1986 gave us the new Evo-powered Sportster). And then there are the H-D badged oddities including the AMF golf cart or Italian-built single-cylinder motorcycles. Along with more than a century of known facts related to Harley-Davidsons, there is also lots of Harley trivia mis-information that is seldom challenged.
For example, do you know what the first production electric-start Harley-Davidson motorcycle was? If you think it was the 1965 Panhead, you’d be wrong, and need to read this book more carefully (it was the 1964 Servi-Car). After reading this book by Tyler Greenblatt, you can go win a few friendly bar bets with your riding buddies.
I have been riding, racing, and rebuilding motorcycles since the 1970s and have been editor-in-chief of American Iron Magazine (AIMag.com) since 1991. In all those years I have read everything I can about Harleys and their amazing history. I have written extensively on the subject, and I’m fortunate to have ridden a large and wide variety of motorcycles. I feel Tyler has done an outstanding job researching and pulling together a wide range of Harley-Davidson–related facts and data for this book.
Tyler Greenblatt has been passionate about cars and motorcycles since day one. His parents hooked him on internal combustion when they had a jump seat installed in the back of their 1966 Sting Ray coupe so that a baby seat could be secured back there. The roar of a high-revving small-block V-8 and the distinctly American smell of vinyl and gasoline had a lasting effect that led to considerably more time being spent researching cars, ATVs, motorcycles, and snowmobiles than doing schoolwork. After high school, Tyler majored in print journalism at the University of Wisconsin– Milwaukee, a town where Miller and Harley-Davidson reign supreme, although he could only afford one of those brand names at the time.
His first real experience with Harley-Davidson came when he interned at TAM Communications, the publisher of American Iron Magazine, after his junior year and was offered a full-time job as Assistant Editor upon graduation. His love and passion for the Bar & Shield grew exponentially from there as he moved up the ranks to Associate Editor and then as Editor of American Glory: 110 Years of Harley-Davidson, a high-end special issue released for The Motor Company’s 110th anniversary in 2013. He continues to serve as Associate Editor of American Iron Magazine and as Editor of American Iron Garage and various special one-off publications.
He lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife, Danielle. His regular rides are a 2010 Nightster and a 2015 Street Bob, and he’s currently working on a 1932 RL custom project.
As this is my first published book, my list of thanks goes back many years to every person who encouraged me to write as a career, those who taught me how to do just that, and those who supported me throughout this journey, of which I hope this is but an early step.
First, thank you to my wife, Danielle, who makes everything I do worth doing. Thank you for your understanding for all the nights and weekends spent working on this book and for when I travel around the country for weeks at a time attending rallies and press launches (I’m writing this on my way to Los Angeles to test the new Low Rider S, as you dig out from another Wisconsin snowstorm).
Thank you to my parents, who have supported my writing for as long as I can remember and who encouraged me to actually consider and pursue it as a career. They came through with motivational text messages and phone calls throughout this writing on those late nights where the amount of work left seemed endless. To my godfather, Uncle Denny, and his wife, Aunt Shirley, for being some of the earliest supporters of my writing and also some of the biggest to this day. Uncle Denny was my first and only paying advertiser when I published a monthly family newspaper when I was about ten, and he even paid up front for a book that I started writing and never finished. I hope a copy of this one will make up for it. Of course, all my family and friends have encouraged or supported me in one way or another over the years. However, a special thank you has to go out to my uncle, Ron, who is partially to blame for getting me hooked on anything with an engine since he put my name on his race car when I was a little kid, then helped me fix my “hot rod” tractor, and then kept my truck running in college (as he still does to this day).
Professionally, I’ve had nothing but the greatest experience working in the motorcycle industry and getting to know the awesome, and occasionally crazy, people who make it up. First and foremost I have to thank Buzz Kanter, who hired me into this wild world straight out of college and whose friendship and mentorship has taught me so much over the years. He’s given me opportunities over the years that were above and beyond what I expected, including recommending me to write this book. You never know how starting up a conversation with a stranger on an old Harley will turn out! I’d also like to thank the other past and current editors at American Iron Magazine who have taught me the ins and outs of the Harley-Davidson world and have only succeeded in making me more enthusiastic about it, including Dain Gingerelli, Joe Knezevic, Chris Maida, and Steve Lita. Thanks to those at The Harley-Davidson Motor Company with whom I work regularly and who also helped on this project; a special shout-out goes to museum curator Jim Fricke.
A huge thank you goes to Dale Walksler, curator of Wheels Through Time museum, and his fiancée, Trish Davis, for getting me hooked on old Harleys and continuing to further that interest every time I visit the museum. Also to Matt Walksler for providing a fresh perspective on vintage motorcycling to the next generation and for the great times we’ve had around old bikes together. I’d also like to thank the following people for influencing not only my writing but my love for Harley-Davidsons new and old: Jim Babchak, Bob Bishop, Pete and Maureen Minardi, Kevin McKay, Cris Sommer Simmons, Pat Simmons,