Hogwash September 2014

 

Harley-Davidson has a long and storied history with the U.S. military. When America declared war on the Central Powers in WWI, the government went to Harley-Davidson and Indian companies to produce motorcycles for the war effort. By November 1, 1918 a total of 12,376 Harley-Davidson’s had been delivered and 14,054 Indian bikes were built and delivered to the military. In total, 20,007 motorcycles of the two manufacturers were shipped overseas by the end of the war. Other sources say that Harley-Davidson had supplied 18,018 motorcycles to the U.S. Army as well as 16,804 sidecars. During the years 1917-18 when the U.S. was involved in the war, fully half of Harley-Davidson’s output went to the military. Unfortunately, as usually happens during wartime, after the signing of the armistice, most of the motorcycles stayed in Europe, it just wasn’t cost effective to ship them back to the United States.

Fast forward to World War II. Before the advent of the ubiquitous Jeep, the design of which did not start until mid-1940, the U.S. Army envisioned that motorcycles would be widely used in convoy escort, reconnaissance and dispatch rider duties. Although the Jeep changed all this, the U.S. government still purchased thousands of motorcycles from Harley-Davidson and Indian during the war years of 1941-45. Best known of these of course was the famous 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA.

Before the U.S. became embroiled in the war several reputable histories also state that Harley and Indian supplied motorcycles to the British under the “Lend-Lease” act. There is evidence that Indian supplied the British military with 5,760 machines of various types, but that Harley-Davidson supplied just a handful during the same period. Other writers insist that Harley supplied many more bikes than is officially recorded.

Harley-Davidson built more than 80,000 WLA’s and other models during the war years. A model WLC was produced for the Canadian military. The WLA was a real workhorse that was considered rugged and extremely reliable. The WLA had a 737cc (45cu.in) engine which despite poor acceleration, was capable of 65M.P.H. which was good considering that the bike weighed in at 600 pounds without any equipment. Plenty of torque was available however since speed was not the number one priority and the engine was able to push the bike through rough terrain. The WLA was not an off road machine however since there was only 4 inches of ground clearance necessitating a skid plate attached to the bottom of the frame.

The U.S. Army received the majority of the bikes, with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps also receiving their fair share. Other models produced by Harley-Davidson during the war was the XA, a shaft drive bike modeled after the German Wehrmacht BMW which the military wanted to use in the sands of North Africa. But by the time the machine was put into production, the war in North Africa was winding down, so only 1,011 of the now highly collectable machines were built.

By February, 1942 civilian production of Harley-Davidson motorcycles ceased and by August, 1942 production stood at 750 units per week, all intended for the military or to a smaller extent, police departments in the U.S.

During the war years 1941-45, Harley-Davidson Motor Company received the coveted Army-Navy “E” award for excellent service to the war effort, specifically for the years 1943 and 1945. By the time the war ended, Harley had supplied 88,000 of all types. Official U.S. government figures claim that fully two-thirds of these motorcycles were “Lend-Lease” and sent to Allied nations overseas, including Australia, India, and China but mostly to Russia, which some historians claim received over 30,000 machines from Harley. Russia is still the go to place for collectors of WLA bikes that still reside in basements and barns. Other WLA’s are being discovered in far off places such as islands in the South Pacific.  

Military production ceased in early 1945 and it’s always been rumored that the U.S. government failed to honor its commitment for the cost of spare parts, and that outstanding contracts for 15,000 machines were cancelled.

After the war, the military unloaded most of the WLA’s that they had in their inventory. Large numbers of WLA’s were made available to the civilian market on both sides of the Atlantic, sometimes in brand new condition. Huge numbers were disposed in this way after 1945. Although some were transferred to the military in Allied nations trying to rebuild after the war. These nations included France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Indeed, Belgium is the second go to place for collectors of WLA’s after Russia.

One other somewhat sad note. After the war, there were Army-Navy stores that sprung up all over the country. There were millions of surplus items left over by the military and were then sold to civilians. Included in this were WLA’s.

The military sold these bikes to these stores cheap but the only stipulation was that the machines could not remain the color olive-drab. This writer has read stories of Army-Navy store owners receiving the bikes, and hiring say a 15 year old kid to spray the bikes before they were put up for sale. I’ve seen pictures of ex- military riders riding WLA’s with their families after the war. It was cheap transportation. The color of the bike was usually a red primer. But not only was the tank and fenders sprayed this red color, but also the engine, tires, wheels, you name it.  

Today WLA’s and of course XA’s are highly collectable, there are always the bike-in-a-barn stories. Who knows what that barn on the side of the road is hiding?