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Old Photos

21K views 148 replies 33 participants last post by  421Tripower 
#1 ·
Let's start a new thread - Old Photos.

I'll open with this one of my father. He trained to fly B-25's in WWII. Never made it into combat as he was a little to late entering. He was the oldest of 4 boys, raised by his widowed Mom and watched his younger brothers enter service before him. Anyway, he served time in the U.S. Canal Zone, Panama. This photo is probably around 1939 or 1940, I can't say for sure but definitely taken somewhere near the C.Z. Dad really liked motorcycles, never rode much himself (especially after he married Mom!), but encouraged me to ride.

This motorcycle does not appear to be a military version to me. Any ideas on that?
 

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#3 · (Edited)
I posted these awhile back but they seem to fit in this thread.
This in my grandmother in one pic and my mother, aunt and uncles in the other sitting on an old Indian Scout. This has to be around 1929 or 1930. For years everyone thought it was my grandfather's bike but I doubt that. I think they were all visiting somewhere on a holiday and thought it a good photo op. The camera seemed to only come out on Holidays and special events.




PS My mom just hit 90 last month so I rented a convertible for her. She always reminisces about riding in the rumble seat of her brother's.
 
#4 ·
My mom and stepdad about 1961-61 on this 1949 Panhead. The first ride I ever had on a bike as on this one when I was 5 years old. My dad rode me around town (Jonesboro, AR) and I loved it. I was hooked from that point on. A few years later at the age of 11, he started me on a Honda 50 (with knobby tires it was a dirt bike). I didn't weigh enough to make the kick starter go down and I couldn't reach the ground. He would start it, put it on the center stand, and I would rock back and forth until it came off and away I'd go. By the time I was 18 I was very good at hill climbing and racing through the trails as well as the local motocross circuit. I switched to road riding at the age of 18 and have been riding ever since.

My dad is 79 and his memory is slipping. Every time I talk to him he asks me if I'm still riding and if I have a Harley. I say yes and then he asks if it is a "74". In his mind that is the last engine HD made.

 
#8 ·
The 74 was a major shift up and lasted at the top for many years. Now there is a sportster with a 74 and another with the original 54 (883) cc
 
#6 ·
My Avatar is me 46 years ago. If you click on images to the left you will see a picture of my grandfather 101 years ago on an Indian.
 

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#13 ·
MUCH BETTER
thanks

now, if you could just trim off the spare tire I have now ::)
 
#18 ·
all the JayD's, my Grandfather, my Father on his Fathers 1927-8 Harley Davidson, colour photo's back in their day were coloured with water colours like this photo come faux colour photo of my Grandad and Dad as a baby...count the fingers on my Dad's hand.
 

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#22 ·
The Kimball Motorcycle club in front of the D. A. Kimball Harley dealership on Lawrence St. in Lawrence, MA, ca. 1922.
I posted this in another thread awhile back but the links don't work anymore. Awhile back I helped the History Center confirm the location of this dealership. The area was drastically changed in the '50s due to urban renewal and the dealership had moved by 1927 several blocks away. The dealership was probably only a couple years old at the time of the photo, the October 1922 issue of Motorcycle illustrated had wished them luck but there was an ad specifying that location in the 1920 City directory.
 

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#24 ·
wheels through time posted this the other (labor) day, i found a slightly larger version online, the hd assembly line in the '20s. Interesting to compare to the one shown last night if you were watching harley and the davidsons.
Room Furniture Building


Motor vehicle Vehicle Wheel Tire Spoke


Motor vehicle Vehicle Mode of transport Bicycle Wheel


Photograph Sculpture Sculptor Art Stone carving


People Motor vehicle Event Team Family


Motor vehicle Classic Vehicle


Land vehicle Vehicle Motor vehicle Motorcycle Transport


Photograph Snapshot Sitting


Room Table History Classroom Furniture
 
#29 ·
I like that last one candyman. Must have been right after WWII, as evidenced by the 50 star large flag, and the 48 star flag on the bike.

A real old school chop. :nod
 
#37 ·
some shots from the era of Harley and the Davidsons

There a great old photo site called Shorpy if you haven't seen it before where they post stuff daily. Most of it is stuff from the National Archives and such that they get and try to sell prints of. Anyway, the recent Discovery series inspired me to look a few up of the ones I've seen in the past that represent the era depicted that I think a few hear will enjoy too.

"Fretwell, 1922." Fred "Freddy" Fretwell of Washington on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. National Photo Collection

Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "H. Addison Bowie." A motorcycle dealer on H Street. With "Harley-Davidson" in the big window under "Distributors," and a smaller sign upstairs. National Photo Company

Archie Cox, a member of the Manitoba Motorcycle Club astride his circa 1913 Harley Davidson. Photo taken in 1918

New York. May 16, 1918. "Police machine gun."

New York, December 1908. "Six-day bicycle race, Madison Square Garden."

September 15, 1937. "First of fair sex to obtain motorcycle license in Capital. Although she weighs only 88 pounds -- one-third of the machine she rides, Mrs. Sally Halterman is the first woman to be granted a license to operate a motorcycle in the District of Columbia. She is 27 years old and 4 feet, 11 inches tall. Immediately after receiving her permit, Mrs. Halterman was initiated into the D.C. Motorcycle Club -- the only girl ever to be accorded this honor."

Washington, D.C., 1920. "729 12th St., Washington Times."

A Henderson in Washington, D.C., 1929.

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "814-816 Ninth Street N.W." showing F.L. Leishear, Indian MotoCycles National Photo Co.

Washington, D.C., 1919. "McCrory's 5 and 10 Cent Store, Seventh Street N.W." National Photo Company Collection
 

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