"The
Model B side valve Harley was initially a reasonably
good seller. In fact, a large number were also exported to
Britain, Australia and New Zealand"
It was
competition racing in NZ that caught on with the
Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
The Harley-Davidson 350 cc overhead-valve 'A '
which was apparently called the 'Peashooter' and
was used on grass and dirt tracks. "It was never an
official Harley-Davidson model name; however, it stuck.
Surprisingly the "Peashooter' owes it survival to the
marketplace and, strangely enough, it was a favorable
vote from New Zealand and Australia which ensured that the
Americans sat up and took notice. At the time of its
release in 1926, things did not look bright for the
overhead-valve competition Model S. The race scene
in the United States was in a disarray. The national
governing body of motorcycle sport was fictionalized,
beholden to the major manufacturers and financially
strapped - a natural consequence of this being the
development of local, unsanctioned, non-professional
meets. The 'boards' had already died and dirt racing was
on the decline."
The
Peashooter was a hot favorite because it won the races
and the mechanics soon cottoned on it had big potential
as a racer. "When the first 350 cc 'AA' Harley
raced on beach and grass tracks in New Zealand, opposition
and spectators were stunned by the performance. It
was in effect a road bike which had been tuned by
mechanics and riders associated with Jones Brothers in
Christchurch - the great Geoff Hockley being to the fore
in these proceedings.
If that machine was capable of so much, it had to be
questioned what the genuine 350 'Peashooter' racers were
like."
"A cable
was sent to Milwaukee, and three months later bike number
SM 516 landed in New Zealand. These machines remained the
property of the factory, in effect on lease. The
potential is clear: you're sitting on the starting line,
the string goes up and, if you're good enough, in a couple
of seconds the engine is positively singing at 7,000 rpm
plus!"
Of
course this leads to the "arguments about where
grass-track racing originated are like the question of who
invented the Pavlova. It may surprise some to learn that
grass-track racing started in New Zealand well before the
outbreak of hostilities with Germany in 1914. Geoff
Hockley noted that Bill Hyslop, riding a Triumph,
gave a demonstration on a grass cycle track in Cornwall
Park, Hastings in 1908. Significantly, interest in this
form of motorcycle sport grew rapidly, to the point where
at many of the meetings held on racecourses spectator
numbers exceeded those anticipated for the biggest horse
carnival of the year. Quarter-, half- and one-mile grass
track racing became very popular with riders and
spectators in New Zealand and Australia, and the
'Peashooter' was the bike to ride."
"When
the news got back to the United States, things in the
competition arena had again started to hot up.
Harley-Davidson announced it would return to competition,
with particular emphasis on the 'lightweights', then
employed the great Joe Petralli as its rider."
The
other impact the Harley had in New Zealand was as Arthur
Davidson predicted, was the Horse you didn't have to
feed. Back in the 1930's the Mills moved their logs and
supplies on rail tracks by use of 'trolleys'. Talk about
Kiwi ingenuity for a man named Frank Heinz whom would buy
up 10/12 Harley-Davidsons in reasonable order.
"These
machines were sent to the West Coast by the 'the
trainload' during the 1930's. Imagine this: a rectangular
wooden frame made from 8 x 2 timber, about four metres
wide ( 3' 6" in fact). Attached to either end of the
frame were railway wheels with axles in open
bearings....'a dash of grease each morning'. Then, on top
of the frame, a bench seat capable of sitting six men, one
such seat either side and, in the middle between the
benches, a Harley 10/12."
"Brakes
were simply a lever which jammed a wooden block against
the wheel. The downhill run to home was often exciting,
with corners approached too fast and the shout 'she's
off!' with thirteen men bailing out into the bush. The
trolleys were seen by the millers as a disposable
commodity. They were simple, anyone could build them. If
the engine gave problems, they could be changed over in
ten minutes. Of all the engines used the Harley was the
BEST."
The
Harley powered trolleys were the best thing for carting
men and the injured in and out of the bush. The idea
caught on and some people had their own private trolleys.
As forest service roads became the in thing over the next
30 years and slowly the Harley powered trolley disappeared
along with the trams in the 50's & 60's.
One
story told was of a 1905 Cadillac used as a taxi. The
engine died and the typical Kiwi put a Harley 10/12 in it
instead and it sure went like the clappers.
So you
see the Harley in New Zealand was a very sought after
motorcycle for it's parts and many of the early models
just sat in the barns or sheds waiting to be restored in
years to come by enthusiasts.
One such story I
heard on the biker grapevine became local news, about a
Harley that was like winning the Lottery for
some lucky dude. He had an old Harley that he decided to
restore(?) so he rang the local dealer about parts and
gave them the model and make number of his Harley-Davidson
motorcycle. Not sure how the story goes but he was offered
quite a lot of money for his bike which actually puzzled
him because it certainly wasn't worth that much going by
the condition it was in.
It was
said the dude rang overseas direct to check up on this
model, only to be offered even more money for his bike.
I am sure he scratched his head and thought what the F***
is going on here. I got this real old rusted out bike and
everyone is offering me large amounts of money for it.
As it
turns out, the Harley in question was one of the Elvis
Harley Collection and that this particular Harley had
belonged to James Dean. Fact or Fiction? If it's
fiction then I will be speaking to the person that told me
and telling them that was Biker Bullshit but the source of
the information came from a few directions so I have no
reason to doubt the validity of such a story. Lucky
Bastard and that would've been better than winning the
Lottery for sure as far as collectors bikes go.
Wonder how many left of the Elvis Collection to find now?
On that
note I will leave you with that small taste of Harley
History in New Zealand.
Footnote: Classic Motorcycles in
New Zealand by Kerry Swanson, 1997 The Dunmore Press Ltd.
