from the cutting-a-way-through-the-pack dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
There are few bigger names in the world of motorcycles than Harley-Davidson. The brand has been churning out two-wheeled classics left and right for over a century, cultivating a fanbase like no other. Along the way, Harley-Davidson has seen some incredibly important moments in its company history arise, in addition to plenty that have fallen by the wayside. Seeing as it's rarely talked about in the modern era, it's no stretch to say that one of these overlooked points on the Harley timeline is the brand's brief foray into lawn mower technology.
Yes, as it was making its name as one of the United States' foremost motorcycle manufacturers, Harley-Davidson took a detour into landscaping territory. Way back in 1929, the company began providing single cylinder side-valve engines for the Worthington Mower Company's Overgreen lawn mowers. These massive mowers were used commercially to cut large swaths of grass like golf courses. Harley's engines powered them throughout the Great Depression, though the motorcycle giant didn't stick with lawn mowers for the long haul. Thus, it was never destined to sit alongside the best and worst major lawn mower brands.
It has been nearly 100 years since Harley-Davidson's Worthington collaboration came and went, yet some folks are still keen on trying to power their mowers with the bike favorite's technology.
With modern perceptions of Harley-Davidson as strictly a motorcycle brand, the idea of it contributing to the Worthington Mower Company's Overgreen lawn mowers sounds absurd. After all, throughout its century-long history, it has only branched out to create non-motorcycle products a few times. For instance, it created the LR-64 drone rocket engine for the U.S. military, and took a dip in the marine technology pool with its purchase of the Tomahawk Boating Company in 1961. Still, this hasn't prevented some folks from trying to bring its modern tech to back to the realm of landscaping.
Over on YouTube, Specialised Motorcycle Transport showcased what a modern lawn mower could look like with a Harley engine inside. It looks like a conventional riding mower with some unique aesthetic touches, but sounds just like motorcycle and is designed to get the speed of one too. This contraption was constructed for racing purposes rather than lawn maintenance. MrOildale on YouTube featured a similar piece on their channel. This orange riding mower — dubbed the "mower cycle" — came equipped with a 1,500cc Harley engine, certainly making it better suited for the racetrack than for cutting grass. It more than likely can't outrun the fastest Harley-Davidson motorcycles ever built, but it'll leave most average riding mowers out there in the dust.
Odds are Harley-Davidson's efforts in terms of lawn mowing are long over, but so long as mechanics can make its engines compatible with the latest riding mowers, chances are its legacy in the space will endure well into the future.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Gaaark on Monday September 30 2024, @11:49PM (5 children)
Too damn noisy.
If i won one, i might just sell it and buy something different.
It's all the 'hard-core' biker mystique, i think, that draws people....also not what i'm into or looking for.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 3, Funny) by RS3 on Tuesday October 01 2024, @12:08AM (2 children)
It's reasonable to correlate Harleys with the kinds of people who would have open exhaust pipes (no mufflers). But they don't have to be so noisy. With proper exhaust mufflers they're very quiet.
(Score: 4, Touché) by Reziac on Tuesday October 01 2024, @03:17AM
Dunno what bike (they're all the same to me) but one went by a couple nights back that I could hear all the way to the turnoff over the hill and a mile down the road. Not just loud but LOUD.
And I just saw a private railcar go by with huge strips of white LEDs along the side. What is the world coming to??
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Freeman on Tuesday October 01 2024, @01:25PM
I'm pretty sure 95% of the reason for a Harley is the noise.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 01 2024, @12:30AM (1 child)
Harley's aren't all about the noise/sound. The engine vibration is well tuned to excite the female genitalia--as reported to me by an ex (who had been a passenger on one). These motorcycles are essentially a rolling vibrator. Nothing wrong with that, but they never acknowledge it publicly.
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Tuesday October 01 2024, @07:37AM
They also djent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tjV-TkIIUw [youtube.com]
compiling...
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday October 01 2024, @12:33AM (4 children)
Lawn mowers?!? Lawn mowers are one of the worst uses of technology! Spew lots of pollution to make a yard worse and waste a bunch of fresh fodder that ought to be left for cows, goats, and sheep to eat. Give HOAs and other fascists an issue over which to abuse and threaten the neighbors.
In the city where I live, one time I skipped 1 week of mowing because it had rained a lot. A few dandelions got above 1 foot, while the grass was only half a foot. For that, a city inspector taped a nasty notice to my door warning that violations of the ordinance that grass must not exceed 1 foot were punishable by fines of up to $2000 per day! I was also given to understand that there was now a dossier on my lawn, and that there would be no warning for future violations. Additionally, the notice contained highly offensive language suggesting that I didn't take pride in the neighborhood, was hurting my neighbor's property values, creating a fire hazard, sheltering vermin, and reducing the visibility of motorists. It also took an insulting, hectoring, and demeaning tone, talking down to the recipient as if I was a delinquent teen or lazy bum and not a citizen with rights and good reasons for choosing when to mow. The whole thing was way over the top.
I went running down to city hall and let them have it. Told my representative's aide that I would be voting against all incumbents in the election the next month. Then I complained to the enforcement department about the excessive zeal of the inspector who had the cheek to cite my lawn, when the grass in the median of the nearby major street was considerably higher.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 01 2024, @12:51AM (3 children)
Did you keep fighting the system? Seems like a good way to get an ulcer, and not much else...like Sisyphus pushing that rock uphill. Go live out in the country where there are no rules about lawns.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Reziac on Tuesday October 01 2024, @03:19AM (2 children)
Friend is house-hunting out in the country. Looked at one place that came with a $1700 annual lawn care bill...
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday October 01 2024, @01:29PM (1 child)
I think "out in the country" doesn't mean what you think it means, if you're also saying it came with a $1700 annual lawn care bill". Sure, you can find places like that, but I sure hope you live in an area where it's not like that everywhere.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday October 01 2024, @03:37PM
Semi-rural Pennsylvania, and a good chunk mowed of six acres. Yeah, their idea of "out in the country" is not mine, but there it is.
I look at that grass, and I think,"Free pasture!"
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 01 2024, @04:02AM
Ah yes, good times [youtube.com]. No Harley though