Harley-Davidson 1914 10E 989 cc 2 cyl IOE 3603

Harley-Davidson 1914 “10E” single speed 989 cc IOE V-twin combination engine # 3675H

In the 1914 catalogue five models are offered, three 5hp singles and two 8hp twins. The twins are available in single speed as model “E” and with a two-speed gear in the rear hub as model “F”. Not mentioned in the motorcycle catalogue by the way is model “G,” a delivery van also equipped with a 2 speed hub.
As in every new model year, the factory has improved their machines in a number of ways. A very practical innovation for 1914 is the fitting of a step starter. This is an early form of a kick starter but with a forward stroke. Previous models have to be hauled on their rear stand before starting. Important is also the newly constructed rear brake, which is no longer a bicycle-type rear-pedal hub brake but an internal expanding band brake that acts on a separate rear drum and can be operated with a pedal above the right hand side footboard. The system is well-thought out: riders who have their feet on the pedals instead of on the footboards can also apply the brake by pedalling backwards. The clutch, positioned in the rear hub, can be operated by hand or by foot. Not many 1914 single speeder twins are still around: that year the factory sold some 16,000 motorcycles and less than a third of them were single speeder twins.

The machine we present here is fitted with a sidecar. 1914 is the first year a sidecar is offered in the H-D sales catalogue, and, according to the company, this is a great success; ”Harley-Davidson sidecar sales during the five months following the 1914 announcement have been more than four times greater than the original manufacturing schedule laid out. This has necessitated five separate increases in the production of Harley-Davidson sidecars to meet the demand for this popular car which has proven itself to be so well suited to both business and pleasure purposes”.
The term “Harley-Davidson sidecars” could imply that they are made inhouse, but that is not so. The sidecars are produced by the Rogers manufacturing Company of 337, West Madison Street in Chicago. H-D tries to persuade Rogers to build exclusively for them, but Rogers refuses and offers sidecars to various other companies, such as Excelsior and later Ace. From 1925 on H-D will produce their sidecars in their own factory. This Rogers sidecar, sometimes referred to as “Dutch Shoe”, is an all-metal type with a very comfortable button-tufted seat.

Accessories with this very well restored machine are a sidecar-mounted spare wheel, an acetylene lighting set and a handlebar-mounted push horn.