When it comes to brand loyalty, Harley-Davidson has set the bar so high, that no other company could ever hope to match it. Sure people will wait in lines for days to get the latest iPhone, but how many people have you seen with Apple tattoos? The problem that has always plagued Harley and all other motorcycle manufactures is how to attract new riders to the sport of motorcycling. The obvious answer has always been to build an entry level motorcycle. Something easy to ride and affordable, take for instance Harley's recent attempt with the Buell Blast. This quest for the perfect entry level motorcycle has resulted in some strange additions to Harley's line-up, but perhaps the strangest is the Model W produced from 1919-1923.
The Model W was a dramatic shift from Harley's previous motorcycles. Wanting to appeal to the entry level rider, Harley's engineers set about designing a motorcycle with a low center of gravity, a smooth running engine and most importantly wouldn't leave the rider covered in oil after a ride. All of this was accomplished with a new engine based on the Douglas flat-twin engine.
Unlike most flat-twin's which are designed with the cylinders perpendicular to the motorcycle (think BMW), this design put the cylinders inline with the frame. The clutch and transmission were also integrated into the engine cases, which resulted in less places for oil leaks. With the cylinders arranged fore and aft instead of vertically, the engine had a much lower center of gravity and it ran smoother than the V-twins too. Some other interesting design features included integral cylinder heads, one piece intake and exhaust manifolds, a large external flywheel and a trailing-link front fork.
Surprisingly, this new motorcycle performed extremely well. It broke endurance records for runs from British Columbia to Tijuana and from New York to Chicago. The Model W traveled 1,200 miles through Death Valley without incident and became the first motorized vehicle to climb Mount San Antonio in California.
So with great engineering and a proven track record, why have you not heard or seen a Model W? Turns out they were just too expensive and they came out at the same time that Indian introduced the Scout. This lead Harley to discontinue the model after just four years of production.
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