Growing Up Harley-Davidson

Growing Up Harley-Davidson

MEMOR1ES OF A MOTORCYCLE DYNASTY" IS HOW the subtitle puts it, and it's a fair description. This book was written by Jean Davidson, yes of the family whose name is on the factory. Her grandfather was Walter Davidson, one of the four founders, her dad Gordon was a vice president and Willie G. is her cousin. So this is clearly an inside view of The Motor Company and the people who created, and still influence, one of the world's bestknown productsx2014;no, make that images.

But first, the inside view isn't always the best view. Recol lections of one's parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins and (sorry) fellow stockholders, are bound to be influenced by affection and/or (sorry again) self-interest, or in far too many other cases, by the urge to take revenge or advantage.

good Part that comes through. We get family stories, as in Aunt Janet pin-striping the first production Harleys, and the dealer who got so excited when the Knuckle head was introduced that he emptied his six-shooter at the ball room ceiling, and Jean herself nding her dad's FLH into the lake.

There are pictures not seen before, and there are a couple of scoops, as in Arthur Davidson voted and argued against any factory involvement in racing all his life. There are genetic hic cups, too. For example, the first William Davidson didn't ride at all, while Walter was a national champion, so when the second generation competes as a group in the Jackpine Enduro, the second William Davidson wins outright, while Walter's son Gordon is hopelessly out of contention. This is fun stuff okay, it's fun for those who really like know ing H-D history.

Thing is, this isn't the full story. We know the Harley dealer network and workforce have not always been two big, happy campers, but there's no hint here. There's no technical back ground and some of the mechanical data isn't quite right.

Meanwhile, the family history is kind of like any family history, which is to say you have the same happy/sad mix in your own family. Ms. Davidson was a stockholder and later an H-D dealer during what the Chinese would call Interesting Times, but there's little in sight here, while through the entire text, the tone is, well, amateur; one needn't have been an EngI lish major to know this is the author's first book.

Not a bad read, as they used to say in the book reviews, but more of a supplement to Harley-David son history than an inside view. -Allan Girdler

Growing Up Harley-Davidson: Memories of a Motorcycle Dynasty, Jean Davidson, 303 pages, $20; Voyageur Press, P0. Box 338, StiIlwate~ MN 55082, www.voyageur pres.com