Classic Harleys: Rare & Collectible Harley-Davidson Classics | Review

Classic Harleys: Rare & Collectible Harley-Davidson Classics | Review

Classic Harleys: Rare & Collectible Harley-Davidson Classics | Review

Rider’s Library Review

Neale and Viv Brumby are by their own admission “passionate” about riding and publishing exceptional everything about Harley-Davidson.

Indeed, they are the publishers of Australia’s Heavy Duty magazine, which has its genesis in 1991. The content is particular to Harley-Davidson and V-twin machines.

Published in a large 12 1/2” x 9 3/8” softcover “bookazine” format, their new book, “Classic Harleys Rare & Collectable Harley-Davidson Classics,” is a compilation of some of the very best classic Harleys featured in Heavy Duty over the past five years.

If you have a pulse and any inclination toward the classics from the Motor Company, Classic Harleys will appeal to you. With about 150 large format contemporary and historic period color and black & white images, the book details 14 rare and historically significant models ranging from the 1915 Model F Sidecar Grey Ghost to the visually vivid 1954 Panhead in its 89 pages.

Others include a brawny 1943 Knucklehead, of which only 203 were ever built, due to war time non-military production restrictions. If you are a real Knuckle fan, you’ll love the other Knucklehead (officially designated as EL models) featured, a 1946 61 cubic inch version that resides in Melbourne’s Harley City Collection.

A super-sleek “cut-down” 1928 JDH hot-rod, an all-business 1933 DAH road racer, a striking black (not the original olive-drab) 1925 JE Streamline and an ultra-rare 1945 Model U 80 cubic inch flat head built for the U.S. Navy (only 262 were built) are but a few that are pictured in amazing detail and described in interesting and concise narrative.

Like many books about vintage and antique motorcycles, the narrative provides a lot of in-depth, hard to come by technical detail, but it goes a little beyond that, providing the reader with some insight into the history, significance and owners of the bikes along the way.

So, while it is an excellent resource for the hard-nosed H-D collector/enthusiast, it is also a great read that connects these rare, collectible bikes with people—and it is that connection that makes them so important, after all.

  • Book Data:
  • Title: Classic Harleys: Rare & Collectible Harley-Davidson Classics
  • Author: Foreword by Neale Brumby
  • Published: 2014
  • Publisher: Wilkinson Publishing Pty. Ltd., ACN 006 042 173, Level 4, 2 Collins St., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3000.
  • ISBN-13: 9781922178442
  • MSRP: U.S. $14.99 U.K. £6.99 Canada: $14.99 Australia: $14.99

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