Motorcycles and New Mexico
In 1926 when Route 66 was produced
as a stretch of highway from Chicago all the way to Los Angeles, California.
Route 66 passed through Albuquerque. According to the Albuquerque transit
history Route 66 made a big curve in New Mexico because it followed already
existing roads. The route went through Santa Rosa after it came through
Tucumcari and then went on to Santa Fe. The Old 66 used to go down Fourth
Street and then to Gallup and for the next 880 miles to Los Angeles. In 1937
the curve was redrawn and Central became the new 66 and it was paved!
Motorcycles
have always been part of the Route 66 culture and the New Mexico culture. The
weather is beautiful and the scenery is even more spectacular. The Harley
Davidson is probably the most popular motorcycle in New Mexico and has a long
history. Howard Roper who lived from 1823 to 1896 invented a motorcycle powered
by coal that was the first two-cycle steam engine motorcycle (Subaru-Official
website).
In
1885 a German named Gottlieb invented was a wooden frame attached to a gas
engine. The engine that Daimler used was invented by Nicolaus Otto who built
the first four-stroke internal combustion engine (Subaru-Official website). After
these inventers went on to invent cars two brothers and William Harley developed
the motorcycle. The brothers were named Davidson and their company became
Harley Davidson. The motorcycle had a quality engine and was used for racing
but was also manufactured as a transport motorcycle. As a result the first
official Harley-Davidson dealership opened in Chicago. These machines that
could travel at 58 miles per hour rapidly moved west. The Harley Davidson was
used for World War I and even was bought by Poncho Villa and his fighters and
shipped to Mexico for the Revolution. The Harley-Davidson survived the Great
Depression and moved on to World War II (Harley-Davidson History). New Mexico
has always been a part of the War Movements with Los Alamos Labs and the
development of the atomic bomb, Sandia Labs, and the testing facility for the
atomic bomb. The Harley-Davidson has grown side by side with New Mexico and its
people.
Work Cited
can u share this to me so I can edit later thanks
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ReplyDeleteHey guys, the post is really interesting, but you may want to check your accuracy. Pancho Villa was photographed with and known for his association with the Indian Motorcycle Company - not Harley Davidson - the U.S. military requested Harleys in their attempt to catch Villa - http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/faces-of-the-mexican-revolution/
ReplyDeleteAlso, you cite a couple of sources in text, but then don't cite them on your list of sources at the end. If you could include the links to all of your sources, that would be great!
My grandfather, father & uncles had the first Harley Davidson Motorcycle dealership in New Mexico in the 1920's. It was on 4th street next to a donut shop. I have photos of the shop, the "Harley Gypsy Tour"-as is written on the photo. What a beautiful time it must have been. The NM State Police bought Harleys in early 1930's.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather, father & uncles had the first Harley Davidson Motorcycle dealership in New Mexico in the 1920's. It was on 4th street next to a donut shop. I have photos of the shop, the "Harley Gypsy Tour"-as is written on the photo. What a beautiful time it must have been. The NM State Police bought Harleys in early 1930's.
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