A guy in Wisconsin recently posted these images on the web. He took a Milwaukee factory tour in early 1985 and captured these images of the assembly line/s and of finished motorcycles. Not seen any stuff like this before, an interesting little archive.
Finishing off fat bob tanks
1985 XLS Roadster - the rarest of the final-year Ironheads
1985 FXR in front, that may be a police Glide next to it, and certainly there's an FLHP at far right
An FXR on the line
One of those new Softails...wonder if they will catch on? ;-) Second and final year for kickstart and 4spd on an FXST
Assembly line in full flow
An FXWG and two FXRs ready to go
one-year-only 4spd 1985 FXSB Low Riders on pallets and nearly ready to be shipped out
Nice pics.
I'm not surprised photos are rarely seen, as public photography was banned at the Factory. I remember being made to store my camera bodies and lenses in a locker before being allowed access.
I've got b&w shots I took in December 1983 on the assembly line, with shovels, evo and Sportie engines on same conveyor - I was in company with the head of PR. I had a borrowed Practica with film recommended by Ian Mutch and an Olympus Trip with BonusPrint film for my personal shots. Sadly I put the Trip down while I climbed up a walkway to take a shot and went down the other side forgetting the Trip. By the time we came back to find it someone else had found it, mainly regret the lose of whatever shots I had on it.
Here is one of the testing bay, where these blokes (guys, sorry Skip!) were deliberately trying to overheat the new Evo - I asked how was it going and he said "we got this sucker hot enough to melt a shovel and it won't give in!"
I would suggest those production line pictures are not in Milwaukee as by '83/84 the main production assembly had moved to York P.A.
As backed up by the Gerald Foster Book 'The motorcycle that built a legend' (1986) with similar set of pictures that may well have been taken at the same time or at least of that era!
There is the same Evo FXRPs & FX models as well as an Electra Glide Sport followed by and Iron head XL on the line.
I've been to York twice once in 1998 which was that factory in the above pictures and a again in 2015 which is the new current factory, boy what a difference between the two visits how thing were done and even the Factory Tour.
I have also been to Milwaukee twice a few years apart but the changes between the Engine plants was not so dramatic....
However the H-D Museum is a vast difference from the Rodney C Gott version that used to at York. (This by the way was the only bit of the 'old' factory site left or was in 2015, they just built the new one next door then flattened the old one.)
I also confirm there were no pictures allowed in the Factory and that means now no phones, I pods recording devices, guns... etc allowed in on the Factory Tours...
Some pictures from the R C Gott Museum in 1998
(They are not great as it was very dark in there and in the days of 'actual film' in a fairly basic camera!)
I was locked in the Rodney C. Gott museum on that same visit, the head of "Loss Prevention" couldn't spare time or anyone to supervise me and my helper so I got to sit on some of my favourites. (Earlier in same trip I was really locked inside the old factory, I had been left to lock the padlock when I'd finished in the archives basement and got so engrossed when I came out everywhere was quiet and only security lighting was on, went to gates they were locked and night watchmans desk was locked, I wandered round 'till I found a cleaning lady who told me to wait at the gate. He retruned and called me a cab then asked questions about Britain as his son was going there. Seems unreal now and probably couldn't happen again.)
