Super Batteries

Mamma was right!

     Remember when you were a youngster and you would wish for something really great like a four day school week or a date with the head cheerleader, and your mother would come back at you with that tired old cliche, “be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.”  Well as I get older I realize that Mamma might just of had something there.  Oh, I don’t mean the thing about the cheerleader, okay, so a date with that cheerleader wouldn’t have been so bad, but I’m actually alluding to the fact that everything that looks like a win win at the start, might not turn out so great in the long run.  To make a long story short (might be too late for that) I am referring to the search for the “Super Battery.”

     A day never goes by that I don’t hear someone wish for a longer lasting cell phone battery, or an electric car that can go five-hundred miles on a charge, or a laptop that works all day long without being plugged into a wall outlet.  The fact is we have become a society of battery  charging junkies, I know from my own experience I charge at least ten different devices during the normal workweek, and the list seems to be growing.  So when is science going to come to our rescue with a “Super Battery” that will last for eons, charge in an instant, and be able to be recharged in a matter of minutes without even requiring it to be plugged in?
      Around the world there are thousands of chemists, engineers, and programers working their little butts off trying to do just that, and the fact is that some of those “wishes” are already in the works.  Cell phones will soon be able to operate for multiple days and will recharge in about one tenth the time.  As far as being able to transmit energy without wires that technology is already being phased in, consider the charging stand for your electric toothbrush, and the fact is nearly every cell phone maker is now offering wireless charging, look Ma no wires.  Elon Musk says we will all be driving Tesla like automobiles for endless distances on a single charge in the near future, and all the auto makers are developing new and better electric vehicles.

     So!  What could be bad about all this?  Well, let’s just imagine that science develops a calcium, aluminum, or magnesium ion battery (lithium is too volatile and rare to continue as a reliable battery component) and it has ten times the capacity of current lithium ion models and can be recharged 3000 times without degrading.  That’ll give those robber baron oil companies what they deserve, right?  Wrong, petroleum is still key in the manufacture of tires, plastic, greases, lubricants, fabrics and a myriad of other products, in actuality the oil companies would probably have to downsize, but they would adjust.  So who would be hurt?

     The answer is you, or the general public that is.  Prior to the American Civil War they used to say “Cotton is King”, today that would be “Oil is King” at least as far as our economy goes.  Oil and oil related business, which include Mini Mart Gas Stops, Lube and Go’s, Rail and Truck transporters, Auto Parts Makers, Ocean going Tankers, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.  Literally millions of jobs would be wiped out with no new job opportunities to take their place, in other words total economic collapse.  You see almost all of the high tech batteries we use today are made in Asia and they can clobber us with cheap labor so it’s not going to change, and we lost automobile manufacturing long ago.

     But all this is far from the scariest part.  A leap in battery technology such as we have been discussing will all but assure the ushering in of an arms race that will be of unparalleled proportions.  Being able to provide nearly unlimited electric power to flying attack drones, low cost manned and unmanned stealthy electric submarines (North Korea operates about 70 electric subs and Iran 24) remote controlled armed combat vehicles, battery powered laser weapons, and possibly even robot warriors isn’t a very pretty picture.

WOW!  50 Zombies on one charge!

     So the next time you wish for that all day sucker of a battery, maybe you better remember what Mom had to say about the bad side of getting what you wish for.        
   

Iron Horse Final

     So, where do we go from here, at least as far as motorcycles are concerned?  The next few years are going to be a time of change for the motorcycle industry, just as they will be for the auto industry.  To start with each year the European Parliament tests the water on instituting a one hundred rear wheel horsepower limit on motorcycles sold in countries belonging to the European Union.  If this proposal ever gains traction (in my opinion it is a certainty) it will forever change the industry.  Companies like Ducati, and Aprilia would be devastated, since they are loaded with 100+hp models, but the carnage wouldn’t stop there.  The Japanese, and BMW also have lineups now packed with bikes over the magic 100 mark and a ban like this would certainly cause some panic.  Oh, and by the way in case you haven’t noticed whatever Europe does the United States feels obliged to follow along like a pet dog, so don’t think we are immune to horsepower regulation.  Granted, just like in the old days Harley and Indian are the only real American contenders and since Harley only has only one model, the water cooled V-Rod / Night Rod it can’t be too worried.  Indian has many models clocking in over 100 HP proposed limit but with a little de-tuning they could easily comply.

     The Japanese, German, and Italian manufacturers are really the ones with the problem (Gee, Japanese, German, Italian, seems to me I’ve heard of that trio before?) and if you look closely they have begun to quietly prepare for the seemingly inevitable legislation.  BMW now has six models and two scooters all under the 100 hp limit, Honda has the “Grom” and the “Metropolitan” which is a new updated version of the venerable “Honda Super Cub”.  Along with these models the Supersport class is full of lightning fast six hundred cc motorcycles that rival the one liter bikes for speed and performance but only exceed the 100 hp by a marginal amount that could be brought under the limit with very little trouble.  Even that great Italian builder Ducati is beginning to hedge their bets with a very affordable and compliant model called the “Scrambler” which to their delight has also been a tremendous success.

    Then there is the off brand “Scooter Market” while having its ups
and downs has never the less been phenomenal with major makes like the Vespa LX 150, Honda Ruckus, Yamaha Zuma, Suzuki Burgman all selling well especially in Europe where the traffic and city street width is conducive to smaller vehicles.  But to find the king of scooter sales you have to look to Asia, where brands that we have never heard of sell literally millions of units per year with huge production facilities located all over Asia.  As a matter of fact wherever you find a developing nation you will probably find people taking advantage of the economy and utility the scooter provides.

     Now you say, “but what about electric motorcycles?”  Well, I am glad you asked, by the way for those of you who cherish the sound of your throbbing V-Twin super cruiser you should just
stop reading from here on because you aren’t going to like it.  The age of the electric motorcycle is already upon us, firms like “Zero, and “Brammo” lead the way for now but that is all about to change as nearly every major motorcycle manufacturer is now planning to market models in the very near future.  Having a much better weight to horsepower ration than automobiles gives motorcycles the advantage of maintaining great performance without necessarily sacrificing range like so many of the four wheeled vehicles do.  Maintenance is also only a fraction of what the internal combustion engine requires, for those of you who have seen the 2006 movie “Who killed the electric car”  will realize that the reason GM canceled production of the electric car was simply survival.  As stated by the head of service for the division, “the only thing we did to them for service was rotate the tires and fill the windshield washer.”  Or in other words, if it doesn’t require parts, you can’t sell parts and if you can’t sell parts, you and your dealers will starve!

     But that was then and now is now and there is no holding back the electric revolution, all we need now is to have one more great leap in battery technology for it to happen.  I suppose it will be for the best, but there is a big part of me that will miss the melodious sound of a four stroke motor as it purrs down the highway.  Hey!  maybe I’ll invent an auxiliary sound system for motorcycles!  Nay, bad idea, I bet Harley is already working on one.  

The Iron Horse Part 4

1953 Indian Chief

     In 1953, long before the Japanese and European motorcycle manufactures posed a threat, one of the remaining two American manufacturers went belly up.  The Indian Motorcycle company closed its doors after more than fifty years of production.  And then there was one.  The company founded by William Harley and William Davidson (thank goodness they didn’t name it something like “Bill’s Bikes”) finally defeated their old rival and emerged triumphant!  For the next ten years or so things went pretty good for Harley, without Indian competing for a share of the large bore V-Twin market the sledding was pretty easy, but in the 1960’s the market and buyers tastes began to change.

1971 Norton Commando

     British and European manufacturers had recovered from the
devastation of World War II and were beginning to erode Harley’s dominance of the market.  Also as we covered in the last post Honda had achieved amazing success with its lightweight and gas stingy models expanding its dealer network to over 500 outlets by the mid 60’s.  Looking to raise capitol and improve its financial position the long time family owned business went public and became a stockholder corporation, while retaining controlling interest in the business.  Unfortunately years of a outdated business plan couldn’t be overcome by merely becoming a stock corporation and when American Machinery and Foundry Company (AMF) began making buyout offers to the Davidson Family and in 1969 AMF took over operation of Harley Davidson.
     At first the AMF buyout achieved amazing success, boosting the sale of 27,000 units in 1969 to a high of 60,000 units (including Aermacchi) by 1972.  But as many a Harley enthusiast has pointed out motorcycles ain’t bowling balls (one of AMF’s divisions made
bowling equipment) and the company began to falter from lack of experienced management at all levels and the quality of the Harley’s being produced suffered, actually the word suffered is an understatement.  To put it bluntly Harley Davidson motorcycles had fallen so far as to become the butt of jokes, with satirical references to the iconic HD like “Hardly Driveable,” and “When doesn’t a Harley leak oil? When its empty of course.”  Incredibly thought, the AMF Harley’s would post a record sales figure of 50,000 units (all large V-Twin models) in 1979, but as they say, “it was the crest of the wave.”

1981 Honda Gold Wing 1100

     By 1981 the Japanese and European motorcycle manufacturers had chosen the heavyweight motorcycle market as their next target and offered models ranging in the 1000 to 1100 cc displacement.  Honda was especially competitive with its 1100 Goldwing that offered great cruiser comfort coupled with the incredible reliability of the Honda motor which boasted superior performance, and longevity.  Japanese and European sales steadily grew while Harley Davidson’s sales had decreased by 18% and AMF began looking for a buyer to unload the ailing motorcycle division on before it totally collapsed.  They didn’t have to look far, a group of twelve senior Harley Davidson managers began negotiations to purchase HD for 81.5 million dollars through a Leveraged Buy Out, putting up one-million dollars and financing the rest through the Citibank.

The Original HD Buyers Group

     Chief Designer and grandson of one of the original founders William G. Davidson better known as “Willie O” was one of the original thirteen buyers and would go on to become the heart and soul of the new company.  “Willie O” grew a beard, let his hair grow long, and started sporting a beret, in contrast to some of the

1981 Sportster

other prominent members of the Buy Out such as Charles
Thompson and Vaughn Beals pictured in the photo with “Willie O.”   Now Harley had dedicated owners who had great enthusiasm but very little cash and the dream was almost over before it started.  When HD posted a twenty-five million dollar loss in 1982 Citibank became nervous over the state of the company.  The buyers group in an effort to reduce the loss froze salaries, cut officers salaries and laid off over four-hundred employees.  Vaughn Beals was quoted as saying “we were trying to work with a production system that was basically flawed” and knew that something had to be done and done quickly.

The now closed USA Honda Plant

     The solution that Vaughn Beals found is probably going sound like pure heresy to diehard HD fans so for those of you with weak stomachs please stop reading.  Okay here goes, Beals solution was to solicit an invitation to visit the Honda Motorcycle plant in Marysville, Ohio for his executives and union leaders.  What they found took them by total surprise, the plant wasn’t full of production robots and nothing was computerized.  Or as Beals later described the visit to Honda, “It wasn’t robotics or culture or morning calisthenics and company
songs; it was professional managers who understood their business and paid attention to detail.”
     The HD executives came away from the visit determined to emulate the Japanese production methods completing one of the great paradoxes of all time.  It seems this marvelous system of production was not a Japanese invention at all, but the brain child of two American industrialists named Dr. Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran who after World War II were charged with the rebuilding of the Japanese economy and industrial production.  So you see Harley Davidson borrowed a system that was really American in origin to start with, which I hope will make the Harley faithful feel a little less betrayed.
     Next Harley Davidson did what many consider a move that should be employed against the Chinese today, they went to the politicians and asked for an increase in the tariff on foreign motorcycles over 700 cc displacement, President Reagan agreed and raised the tariff from 4.4% to a whopping 49.4%.  In the following years Harley Davidson made great strides in quality control, along with new more updated designs that emanated from the mind of “Wille O.”  The turn around
was well underway when in 1987 Harley Davidson executives did something truly extraordinary, they voluntarily asked the government to roll back the tariffs it had placed on the Japanese firms back in 1983.

All the Goodies!

     Along with the production changes Harley instituted the company also adopted a policy of forming closer relationships with its customers.  The accessory line available to owners at their local dealers is unbelievable, if it says Harley Davidson and can be worn, bolted on, drank out of, hung on a wall you can find it in the Harley boutiques at most HD dealers.  They also assisted their dealers in the design of new mega-dealerships with lounges and coffee areas on hand to promote the full feeling of belonging to a social club.  They also began a motorcycle riding instruction program that taught novice riders the basics and improved the skills of the old hand.    

"Willie O" for President!

 
 Today Harley is still moving in the right direction although the recession that started in 2008 nearly put an end to all the hard work.  The hero this time was billionaire Warren Buffett when his company Berkshire Hathaway provided Harley with a much needed loan that kept the company afloat.  Here’s hoping that HD’s next hundred years are as profitable and productive as their first hundred.  There are certainly hurdles to be met but it just wouldn’t be the same if loud pipes and the iconic HD image were to fade into history.      
     

The Iron Horse Part 3

      In 1959 the most successful foreign invasion of
American soil in history took place in Los Angeles, California, but it started with a whimper, not a bang.  What the Japanese had failed to do in World War II they would now succeed in doing thanks to Soichiro Honda.  His massive invasion force consisted of a handful of technicians and lower management personnel who shared a small apartment and storefront where they assembled their primary invasion machine, “The Honda Dream 250.”  Unfortunately American roads demanded a much more robust machine than the
“Dream”
and it was a bust. There was however another machine that was imported along with the “Dream” that was destined to change the way Americans perceived motorcycles.  That was a puny 50cc three speed step through motorcycle that could only manage 45 mph but could go over 200 miles on a single
gallon of gas, it was called “The Honda Super Cub.”
     The success of Honda in the States was not an overnight phenomenon but rather a diligent, steady assault on the unsuspecting American motorcycle market and by 1961 Honda had a 500 dealer network stretching from coast to coast.  They were now poised to launch their most insidious attack of all, an advertising campaign that was so (for lack of a better word) cute and irresistible that buyers lined up at dealership doors like lambs being lead to the dinner table.  I hate to even utter that horribly perverse slogan even if it is required in the telling of the story but here goes, “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.”
     Of course I am just playing the fool (which is an easy part for me) but it just might be possible that the management of Harley Davidson, Triumph, BSA, Norton, and even BMW would probably see my description of Honda’s slogan as pretty accurate.  Armed with five-million dollars in advertising money the American Honda Motor Company went from interloper to industry leader overnight.  Who could resist the ads?  They were to the point, cute, and in the case of the young lady holding on to the young man while riding on the back of his Super Cub, a bit sexy.  Honda boomed, bringing out an expanding line of models that grew in popularity and engine size in rapid fire succession until it peaked with a bike that went head to head with the big boy models and then did them one better, it was perhaps the single best motorcycle of its time, the CB 750.
     Competing motorcycle manufacturers were caught flat footed, and realized that they had to do something to combat Honda’s assault and they had to do it fast.  So they did what companies had done for decades when confronted with a marketing dilemma they turned to sex to sell their products!  After all Honda had kind of started it with the cute couple on the Super Cub cruising through campus looking like they had just had............, well you know.  Triumph and HD tried to take the high road at first pretending that young healthy college age adults just wanted to ride their Bonnevilles and Duo-Glides out into the country where they picnicked and sang folk songs.  Norton and the Italians on the other hand took the bull by the horns so to speak.  They began showing voluptuous young females adorning their bikes in the hope of convincing potential male buyers that if you puchased one of their products you to could end up with the girl of
your dreams.

     Of course tawdry advertising like this always ends with the same result, it worked really well!  Want proof, I still have a Norton Girl poster hanging on my office wall that I tell my wife I keep purely for the historical significance of the ad campaign, to which she coquettishly replies, “in a pigs eye you old pervert.”  What can I say she calls em like she sees um!  The pity is that is that even sexy advertisements can’t help when your product begins to fall behind the competition due to lack of technological development.  Close tolerance engines with overhead cams and shim valves began to last tens of thousands of miles.  The electronic ignition did away with pesky points allowing for unheard of rpms and no need for repetitive tuneups.  The monoshock revolutionized handling, and the disc brake helped you survive the effects of the other improvements.  Unfortunately for the English and European makers nearly all of these leaps in technology were introduced by the Japanese.
     I had an uncle whose business was suffering terribly due to the Japanese taking away his clients.  He could have cried in his milk but instead he packed his bags and went to Japan for some months begging tours and interviews with ever Japanese firm he could in an effort to learn what he could do to compete.  When he came back I asked him what he  had learned and he gave me several good examples of how they were beating us but he said the most telling thing was their attitude.  He told me that if Americans and European manufacturers produced a good product that sold well the first thing they would do is to sit back and enjoy their success, but the Japanese manufacturer only saw his success as a challenge to make his product even better, thereby insuring its future success.
     Nowhere else was this more evident than in the motorcycle industry, Honda or one of the other Japanese makers would debut some game changing technology to their line and then everyone else would limp along with their old technology until five years later when it was old news.  Or as the old saying goes, a day late and a dollar short.  This failure to recognize this fact spelled the demise or near demise of some great old badges like BSA, Norton, and even Triumph.
     Next time we will look at the turning points that brought some great old companies back and how the Japanese began to loose their grip on the market due to a man named "Willie."
         

The Iron Horse Part Two

     Following World War I It seemed only natural that motorcycles would lead the way as a means of everyday transportation but in 1909 a man from a small town in Michigan named Henry Ford introduced his Model T automobile and offered it for sale to the world for $825.  At that time you could buy an Indian Twin for about $360, obviously a better deal right?  Well it was, except that Henry Ford then did something inconceivable, instead of raising his price for the Model T each year he started reducing it.
     In 1925 just six short years after its introduction Ford had improved his mass production process so radically that the price of his car had dropped to $395.  Motorcycles also went down in price but the gap had gotten much smaller, only about a $100 difference.  The fact that the cities, states, and counties had begun to build better roads helped to make it more attractive to own the more versatile automobile.  Sadly motorcycle companies began going out of business at a break neck pace and by the end of the 1920’s only a few American motorcycle manufactures were left.  Due to narrow streets and the price of fuel English and European companies made out a little better but the handwriting was on the wall and it said “the car is king.”

     The shame of it is that some of the most beautiful motorcycle designs ever to hit the streets rolled out during the period between World War I and World War II  but only exist now in pitifully small quantities.  1937 may have been the high

point for motorcycle designs like the iconic Indian Chief and the
Harley Davidson EL Knucklehead, and speaking of nice designs check out Dot Smith on her personal Knucklehead.  Dot was known as “The First Lady of Motorcycling” and along with her husband operated a HD dealership for about 40 years before retiring.  Dot and her husband then toured the country on their Harleys promoting motorcycling as they went.  Though there were many motorcycle designs that deserved praise, without a doubt the most striking was the BMW R7.  What a shame the R7 was never produced due to the poor economic climate and today only exists in a prototype a form.

     With the advent of World War II new motorcycle design stopped
completely as all the major manufactures produced models that suited military needs.  Even the Japanese used motorcycles for war as shown in the photo of the two Japanese soldiers riding a bike and sidecar with a machine gun mounted on it.  If the Rikou Type 97 motorcycle looks a little familiar to you that’s only natural since Harley had licensed the Japanese firm to make Japanese replica Harley’s in 1935.  “Holy Cow Batman!”, does that mean that Harley Davidson’s might have been the original “Rice Burner.”  Well probably not since I doubt that Rikou paid Harley any licensing fees
during the war.

     Following WWII the motorcycle companies had a pretty rough time of it with the
inevitable cooling of world economies coupled with the return of millions of veterans seeking jobs not hobbies.  Another little fact that contributed to slow sales was that the U.S. Government had a ton of surplus motorcycles that could be purchased for next to nothing.  Design also suffered after the war, when companies are not making money they don’t invest in untried designs.  A notable exception would be the 1948 Indian Chief, it seems that Indian felt that if they were going out of business then they would go out swinging.

     Another problem for sales
that began to rear its ugly head was the public image of motorcycling.  As with all wars most of the men who fight in it are able to readjust to civilian life while others find it hard to cope with order and peace after experiencing so much chaos.  Seeking an outlet for their rebellious natures these men and women began forming small clubs which seemed destined to attain notoriety.  Then three devastating events occurred that would damage the motorcycle image for many years to come.  First during an American Motorcycle Association rally held at Hollister, California the participants got carried away and turned rally into a party in the streets of Hollister.  Next writer Frank Rooney penned a story entitled “The Cyclists Raid” in 1951 which dramatized and exaggerated the event.  Lastly Hollywood (as it tends to do) capitalized on the fears of the public by creating that cinematic cult wonder called “The Wild One” starring Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin.

     Well that about did it, the public began perceiving the motorcycle as a tool of the devil, corrupting the youth of America and turning their virgin daughters into “Motorcycle Mammas.”  Of course the proportionate numbers of these outlaw gangs to the rest of the motorcycling community was minuscule, but law enforcement agencies and town governments were taking no chances that Marlon and his gang would ride roughshod over their neighborhoods.  If you’re looking for an example of the kind of depraved bunch they used to cast the movie look closely at the guy in the red circle on the “Wild One Poster.”  If he looks familiar he should, he’s Jerry Paris who went on to play the Rob Petrie’s neighbor and dentist Jerry Helper on the “Dick Van Dyke Show.” Ohhhhh!  If Rob had only know he had an biker outlaw dentist living next door to him I bet he would probably kept a better eye on Laura!

     Well that’s all for part two of this poor literary effort, next time we’ll look at how a diminutive self taught Japanese engineer and some very pretty British girls would change the worlds attitude towards motorcycles.  

   
     

The Iron Horse

     The Iron Horse.  Originally the term referred to early steam powered locomotives which began to appear in growing numbers during the early nineteenth century.  It was only logical that people saw the coming of this new mode of travel as a direct competitor to the venerable flesh and blood horse.  Of course this comparison was really unfair to both parties even though they shared common talents like carrying passengers and hauling loads, they really had very little else in common.  As time went on the term was used less and less as people realized that both the horse and the locomotive were able to comfortably coexist in the nineteenth century.  While it was obvious that the steam driven machine was infinitely more powerful, it had one major drawback, it had to run on steel rails which limited its ability to change direction other than forwards or backwards, unlike the horse who could be directed in any direction at all with a tug of the reins.  Since the two rivals each possessed talents that the other could not match an uneasy truce was declared and the rivalry faded away.
     Then around 1860 men seriously began to tinker with wheeled machines powered by various forms of self contained motors that were able to change direction at will and achieve speeds heretofore unheard of.  The problem being that they were so incredibly unreliable in comparison to the horse that no one took them seriously, that is until the century was nearing its end when
motorcycle development got on the fast track.  The first commercially available motorcycle was the German made Hildebrand & Wolfmüller design and it was the first use of the term Motorcycle or Motorrad in German.  Only a few hundred of these machines were made and sold but if you come across one in a barn somewhere grab it and run since the last one found sold for $131,000 at auction.

     By the end of the first decade of the twentieth century motorcycle d
evelopment and production exploded, British firms with names like BSA, Norton, Triumph and Royal Enfield each began selling hundreds of units per year.  Meanwhile the United States was giving birth to two Motorcycle manufacturing giants whose name would become synonymous with two wheels and freedom, Indian Motorcycles in 1901 and Harley Davidson in 1903.  Indian dominated the market over Harley Davidson in the early going selling an astonishing 32,000 machines in 1913.  In 1914 the nations of the world decided to try and annihilate one another again and as always business boomed in wartime.  The motorcycle companies were no exception to this rule and the major brands grew exponentially with Triumph alone selling thirty-thousand units to the

Allied Forces.

     Following World War I it can truly be said that the two wheeled Iron Horse was quickly replacing his four legged competitor as far as transportation and recreation were concerned.  The war had shown the world that motorcycles could be a reliable and efficient way to travel but the question was now would it carry over into peacetime.

     One of the more interesting stories to come out of WWI concerning motorcycle development was that of a German aircraft engine maker.  The Armistice that was signed following the end of the war restricted Germany from manufacturing war machines of any kind, effectively putting the engine manufacturer out of business.  Undaunted by this minor setback the head engineer packed his bag and set off for a Bavarian cabin vowing to come up with a new product which the company could produce.  As the story goes Max Friz only had a vague idea of what he was going to design but when he emerged from the cabin six weeks later he presented the company with a complete set of drawings for the R32.  A revolutionary motorcycle powered by the now famous “Boxer” motor.  And so Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) went on to become the automotive giant we see today and it can be said that they would have not survived if not for the monumental efforts of Max Friz.

     In part two of this post we will look at the contributions that various nations made in motorcycle development.