Motorcycle factory videos, then and now

Unless you’re building your own motorcycle from scratch (and I know some of you are), your motorcycle was put together in a factory somewhere. Harley-Davidson just released a video overview of their production facility in York, Pennsylvania, which gives a look at how HD’s newest bikes are built on the line. They also offer factory tours if you’d like to see the factory in person, but here’s a look at what’s going on inside.

I expected automation, but I was surprised at just how much Harley was doing with robots. Fabrication especially is packed with machines to weld, shape, and move. However, good old humans still play a major role after the parts have been created. And of course, robots are not running the show in the testing department.

If that’s a modern factory, what does an old one look like? Take a look via a silent film of the Rover factory in Coventry, England. This is how they were building bikes somewhere around 1905.

Considering these two videos were shot over a century apart, the basic process isn’t all that different. Build an engine, make a frame, bolt them up, add some wheels and go test! The fun is spotting the differences in the details. Go back and rewatch that Harley-Davidson video. Rarely does a bare hand touch a part. Meanwhile, over in Coventry, workers are carrying molten metal without gloves. In fact, no protective equipment more potent than a tweed jacket can be seen at Rover. Bolts are inserted with hammers, their workbenches are marginally cleaner than my own, and they seemed to have decided against gaskets of any kind. But they start with one kick!

Some things don’t change, though. People still test the bikes, cart parts around, and peer carefully at assemblies to ensure that they’re just so. Something I really like is that the tanks are still fit by hand today. It’s a finishing touch. 

If you’d like to fall down the rabbit hole of motorcycle factory videos, YouTube is loaded with them. Honda, Suzuki, Triumph , and BMW all have detailed ones from different eras, and there are plenty more if you dig around. These people and places are responsible for bringing us “the finished machine and the pleasure of the road.” It’s good to meet them in some small way.