Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/738714
74 nNovember 2016n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS Visit our Facebook page to answer the trivia quiz. While you're there, "Like" our Facebook page and enter the drawing to win great prizes. The highest-scoring quiz wins a short bio in a future issue of THUNDER PRESS, and as always… in case of a tie, a random drawing of eligible contestants will determine the winner. Episode One: Amazing Machine 1. There's reference to Bill Harley's "lady's foot" engine, early in the episode, which takes place in 1903. This is an oblique nod to evidence that proves Harley- Davidson built an unsuitable motor bicycle with this small engine, before they regrouped and built a second, larger engine and loop-framed machine, which we now think of as H-D's "number one." a) Fact b) Fantasy 2. "The only problem now is the carburetor; it's over-fueling the engine. I need to rework this," says Bill Harley, as he is creating the fi rst loop-frame machine. What was the actual solution? a) The square "Rubic's cube" carb from Merkel, as shown in the episode b) Technical assistance from Ole Evinrude (later famous for outboard marine engines) c) Bill making a working carburetor out of a tomato can d) A and B e) B and C 3. Eddie Hasha was portrayed as an employee of Merkel, friend to the Davidsons, eventual employee of The Motor Company, yet ultimately rival to H-D, racing on early board tracks. He: a) Never lived in Milwaukee and never worked for Merkel or Harley-Davidson b) Was from Texas and rode Indians in board track competitions c) Died from a bad crash in 1912 d) All of the above e) None of the above OK, most of us are at least aware of the new mini-series Harley and the Davidsons offered by the Discovery Channel. (If you haven't seen it, by the time you read this, all three episodes will surely repeat. So, you should!) The series is entertaining and well produced. It has been touted as "based on a true story." Well, there's one word missing in that description: "loosely"… very loosely! The series is so completely "Hollywood" (though fi lmed in Romania) that not much about it should ever be confused with history. Biased against the notion that "if the legend is more entertaining than the facts, repeat the legend," I was both enthralled and appalled with Harley and the Davidsons. Even allowing for so-called "dra- matic license," about the only hard facts in the fi lm are that there were four friends who started building motorcycles over one hundred years ago. Thing is, the series is so well done that (a) it's hard to separate the threads of fact from a tapestry of fi ction and, (b) it's so rare to see a quality produc- tion of anything to do with motorcy- cles, that a good yarn about them is hard not to enjoy. Even long past the point of suspending your disbelief. Because I'm a nerd and a half about this stuff, I can and will let most of it go. But… but… there remains so much to work with here, that the next three editions of this quiz will be about each individual episode of the series. (Caveat: if anyone knows—for a fact—that there's a problem with my take on history vs. the series' fabulous fantasies, speak up! Otherwise, let's just get on with it, shall we?) 4. When Eddie Hasha passed away: a) He was racing against Walter Davidson at the Milwaukee Motordrome, swerved to avoid a fallen rider and lost control, hitting the wall. b) He was racing at the Newark Motordrome; while in the lead his engine began to misfi re, he reached down to fi ddle and Ray Seymour shot into the lead. Hasha accelerated and his Indian suddenly turned sharply into the rail around the track, slid, then hit a post. Hasha was thrown into the grandstands and died instantly. In total there were six people killed and several dozen injured. c) Hasha had a successful 12-year career and died in bed at the age of 76, after setting three world speed records in board track racing. 5. The Mason brothers, sons of the founder of Mason Gears Company, supplier to Ford, offer Bill Harley a position as designer in their new enterprise, Mason Cars. At fi rst Bill nearly accepts, then changes his mind, and sticks with his motorcycle business. a) Yeah, that's pretty close to what almost happened, only with different people! b) Total and complete fi ction… no Mason bothers, no Mason Gears and Mason Cars was founded by Maytag (as in washing machines). It never happened! 6. The motorcycles used in the series were: a) Genuine antiques, supplied by Harley-Davidson b) Genuine antiques supplied by several museums c) Reproductions, reverse engineered from machines and blueprints supplied from Harley-Davidson archives d) Reproductions built in South Africa with some technical assistance from Harley-Davidson e) Modeled after original examples of several brands of antique motorcycles, but modernized for safe use in the fi lm f) Total fakes g) D and E h) C, D and E 7. In the series, C.H. (Carl) Lang (piano tuning tool maker) says to the founders, whom he just met, "Well, how about we discuss how to get your machines built 'en masse' and into dealerships across the country?" C.H. Lang was: a) A fi ctional character b) The fi rst Harley-Davidson dealer c) The fi rst Harley-Davidson distributor d) An expert on mass production e) An expert on motorcycle dealerships 8. George Hendee, president and founder of Hendee Manufacturing Company (Indian), was: a) Portrayed as an unscrupulous bad guy, with a particular vendetta against the upstart Harley-Davidson Motor Company b) Never any such thing c) Volunteered at the YMCA and Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children d) A champion bicycle racer renowned for good sportsmanship e) All the above f) None of the above 9. Indian called their machines "motor bicycle" or "motocycle," not motorcycle, though in the series the Indian banners and posters clearly say the latter. a) True b) False See "Time Machine'," page 77, column 1