Английская Википедия:Harley-Davidson Servi-Car
The Harley-Davidson Servi-Car is a three-wheeled utility motorcycle that was manufactured by Harley-Davidson from 1932 to 1973.
Concept and uses
The Servi-Car was designed during the Great Depression when Harley-Davidson was desperate to expand its product base to increase sales.[1] Targeted at the automotive service industry, the vehicle was designed for assisting at roadside breakdowns and delivering cars to customers. For this reason, it was available with a tow bar at the front and a large 60 Ah battery.[2] It allowed one person to transfer a car from one location to another and drive themselves back; after driving the car to its destination, the delivery driver would unhitch the Servi-Car and ride it back to the garage.[3][4]
In addition to its intended use for car delivery and retrieval, the Servi-Car was also popular as a utility vehicle for small businesses and mobile vendors. It proved to be particularly popular with police departments, some of which still used Servi-Cars into the 1990s.[2]
Models
The models offered in 1932, the first year of production, were:
- G - with small box and tow bar
- GA - with small box and no tow bar
- GD - with large box and no tow bar
- GE - with large box and air tank
In 1933, the GDT, with large box and tow bar, was added to the line.[5]
In 1942, the small and large boxes were replaced with a standardized intermediate-sized box that was manufactured for Harley-Davidson by the Chas. Abresch Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A gold, red, and black water transfer decal from this company was affixed to the top inside of the box lid.Шаблон:Citation needed This box continued to be installed until 1966, after which it was replaced by a fiberglass box; all preceding boxes were made from steel.[6]
Engine
The Servi-Car used variations of Harley-Davidson's 45 cubic inch flathead. From 1932 to 36, the Servi-Car used the engine from the solo R model.[1] It was changed in 1937 to the engine used in the W model, which differed mainly in having a recirculating oil system instead of the constant-loss system of the R.[2][7] The "W" flathead engine continued until the end of production in 1973, despite the "W" solo series being replaced by the "K" series in 1952.[2][8]
An electric starter became available on the Servi-Car in 1964, making it the first civilian Harley with an electric starter, one year before the debut of the Electra Glide.[2][9][10]
Transmission
When the Servi-Car was introduced in 1932, it used the same transmission as the R solo model.[2] This was replaced the next year by a constant-mesh transmission with three speeds and a reverse gear.[11]
Chassis and suspension
The Servi-Car was designed in the early part of the Great Depression for the conditions of its day, in which roads might be crude and unpaved. It has a rigid rear axle with a differential.[12] The rear axle has a track of Шаблон:Convert, similar to the track of most cars at the time. This allowed it to follow ruts that had already been worn into the road.[4]
A prototype of the Servi-Car with rear suspension was tested but found to be unstable.[4] The production model's axle is mounted directly to the frame with no suspension at all.[13]
Until 1957, the front forks of the Servi-Car were the springer-type leading-link forks used on the R-series and W-series solo motorcycles. From 1958 on, the Servi-Car's neck stem length and inner diameter were changed to fit Hydra-Glide front forks.[9]
Brakes
Early production Servi-Cars have a drum brake on the front wheel and another drum brake inside the rear axle housing, decelerating both rear wheels.[11] In 1937, the braking system was upgraded to have a drum brake on each wheel.[14] A hydraulic rear brake system was introduced in 1951.[15] The very last Servi-Cars, built late in their last model year, have disc brakes on all three wheels.[2] Шаблон:-
See also
References
Шаблон:Reflist Шаблон:Commons category
Шаблон:Harley-Davidson model families
- ↑ 1,0 1,1 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ 2,0 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ 4,0 4,1 4,2 Servi-Car Homepage - History
- ↑ Servi-Car Homepage - Yearly Statistics and Pricing
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Mitchel, D. "Harley-Davidson Chronicle - An American Original" p. 150 Publications International Limited, 1997 Шаблон:ISBN
- ↑ 9,0 9,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 11,0 11,1 Servi-Car Homepage - Changes: 1932-36
- ↑ Servi-Car Homepage - Technical Diagrams and Pictures
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Conner, R. "Harley-Davidson Data Book" p. 59 Motorbooks International, 1996 Шаблон:ISBN
- ↑ Conner, R. "Harley-Davidson Data Book" p. 84 Motorbooks International, 1996 Шаблон:ISBN
