Old Stuff Rocks

I have some vintage Popular Mechanics and Popular Science magazines from 1949 through 1953. I love old magazines because they depict an innocent era, an era where everything was new and exciting, where there was respect for everything and everyone. Back in these times, everything was mechanical and analog. YOU had to make things work, there was a romance about machinery. Not anymore. There is no respect for anything, anyone and who operates machinery anymore? Motorcycles are pretty much the last of the a bygone day and even those days are nearly numbered with the emergence of electric motorcycles.

One of my favorite things about these old magazines are the ads, which you'll be seeing much more of in future posts.  This particular ad is for the 1953 Harley Davidson Model 165. I like how they have made it seem so simple, fun and carefree. I'm amazed at the implication of riding without a helmet, zipping along with more power and not a care in the world. We should be so lucky.

The Model 165 was a revision to the 1948 S125 with an increase in engine size to 165 producing just over 3 HP. It had no battery and was a magneto start. It didn't have front fork suspension as we know it today, instead it used large rubber bands.