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 Harley Davidson - 350 Pea shooter Speedway
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Harley Davidson Pea shooter Speedway motocyclette motorrad motorcycle vintage classic classique scooter roller moto scooter
Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
6418

Capacity : 350
Model : Pea shooter Speedway
Production : 1929 -
Category : (Off-Road) Speedway & other

HARLEY-DAVIDSON

350 Peashooter / Speedway - 1928

King of the dirt-track

In 1926, the American Motorcyclist Association introduced a new category of lightweight racing machines with the displacement limited to 350cc, a category that was already popular in Europe.

Sound of the Peashooter

Harley-Davidson, best known for its big V-twins, set to work and produced a remarkable little overhead-valve single that was quickly named "Peashooter" because of the characteristic sound of its exhaust.

Sodium-Cooled Exhaust Valve

This Harley was advanced for its day, with a hemi-head and inclined valves – the exhaust valve was sodium-cooled, a technique later adopted on many racing engines by makers such as Norton. The final drive chain was on the right, which was an advantage on the US cinder tracks of the 1920s. But the 350 class wasn't a great success in the US. These lightweight Harleys continued their sports career with brilliance in England after the introduction of speedway racing there in 1928 on short dirt-tracks of 250 to 440 yards. For the English tracks, the Peashooter was stripped of every surplus item – such as brakes! – and the cylinder head with twin exhaust pipes fitted to the early versions was replaced by one with a short exhaust stub. Some riders replaced the gearbox with a single-speed transfer box and clutch, while others adopted a two-speed box but only used first gear for starting. But the reign of these Harleys was brief – they were soon surpassed by the Douglas flat-twin and Rudge 500.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: (73x83 mm) air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke

Power Rating: 22 hp @ 6500 rpm

Valves: overhead

Fuel System: Amal carburetor

Transmission: 3-speed (later versions 2-speed), chain final drive

Suspension: girder forks (front); rigid (rear)

Brakes: drum (front & rear – omitted on speedway version)

Wheels: 2.75x23 inch (front); 3.50x22 inch(rear)

Weight: 408 lb

Maximum Speed: 50-81 mph according to version

Converted for the new sport of speedway racing in Great Britain, this Peashooter bas a short single exhaust instead of the earlier twin-port head.




Le fichier Moto Passion réalisé par François-Marie Dumas réunit près de deux mille photos accompagnées d'un historique très complet des machines présentées.
Il sera progressivement mis à jour ici et toute information complémentaire est la bienvenue sur info@moto-collection.org.

Cette documentation unique, qui constitue sans doute l'encyclopédie la plus exhaustive jamais écrite sur l'histoire de la moto, a été réalisée avec l'assistance de nombreux spécialistes dont principalement Didier Ganneau, Christophe Gaime, Mick Woollett, Jean Goyard, Bernard Salvat, Christian Rey, Yves Campion, Helmut Krackowizer, Michael Dregni, Michel Montange, etc. que je remercie ici.

Disponible sur demande :
- Les fiches originales sur papier
- Les photos et archives signées de mon nom en haute définition ou les documents originaux.
Me contacter sur info@moto-collection.org pour les conditions et droits d'utilisation.