Almost $1 million for a classic motorcycle… seems incredible but it’s true. Back in January 2023, a 1908 Harley-Davidson ‘Strap Tank’ sold for $935,000 at the Mecum Las Vegas Motorcycle auction.
The restored Harley was discovered in 1941 as a complete motorcycle within a Wisconsin barn about 70 miles from Milwaukee, then kept in Wisconsin for the next 66 years.
It was eventually expertly restored by Paul Freehill of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and finished in gray with red accent striping. The original tank, wheels, engine belt pulley, seat cover and muffler sleeve are included with the sale.
In terms of Harley-Davidson history, there is no more important model than the legendary Strap Tank — it’s the first of the breed, and the earliest Harley-Davidson model one will ever find, as the prototypes that preceded it are long gone.
The story begins in 1901, when 20-year-old William S. Harley drew up his own 116cc single-cylinder engine. Harley and his Milwaukee pal, Arthur Davidson, took two years to build that first engine, which was installed in a bicycle chassis. It proved rather anemic, so for their next effort, Harley and Davidson enlarged the engine to 405cc using advice from legendary marine engineer Ole Evinrude.
That second project was finished in September 1904, and it famously competed in a race on September 8 of that year at Milwaukee State Fair Park, ridden by Edward Hildebrand, where it finished in fourth place.
In 1905, production of Harley-Davidson motorcycles commenced in a small wooden shed, and the small company built only five machines that year. These first production engines were enlarged to 440cc and produced about 4 HP, which was very respectable in the day.
By 1906, a new factory was built on Chestnut Street, later renamed Juneau Avenue and is still home to Harley-Davidson’s headquarters today. About 50 bikes were built that year from the single-story building. These first models are known as the Strap Tank because of the nickel-plated steel bands suspending the fuel and oil tanks from the frame.
In 1907, the factory built around 150 machines, and by 1908, production leaped to 450 machines. Harley-Davidson wasn’t the biggest factory by a long shot, but the Strap Tank had gained a reputation for robustness.
These earliest Harley-Davidson Strap Tanks are the most coveted of all Milwaukee machinery. They established the pattern for all future production, combining a clean yet conservative styling, a somber color scheme, heavy-duty cycle parts and an engine a little bigger and stronger than the rest.
