Doc's Timeline Motorcycle "Rolling History of Harley-Davidson air-cooled Big-Twin engines 1909 to present."
Timeline Motorcycle Features seven unique engines that all run & contribute power to the motorcycle F-Head IOE 1909-1929 Flathead 1928-1948 Knucklehead 1936-1947 Panhead 1948-1965 Shovelhead 1966-1984 Evolution (Blockhead) 1984-1999 Twin Cam (Fathead) 1999 to present
* Seats 10 people * 24 1/2 feet long * 8,790cc * 538ci * 2 front wheels * 2 rear wheels (both drive) * Uses over 40 feet of chain * 2 acme thread lathe wheels for kickstands * Each engine has it's own oil tank * Top frame rail is fuel tank with rear reserve tank (holds 9 gallons)
In August of 2008, Steve "Doc" Hopkins, owner of Doc's Harley-Davidson of Shawano County, had an outlandish idea. He wanted to build a 4 engine motorcycle that seated 5 people. He built this engineering marvel in just 17 days & rode it through the Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary parade in Milwaukee last Summer. The bike was named the "Four-tee-Five," in reference to the fact that it utilizes four, Harley-Davidson, Flathead, 45ci motors. The bike became world famous almost overnight. It was featured on many local & national news programs. The motorcycle ran flawlessly during the parade as Doc & his 4 passengers were cheered on by thousands of enthusiastic onlookers.
Doc has set the bar even higher with his newest project, "The Timeline Motorcycle."
The Timeline Motorcycle features a progression of seven different Harley-Davidson engines from 1909 to present. The motorcycle is literally a rolling history of Harley-Davidson! The engines chronicle the history of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company by including a 1909 JD motor, a 1944 Flathead motor, a 1946 Knucklehead motor, a 1948 Panhead motor, a 1981 Shovelhead motor, a 1993 Evolution motor, & a 2005 Twin-Cam motor. Hand-built over the last several months by Doc, this massive motorcycle seats 10 people & stretches over 24 1/2 feet long!
To support the weight of seven engines & ten people, the Timeline Motorcycle also has two front wheels & two rear wheels.
Doc's goal is to ride this impressive motorcycle, loaded with 9 passengers to the 69th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Weather permitting, the motorcycle will travel most of the 900 miles from Doc's Harley-Davidson to Sturgis! Departure is planned for Saturday August 1st, with plans to reach downtown Sturgis by Monday, August 3rd.
Timeline Motorcycle Sturgis Crew, August 1, 2009, 9:30a.m.
The Story of the "Four-Tee-Five" as told by Doc In early Spring 08', I went to an antique motorcycle swapmeet & some subliminal force beyond my control was driving me to purchase as many old Harley® Flathead 45ci motors as I could. Just prior to the Harley-Davidson® Dealer Show in Las Vegas in July 08', I was struck with what to do with all those Flathead motors....put 4 of them in-line on a long, hand-built frame with multiple passengers.
It was at the Dealer Show that I became inspired to build this bike for the Harley-Davidson® 105th Anniversary parade which was in only 4 weeks! As soon as I got off the plane from Las Vegas to Green Bay, I went straight to the steel mill to purchase metal to build the frame. At 6am the next morning, I began bending tubing & welding the frame. Then I started working on the four 1950's engines, which all needed to be rebuilt from top to bottom. I connected the throttles with a 5/16" rod that I ran through 5 separate box-end wrenches. I then braised each box end full of brass & bored them out to make them fit the actuator rod that connects to each carburetor via hand-forged linkages. All of the engine drive sprockets were cut off & replaced with dual sprockets to allow me to link each motor together. This also allowed all 4 motors to be kick-started together! All 4 engines were timed together utilizing a very old, but effective method...a cellophane cigarette wrapper!
By day 15, we kick-started the bike for the 1st time. It came to life on the 3rd kick! We backed the bike out of the shop & Doc rode it around the building with Jeff Erdman as his first passenger. It worked perfectly! Within 2 more days, the bike was done to completion with a shiny new black & orange paintjob (compliments of B&J Custom) & a new Chris-Craft horn (donated by Steve Lemhouse of the Spinning Wheel Restaurant).
Then came the final test...putting 5 people on board & making a lap around the parking lot at the dealership. Again, the bike worked perfectly.
Then it was off to Milwaukee for the 105th Anniversary Parade where the "Four-Tee-Five" performed flawlessly. Accompanied by my 4 passengers, Rhonda (my wife), Shannon (my son-in-law), Kersten (my daughter), & Jeff Erdman (a good friend) we all rode though the parade with pride! It was truly an experience of a lifetime.
