CUSTOMIZING HAS ALWAYS BEEN part of the Harley-Davidson scene. Owners individualize their bikes by modifying them, tuning them, changing components, and painting them to their own taste. Harley had always supplied accessories, but in 1999 they offered customers the opportunity to buy bikes that had been personalized to their own specifications by the company’s Custom […]
(b. April 4, 1802, Hampden, District of Maine, Mass. [now in Maine], U.S.-d. July 17, 1887, Trenton, N.J.) The American educator, social reformer, and humanitarian Dorothea Dix led the fight for the welfare of the mentally ill, and her efforts led to widespread reforms in the United States and abroad. Dorothea Lynde Dix left her
(b. c. 610 BCE, Lesbos [Greece]-d. c. 570 BCE) The Greek lyric poet Sappho (or Psappho, as her name is given in the Aeolic dialect spoken by the poet) has been greatly admired in all ages for the beauty of her writing style. She ranks with Archilochus and Alcaeus, among Greek poets, for her ability
(b. April 17, 1916, Ratnapura, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka]-d. Oct. 10, 2000, Colombo, Sri Lanka) Upon her party’s victory in the 1960 Ceylon general election, Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike became the world’s first woman prime minister. She left office in 1965 but returned to serve two more terms (1970–77, 1994–2000) as prime minister. The family
(b. Oct. 29, 1938, Monrovia, Liberia) The Liberian politician and economist Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was president of Liberia from 2006. She was the first woman to be elected head of state of an African country. Of mixed Gola and German heritage, Ellen Johnson was the daughter of the first indigenous Liberian to sit in the national
THE INGREDIENTS OF A hill-climb bike appear simple, even if the reality is a lot more complicated. The essential element is power, and in the case of this machine a methanol-burning eight-valve engine was enough in 1930 to make it a competitive bike. A long wheelbase and weight at the front to prevent the bike
THIS 1937 ES250/1 MODEL was typical of the quality machines produced by Bianchi. The firm was one of Italy’s longest-lasting motorcycle companies, manufacturing machines from the turn of the 20th century right up until 1967. It branched out into producing airplane engines, cars, and trucks, and still exists as a bicycle manufacturer. This machine featured
THE SEI WAS AN ATTEMPT by Benelli’s new owner, Alessandro De Tomaso, to better high Japanese standards. Ironically, the engine was an almost-perfect copy of a fourcylinder, 500 cc Honda power unit, but with two extra cylinders grafted on. The alternator was mounted behind the cylinders in a rather futile attempt to reduce the engine’s
(b. Dec. 16, 1775, Steventon, Hampshire, Eng.d. July 18, 1817, Winchester, Hampshire) The English writer Jane Austen was the first writer to give the novel its distinctly modern character through her treatment of ordinary people in everyday life. Austen created the comedy of manners of middle-class life in the England of her time in her
(b. July 24, 1897, Atchison, Kan., U.S.-disappeared July 2, 1937, near Howland Island, central Pacific Ocean) One of the world’s most celebrated aviators, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly alone over the Atlantic Ocean. Amelia Mary Earhart moved often with her family and completed high school in Chicago in 1916. She worked as