Barely had the shock of the Harley-Davidson Snowmobile worn off that we are back with another piece of Harley-Davidson history you may not have known about, Harley-Davidson golf carts.
And unlike the Snowmobiles that were introduced into the Harley-Davidson line by their new owners, AMF, and turned out to be a failure, the golf carts were all H-D. And pretty successful for their time.
Clearly, the history of Harley-Davidson is far more interesting than we realize, perhaps more than the motorcycles themselves. Fans may choose to disagree but there are plenty of problems with the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company, including their failure to do well in outside markets and more.
That said; the H-D golf carts still make for an interesting piece of automotive history, especially for those who like to know all about rarities and collectibles.
Here’s what we know about the Harley-Davidson golf carts and what happened to the division in the long run…
Presenting, The Harley-Davidson Golf Carts
In 1963, William “Willie G” Davidson joined the company and Harley-Davidson got into the business of making golf carts. They began their life as three-wheeled models and went on to add another wheel before H-D itself was sold to American Machine & Foundry Company (AMF) in 1969, beginning its inadvertent downfall.
After H-D exchanged hands, AMF continued making golf carts under the H-D name but also introduced snowmobiles, which makes for a different story. From 1963 onwards, the H-D golf carts kept on using a dual-cycle single-cylinder engine with a 245cc displacement.
Unlike the snowmobiles that did not really pick up, the Harley-Davidson golf carts were a turf-roaring success, if you excuse the pun, and were seen all over golf courses in the US. Many of these have survived the ravages of time and have been restored by collectors all over the world though this is not an easy task.
Many online dealers in second-hand collectibles often carry manuals specific to H-D golf carts and this is a good place to start learning how to restore a model if you are really interested in one. The models themselves are pretty cheap and range from anywhere to ridiculous $50 to an equally ridiculous $500.
This Is What Happened To Them
By 1981, AMF had driven Harley-Davidson to the ground, after having bought it for $22 million in 1969. So in 1981, they sold it off to a conglomerate of investors, one of which was William Davidson, this time to the tune of $75 million.
In 1982, the Harley-Davidson Golf Cart Division was sold off to Columbia ParCar, one of the major manufacturers of gasoline and electric golf carts and continues to make golf carts till today, though not under the H-D name.
In case you do own one of these, you can find the serial number on a small metal plate on the rear frame cross brace behind the rear tire on the driver’s side. If it's an electric model, a later one, then this metal plate will be behind the batteries.
One very funny thing about these golf carts is that if you wanted to switch direction, as in switch to reverse from forward, or vice versa, the motor had to be switched off and then restarted it in the gear you wanted the cart to move in. The reason behind this was that the engine rotated in the direction the electric started was spinning, so dictated by a small lever under the seat. Vintage and anecdotal all by itself, right?
Reason enough for a fully restored model to sell for quite a hike. One sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction for an undisclosed price which makes us guess it must have been a bomb, while another 1978 model went for $18,500.
The Most Famous H-D Golf Cart Of All
Guess who owned one of these acclaimed Harley-Davidson golf carts in his heydays? The King, as in, Elvis Presley, thank you very much… Not that he was a golfer, just that he needed one to traverse the acreage he called his home, the Graceland property in Memphis. His golf cart was a 1967 model before AMF got a hold of H-D, and it went up for auction along with plenty of other memorabilia in support of the Elvis Presley Foundation.
The entire lot was supposed to fetch about $70,000 but the bidding only went as high as $30,000, and it too was canceled since the reserve price was not met. The H-D golf cart that the king of rock and roll once drove is now back at his estate, we guess, waiting for a true believer to come and take it off for charity.
Much like Presley, the golf cart also slunk away into nothing but memories. The King has left the building. Long live the King.
Sources: ItStillRuns. MoneyINC