Harley and the Davidsons

As with all show business productions, the goal is to entertain and that is all I was looking for...to be entertained. To that end, I was! Others can pretend to be connoisseurs of entertainment production and pontificate as to the relative merits of plot, character development, etc., but I find that to be a ridiculous presumption of insight and unbridled arrogance. Just let this mini-series flow across the screen and simply enjoy it without trying to overthink it and you might find that it is very entertaining as a whole...I did, and when I heard that oh-so-familiar deep throated sound from the knucklehead's engine, it brought back many fond memories of road trips gone by! As with all reviews and reviewers, take them with a grain of salt and don't let anyone else try to tell you what to think. See the movie and make up your own mind!

Watched this as my dad used to own a Harley-Davidson Sportster, and partly as I got into period dramas no thanks to my American Girl collection, but I digress. Aramayo, Huisman and company did deliver something decent to the table, but my biggest beef was that while racing was a part of the company from the get-go, it seems to be given too much of an emphasis, and yet Big Bill Davidson was, in TV Tropes parlance, demoted to an extra even though he is a key founder in his own right.

I do understand that the racing subplots, and the Davidson brothers' alcohol-fueled fists of fury were weaved in for dramatic effect, but maybe the producers could've balanced it even more. Also, the original 1936 OHV wasn't referred to by the founders as the Knucklehead early on; it wasn't until the 60s where bikers referred to the engines by the shape of the valve covers, and the founders wouldn't certainly be up to presenting a Knucklehead prototype in front of outlaw racers.

Bill Harley, Arthur and Walter Davidson were real people who were responsible for the evolution of not only the Harley Davidson mototcycle but also were the genesis of many of the designs and motors of other motorcycle manufacturers who flourished over the past century. Both Mrs. Shullivan and I enjoyed this semi-autobiography of the Harely Davidson motorcycle manufacturers. Of course the producers took liberty with the time, dates, and sequence of some of the actual events but please remember the motorcycle, especially the Harley Davidson motorcycle(s) is a story of over half a century of engineering, evolution, business savvy, loyalty and true friendships. Try putting all that realistically into a few hours of screen time and at the same time make it as entertaining as this mini-series is.

This biography is both entertaining as well as information based even if the writers/director took liberties with actual events. Mrs. Shullivan and I quite enjoyed it. I give the mini-series a 7 out of 10 rating.

Love the show but just cant seem to understand why they had everyone in the show drinking Budweiser a St louis beer when they were in Milwaukee the beer capital of the US at the time....... thought it would have been Schlitz Beer......????

This series was not meant to be a documentary, so historically inaccurate segments are expected. What it turned out to be is a fast moving (3 decades in three episodes) dramatization of the spirit of entrepreneur-ism, which accurately depicts many failures. I used this show as an example to my kids about how entrepreneurs and business people often fail, but those that succeed are the ones who continued to push in spite of the failures. These guys never gave up on the idea itself and never gave in to the setbacks and outright disasters along the way; the war, the great depression, personal illness, patent issues, failed designs, failed races, competition, money issues, etc. (many of which did happen). That is the true heart of entrepreneurship - even if some of the situations never occurred or were exaggerated. The spirit was there and you felt it throughout the entire series. Kudos...