Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Truck (1913–1915)
Long before the Servi-Car, Harley-Davidson was experimenting with commercial machines built for work instead of recreation. One of the most unusual results was the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Truck, a purpose-built cargo hauler that combined motorcycle power with delivery utility.
The Motorcycle Truck shows Harley-Davidson pursuing fleet sales, municipal contracts, and business transportation years before later utility machines became familiar. In later references, the machine is often called the Forecar.
What Was the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Truck?
The Motorcycle Truck was an early three-wheeled commercial Harley-Davidson with a steerable two-wheel cargo unit in front and a single driven rear wheel behind the rider. Instead of adding a sidecar body beside a normal motorcycle, Harley built a front-loading utility machine specifically for hauling cargo.
The Motorcycle Truck is often confused with the later Package Truck. The Package Truck used sidecar running gear and a side-mounted delivery body, while the Motorcycle Truck used an entirely different front-loader layout. Indian tested a similar front-box mail forecar around the same period.
Why Harley Built It
In the early 1910s, motorcycles were already proving useful in police work, messenger service, mail delivery, and rural travel. They cost less to own and operate than automobiles, and they often handled poor roads better than early cars.
Harley-Davidson recognized that businesses also needed hauling capacity. The Motorcycle Truck was an attempt to combine the low operating cost of a motorcycle with the cargo usefulness of a light delivery vehicle.
Postal Service Testing in 1912–1913
Before production, Harley-Davidson reportedly tested prototype Motorcycle Trucks with the Milwaukee branch of the U.S. Postal Service during the winter of 1912–1913. The reported test ties the concept to real delivery work rather than novelty marketing and places the Motorcycle Truck within Harley-Davidson's broader history of postal-service motorcycles and working fleet machines.
Technical Specifications
Available sources commonly describe the Motorcycle Truck as using Harley-Davidson's F-head V-twin engine of approximately 61 cubic inches (1000cc), producing around 8 horsepower. Exact period ratings vary, but the broad specification is consistent.
Power went through a two-speed transmission intended for hauling loads. Contemporary descriptions cite a 10:1 low gear and 5:1 high gear ratio, emphasizing pulling ability rather than speed.
The cargo box sat between two steerable front wheels controlled through conventional handlebars. Braking is commonly described as rear-wheel only, and surviving descriptions suggest little or no suspension compared with later commercial machines.
- Engine: F-head V-twin
- Displacement: approx. 61 cu in / 1000cc
- Power: approx. 8 hp
- Transmission: 2-speed
- Ratios: 10:1 low / 5:1 high
- Drive: chain
- Brakes: rear wheel only commonly cited
- Payload: period factory photograph advertises 600 lbs
Cargo Capacity and Real-World Use
Harley-Davidson advertising promoted the Motorcycle Truck as maneuverable and easy to handle. The period factory photograph preserved here advertises a 600-pound carrying capacity, substantial for the era when paired with low operating cost.
Likely users included bakers, butchers, florists, parcel carriers, grocers, and route-based trades needing small deliveries around town. The front cargo body also created a flat surface for painted business advertising, making the machine a rolling billboard. Similar municipal utility thinking would later appear in fire-service motorcycles and other working Harleys.
Why It Was Short-Lived
The Motorcycle Truck appears to have had a brief production life, generally associated with 1913 through 1915. That short run suggests Harley-Davidson quickly learned both the strengths and limits of the design.
The front-loader layout was specialized and likely more expensive to build than a sidecar-based cargo rig. By 1915, Harley-Davidson had moved toward Package Truck, which could use conventional motorcycles with commercial sidecar bodies.
That modular approach would have simplified manufacturing, servicing, and dealer support.
Production, Survivors, and “Walter”
The Motorcycle Truck is widely described as a very low-production Harley-Davidson. A figure of approximately 332 units is often repeated in later reporting, though exact factory totals are not easily confirmed in open records.
The best-known surviving example is a restored 1913 machine nicknamed Walter, frequently cited as the only known survivor. Whether or not additional examples surface in the future, surviving Motorcycle Trucks are unquestionably rare.
Restoration and Collector Interest
For collectors, the Motorcycle Truck combines rarity with unusual engineering. It also presents real restoration challenges. A specialized front axle, scarce transmission parts, one-off body hardware, and limited documentation make accurate restoration difficult.
That same difficulty is part of the appeal. The Motorcycle Truck is not just another early Harley—it represents a branch of company history that few people know existed.
Legacy: Path to the Package Truck and Servi-Car
Although short-lived, the Motorcycle Truck helped demonstrate that Harley-Davidson could sell work machines, not just motorcycles for personal transport. The company would continue that commercial line through the Package Truck, transitional ideas such as Cycle Tow, and later through the long-running Servi-Car.
