The early days of motorcycle racing were marked by a sense of experimentation and innovation. The first ever motorcycle race is widely believed to have taken place in 1894, when a group of motorcyclists gathered on a beach in France to race from one town to the next. The race was organised by a French magazine called, ‘Le Petit Journal’ and attracted a large number of spectators.

One early motorcycle racer was Harley-Davidson co-founder William S. Harley, who entered and won his first race in 1900. In 1936 Harley-Davidson released their first overhead valve engine, the Knucklehead. The new OHV boasted double the power output of the old Flatheads, making 37-40 horsepower in stock trim — a rocket ship at the time.

What handlebars did Harley use on this bike? The knuckle bar. Naturally inspired by the machines and fellow racers of his youth, this handlebar became synonymous with this bike. Providing maximum torque leverage and control with your knuckles facing forward to optimise wrist, elbow and shoulder movement, allowing the rider to not only use arm and upper body muscle groups but also to utilise lateral and core muscle groups simultaneously to control the motorcycle.

The knuckle bar is the origin of most MX dirt bike bars you see today. Made for maximum control on every surface you can race on.