Captain America, the summer blockbuster movie based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, has officially had the largest opening weekend of any comic-based flick in 2011. Incidentally, it also knocked the latest Harry Potter flick, which opened one week before, out of first place.

But we don’t really care about all that. What we’re more interested in are all the cool vehicles seen in the film, not the least of which is the motorcycle that the U.S. war hero himself rides. Befitting a man who is apparently the Captain of America, the film’s superhero finds himself atop the most quintessential of American motorcycles: Harley-Davidson.

Meant to be a modern interpretation of H-D’s classic WLA military motorcycles, Captain America’s custom machine started life as a stock Harley-Davidson Cross Bones model. Fitting, as the Cross Bones, with its spring-mounted solo saddle and springer fork, is arguably the most period-correct platform in H-D’s current line from which to begin.

Want to know more? Check out the video after the break, where Harley-Davidson breaks down the thought process that went into creating Captain America’s motorcycle. You’ll also see a few brief snippets with riding footage from the film.

One more thing: Click here for details on how to win your own customized Harley as part of a Captain America-themed promotional giveaway. Enjoy!

Continue reading Harley-Davidson shows how the Captain America movie motorcycle came to be

Harley-Davidson shows how the Captain America movie motorcycle came to be originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:59:00 EST.

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When we reviewed (and fell in love with) the Morgan 3 Wheeler, we said that deliveries in the United States would start in the first quarter of 2012, though TV personality and car enthusiast Jay Leno would probably get his a bit earlier. And after watching this video of Leno getting his first stint behind the wheel of the 3 Wheeler, we bet he’s counting down the days until the open-top beast arrives in his garage.

Leno recently drove the 3 Wheeler and wrote a subsequent review for Wired, having this to say:

You know, when you drive cars like the Bugatti SuperSport or the McLaren, 100 miles per hour feels like 40. When you drive a car like this, 40 miles per hour feels like 200. And that’s the fun of it really. You get that wonderful sensation of speed, you’re close to the ground - you can scrape your knuckles as you go along. It’s sort of… the ultimate motorcycle. It just makes you smile.

We couldn’t agree more, Jay. Follow the jump to see Leno’s full test of the Morgan 3 Wheeler.

Continue reading Jay Leno takes his turn behind the wheel of Morgan 3 Wheeler

Jay Leno takes his turn behind the wheel of Morgan 3 Wheeler originally appeared on Autoblog 5.0 on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:59:00 EST.

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We’d be lying if we said we weren’t excited about Captain America: The First Avenger. The crew at Marvel knows how to put together a good superhero movie (with a few notable exceptions, of course), and if the trailer is any indication, the new flick won’t disappoint. Of course, with a great movie comes great marketing potential, and Harley-Davidson has gotten in on the red, white and blue craze. The bike manufacturer has worked up a pretty awesome giveaway as part of the lead-up to Captain America’s silver screen debut.

You see, Harley-Davidson minted 70,000 WLA bikes during World War II and shipped them overseas to help out. It was only fitting that Captain America take to the streets atop a similar steed, so the Bar and Shield worked with Marvel to create a handful of modified Cross Bones bikes to look like the old WLA Liberators. A total of five of the machines were created for filming and USO stunt work.

Now, H-D and Marvel are giving away two Sportster 1200 models - one to a member of the military and another to a civilian. The movie house and the motorcycle manufacturer will work with the lucky winners to customize their bikes however they see fit. Harley-Davidson is even giving away Captain America movie posters at dealers while supplies last. Hit the jump to check out the trailer for the film and the full press release.

Continue reading Harley Davidson and Marvel giving away custom Captain America Sportsters [w/video]

Harley Davidson and Marvel giving away custom Captain America Sportsters [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:57:00 EST.

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