Welcome to

Herbert Wagner's

At the Creation.Com

Herbert Wagner & Hypnos 1972

(1949 Model FL "74 OHV" Panhead)

email Herbert Wagner at

<herbswoods2@gmail.com>

The story of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle goes far beyond the stereotyped image of a tattood body or the painfully loud pipes of the famous South Park episode. On this website you'll find some of the best and most exciting stories and books ever written about this great American example of freedom, excitement and fun on two-wheels. Best and exciting because this material is NOT a sorry rehash of other guys' poorly written books and plagiarized mumbo jumbo, but based on his more than 20 years of original research digging out fresh material from archives, old newspapers, and forgotten records along with interviewing old Harley employees, riders, dealers and family members. These books and stories describe REAL EVENTS as they actually happened in incredible detail with many unknown facts and photos simply not found elsewhere including so-called "official" histories. I believe the REAL story is always exciting and never disappointing. Also found here is a selection of my other cool and unique work that you might find interesting. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your stay!

Harley-Davidson: At the Creation

Herbert Wagner's landmark book that has caused a sensation in the motorcycle world. This ground-breaking work details for the FIRST TIME the beginning years of Harley-Davidson both the motorcycle and the Motor Company. Newly discovered evidence tells the REAL story of how Harley-Davidson began and achieved rapid fame and success. From Bill Harley's first crude experiment in motorizing a bicycle to the successful challenging of Indian on the race track and endurance run just a few years later this baby tells all! Contains a wealth of previously unpublished information and photographs. Foreword by John E. Harley, Jr. This book is essential reading for a true understanding of the roots of American motorcycling and destined to become a keepsake collector's item. No Harley enthusiast's library is complete without this perfect gift item. Buy Book Here or go to Book Contents and Description.

Other Books by Herbert Wagner

Explore Herbert Wagner's other published books on Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Included is Wagner's unique volume on the 1930-1941 development of the immortal Knucklehead based on interviews with factory insiders, many now deceased. Winner of the notorious Iron Horse Four Cross Cluster of Iron Award! Other books include his color volume covering the 1903-1941 period with Mark Mitchell's brilliant photographs of rare early Harleys. The Harley-Davidson Century, Harley-Davidson Lore (volumes 1 & 2), and Wagner's contribution to Willie G.'s recent book can also be found here. Other Books by Herbert Wagner

Motorcycle Articles Here you will find a selection of Herbert Wagner's articles about American motorcyles published over the past decade in the Harley-Davidson Enthusiast, Rider, Motorcycle Collector, The Antique Motorcycle, and American Rider. These articles are all based upon Wagner's original research and are NOT the usual ho-hum repeat of familiar sources. Well worth a repeat visit!

New for 2012: The World's First Motorcycle, Origin of the Word and Device, On Bicycles, Steam Velocipedes, Motocycles and the Fantastic Vision of E.J. Pennington and his Wonderful Invention "The Motor Cycle!" Herbert Wagner's original myth-busting research and radical new findings showing how the modern gasoline motorcycle and the name for it came into existence right here in the U.S.A.

Biography of William S. Harley: Inventor of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, Company Co-founder, and First Chief Engineer! The great man who created the motorcycle that made Milwaukee famous and to whom we affectionately refer to as "grandfather."

Built to Last Forever! Harley-Davidson's Historic Juneau Avenue Factory! 95th Anniversary Special Feature! The story of the Red Brick Factory built on this hallowed site in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Test Rider! The 1924 Three Month Endurance Trip in the Arizona Desert! How Squibby and the boys took their motorcycles to Arizona on the instructions of Bill Harley and put them over the hurdles.

The 1916 Dodge City Classic & Harley-Davidson's Battle for Racing Supremacy! Harley-Davidson was the underdog of the racing world until this date and this race that smashed Indian's former dominance forever.

Electra Glide Road Trip to Lake Superior's Legend Haunted Keweenaw Peninsula! Herbert Wagner rides a new Harley to the Copper Mines and discovers of land of great beauty and incredible legend and myth.

Harley-Davidson's Outdoor Heritage! If you like adventure touring on motorcycles this essay will whet your appetite.

Non-Motorcycle Stories

Herbert Wagner is best known for his work on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, but he has also written articles about other subjects often with a northern Wisconsin theme.. In this section you find stories about lost treasures, Indian legends, Wisconsin lake monsters, UFOs, shipwrecks, Nazi hunters, and other exciting tales

Ancient Copper Miners of Northwest Wisconsin! Old accounts have long told of ancient copper diggings in the northwest corner of the state. Modern science now proves these legends correct.

Wisconsin's Monsters of the Deep! Lake monsters, giant water serpents, supernatural deities. Call them what you will. Right here in Wisconsin!

The Legend of Chief Namekagon's Lost Silver Mine! Does a lost fortune in silver exist in the darkly forested rocky crags somewhere between Lake Superior and Lake Namekagon? A long tradition tells of a hidden silver vein somewhere in northern Wisconsin.

New for 2012!

Herbert Wagner's Historical Essays on the Penokee-Gogebic Iron Range

Part 1: The Iron Giant Awakes!

Part 2: Ancient Mines of Northwest Wisconsin, Heroes of Civilization, and the Discovery of Magnetic Iron Ore

Part 3: Charles Whittlesey on the Pewabik (Penokee) Range in 1849 and Incidents of Early Exploration

Enter Herb's Woods!

These links will take you on an exploration of Wisconsin's Northwest Sands region. If you love the woods and wild places you will find these pine barrens a good place to be.

A Prothonotary Warbler Nest Box Trail in NW Wisconsin (New for 2012) A project to determine how far north and west this beautiful bird species may nest in Wisconsin.

Are Deer Eating Up Wisconsin's Northwoods? (New for 2007) Think you can name the northwood's most voracious predator? The gray wolf perhaps? The elusive panther? The mythical man-eating windigo? Guess again. The biggest eater of all is Bambi, the pampered and over protected white-tailed deer!

Totogatic (Totagatic) Wild River! (New for 2007) Will this legend-haunted semi-wilderness stream be granted State "Wild & Scenic" River status?

Pine Barrens Historical Accounts! (Updated 2008) Did wild buffalo once roam Wisconsin's Northwest sands? What was the region like when fire ruled the landscape?

Herb's White Cedar Restoration Project! Planting trees and watching them grow isn't as easy as it sounds when there are too many hungry deer around....

Herb's Underwater Adventures!

At home as much underwater as above it, Wagner explores northern lakes and rivers during the all-too-brief paradise-like summer months trying to avoid mosquitoes and woodticks while meeting new friends and making some curious discoveries in the process.

New for 2008! A Previously Unreported Possible Ancient Underwater Road or Structure Located in Northern Wisconsin! While exploring a remote waterway Herb discovered a curious underwater site that raises questions about the known archeology of the region.

Stream Environments and Aquatic Wildlife on Wisconsin's NW Sands (NEW for 2007!) Explore the watery nether world of the northwoods and meet its finny inhabitants eyeball to eyeball!

Herb's Fantasy Mil-Surp Gunshop

Herbert Wagner has long had a keen interest in old guns and for the fun of it he has scanned a catalog of military surplus firearms dating from the 1960s along with other old ads. This was the Golden Age of mil-surp firearms with rare items going at bargain basement prices.

(Photo) Winter Riding with Nifty de Luxe at handlebar & Road King sidecar

The Hell-Bound Train! A 19th Century mining or logger's ballad adapted by Herbert Wagner for his biker novel, Cassandra Fallen

Talk at Milwaukee County Historical Society, 20 July 200333

Talk at Wisconsin Book Festival, 25 October 2003