Harley-Davidson (Bally pinball)
| Industry | Pinball manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Pinball machines |
Harley-Davidson is a pinball machine released in 1991 by Midway under the Bally brand. Created by designers Barry Oursler and Mark Sprenger, it operates on the Williams Pinball Controller (Williams WPC) platform. This model represents Bally's inaugural use of the WPC system and is notable as their final machine to incorporate an Alphanumeric Display. Production numbers reached approximately 2,187 units.
Rules
The gameplay centers on completing the U-S-A lanes—colored red, white, and blue—to increase a bonus multiplier up to a maximum of 6x, which is preset at the factory. Achieving lane clearance at the 6x multiplier activates the 'lights out lane extra ball' feature. Each time players complete the U-S-A lanes thereafter, they receive an escalating 'USA bonus' starting at 100,000 points with no upper limit.
Two banks of drop targets spell out 'H-A-R' on the left and 'L-E-Y' in the middle. Successfully completing 'HAR' illuminates the left spinner, while finishing 'LEY' lights up the right spinner; both spinners award 3,000 points per rotation. Completing both target banks advances the HARLEY bonus from 50,000 points up to 500,000 points.
The stand-up targets that spell 'DAVIDSON' activate a speed bonus—a hurry-up feature beginning at one million points and increasing by one million each time it is collected. Hitting 'DAVIDSON' twice within a single ball grants an extra ball via the right eject. Players can light the jackpot during gameplay as they progress through America.
The left eject starts with a base value of 25,000 points and escalates with repeated hits (ranging from 10,000 up to 150,000 points plus a ball lock). Locking a ball enables the right eject to initiate multi-ball mode. While multi-ball is active, completing 'HARLEY' and 'DAVIDSON' yields five million points and activates orbit shots worth one million points each for the duration of multi-ball. The jackpot functions separately from multi-ball mode. After the initial multi-ball session concludes, eject values reset and all lights turn off.
Players may earn up to five extra balls during a game; any additional extra balls awarded beyond this limit result in mystery score prizes.
Sega/Stern version
An unrelated Harley-Davidson pinball machine was produced in 1999 by Sega Pinball, designed by Jon Borg and Lonnie D. Ropp. This title underwent three production phases: initially manufactured by Sega; subsequently by Stern Pinball after their acquisition of Sega’s pinball division in 1999; followed by a second Stern production run in 2002; and finally a third release featuring updated artwork in 2004. The third iteration is featured in The Pinball Arcade.