The History of Harley Davidson

The classic bikes of today came from humble beginnings when two friends, William Harley and Arthur Davidson, tinkered with the idea of making bicycling easier. Together they invented the installation of a small gasoline powered engine onto a bike.

The year was 1901 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where the two innovative entrepreneurs designed a very small 7.07 cubic inch gas powered engine to propel a standard bicycle. It was not a success because it was not powerful enough to climb Milwaukee’s average landscape. The friends wrote it off and decided a redesign was in order.

In 1904, the redesigned cycle sporting a much larger 24.74 cubic inch motor mounted in a new style frame was ready for an annual motorcycle race in Milwaukee. The motorbike placed fourth. By 1906, Harley Davidson built its first factory and produced fifty motorcycles. The evolution of the company continued taking over the lead from Indian and by 1914 dominated the race circuit. Harley Davidson produced some 20,000 units for the Armed forces during World War I.

The company continued to develop larger, more powerful motors and by 1920 was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world producing 28,189 motorcycles. The company ran into problems during the Great Depression. Production dropped to 4,000 units.

World War II brought production to over 90,000 units. The market leveled for many years. The 1950’s and 60’s were lean years for the company. In 1969, the company was sold to AMF under which the motorcycle’s reputation suffered greatly. In 1981, Willie G. Davidson, with the help of several investors, bought the company and began to reestablish the brand by relying on the retro appeal of the early versions of the motorcycle. Today the Harley Davidson brand is strong worldwide.