100 Years of Harley-Davidson

The Harley-Davidson Company or HD has been around for just over 100 years, it all began with two friends in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1903. The joint forces of William Harley and Arthur Davidson came together to begin work on the first prototype, they were joined by two additional Davidson’s, Walter and William, who were Arthur’s brothers. Mechanical skill came from Walter, and tool making from William Davidson, the four men formed the HD Company, which only later would become incorporated.

All three of the Harley-Davidson’s motorcycles in 1903 were paid for prior to completion and these were the only bikes produced in their first year of business. The term ‘Silent Gray Fellows’ originated as a nickname for these bikes because Gray was the standard color. The success came quickly for the company, by 1905 they had added an impressive number of other items to their inventory besides motorcycles, including motorcycle and marine motors, reversible propellers, and float feed carburetors.

The popularity of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle continued to grow through out the following decade. By 1914, even the federal government was using them, especially the U. Pancho Villa came face to face with the government’s love affair with HD’s in 1916, when motorcycles equipped with machine guns entered the fray against him. In World War I, the military expanded their usage of HD equipment when half of all of the HD Company’s products during that time went to military overseas.

The following decade was another one of prosperity, as HD began to become a racing competitor. The Great Depression of the following decade did affect Harley-Davidson, but the company was able to thrive nonetheless. With the advent of World War II in the following decade, HDs went into service for the government once again.

Throughout the fifties, HD increased the fierceness of their marketing, and as a result, saw additional prosperity. The Jeep was favored by the government over the motorcycles when war once again was declared during the 1950s in Korea. Civilian consumers more than made up for the lack of government contracts, Harley-Davidson responded by continuing to concentrate on the civilians who bought their products.

The 1960s were a decade of change for the company, as well as the rest of the United States. Change can be seen through the company’s decision to produce the 3-wheeled golfing cart. Though seen as a quirky decision by many, by the end of the 1960s, the carts comprised one-third of the United States’ golf cart market, with many being sold overseas as well. Keeping a little closer to their original business, Harley-Davidson began producing a motorcycle accessories line during this decade.

The sport of racing became a focus of Harley-Davidson during the next decade, as the 1970s machines included great mechanical advances that made them ideal racing machines. Unexpectedly, the following decade saw a buyback turn the HD Company into a private business for the first time in many years. The company seemed to show a renewed interest in building better machines so much so that they won the contract with the California Highway Patrol in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1989.

The 1990’s were ushered in with the appearance of Harley-Davidson most customized factory custom motorcycle to date, the FLSTF Fat Boy. The goal of the new bike was to invoke the feel of past bikes while keeping up to date. There is no doubt that the company is continuing to enjoy success as the twenty-first century begins. There are a number of lines of bikes made by the HD company, and these include the Sporster, the Dyna, the Softail, the VRSC, and a Touring line, the amount of models that branch off from those lines are numerous.