Lifestyle Blog

100 Years of Harley Davidson

Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the birthplace of Harley-Davidson, the company began between two friends in 1903. The first project for the company got its start thanks to William Harley and Arthur Davidson, project competition would depend upon the talents of Arthur’s brothers, Walter and William. Mechanical skill came from Walter, and tool making from William Davidson, the four men formed the HD Company, which only later would become incorporated.

The first year, 1903, was a slimmer year than future ones would be, in terms of production, Harley-Davidson only produced 3 pre-paid motorcycles. Frequently called ‘Silent Gray Fellows’ because of their standard gray exterior, these motorcycles were far different from more outlandish bikes the company produces today. It took just two short years to add a number of products to the company’s list, in 1905 HD was also producing motorcycle motors, marine motors, reversible propellers, and float feed carburetors.

The publics embrace of Harley-Davidson products did not ease up one bit in the next ten years, quite the contrary. The use of the products was not restricted to that of the general populace, as even the government got into the act, by employing the usage of the bikes in 9 departments (over 4,800 were used in the Postal service alone. In 1916, with tensions between the US and Mexico running high, the government helped to solve their border problems with revolutionary Pancho Villa with HD’s (those models included machine guns, of course. The federal government did not ease up on their use of HD during the first World War, on the contrary, the government purchased fifty percent of all of the HD motorcycles during this period and shipped them overseas for the military to use.

The 1920’s brought an end to the war and a beginning to the world of racing where they made quite an impact. During a time when many other businesses were forced to shut down in the 1930s, Harley-Davidson was able to struggle through the Great Depression era, and even saw continued growth of the company. Unfortunately World War II came in the 1940’s and they were pressed into service once again.

The company continued to grow throughout the 1950s, as their marketing tactics grew in aggressiveness. Though the Korean War broke out during this decade, the military was not a repeat customer as the government went with the Jeep instead of motorcycles this time around. As an alternative, the Harley-Davidson company redoubled their marketing towards civilian consumers.

The great change that swept through the country during the sixties also affected the HD Company. This was also when the company began to branch out into an unrelated field of leisure product with the production of 3-wheeled golf carts. 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.

With the following decade, many improvements were made to the Harley-Davidson motorcycles which allowed them to compete on a major scale in the racing world. With the 1980s came one of the greatest changes to the company since its beginning, as a buyback changed them into a private organization. Also during the decade, the company’s increase devotion to better machines paid off in the form of many years’ worth of contract deals with the California Highway Patrol, from 184 to 1985, and again from 1987 to 1989.

In the nineties, Harley-Davidson focused on customized motorcycles with the production of the FLSTF Fat Boy making its debut. The goal of the new bike was to invoke the feel of past bikes while keeping up to date. The company continues to be in great shape in the first part of the twenty-first century. Currently, the HD Company’s line of motorcycles includes the Sporster, the Dyna, the Softail, the VRSC, and a Touring line, all of which has several different models.