The History Behind Harley-Davidson

To a not insignificant portion of two-wheeled enthusiasts, Harley-Davidson is not just the iconic marque, Harley-Davidson is motorcycling.

The name alone instantly conjures up emotions and all the associated iconography – style, freedom, endless legions of diehards who shape their very image and lifestyle around the brand. The sound of rumbling v-twins, an all-American ideal, and the trademark bar-and-shield logo.

H-D has been such a titanic cultural force for so long, it’s difficult to imagine that it started off as a simple hobby and the shared dream of a couple pals. 

That world-changing friendship traces back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin of the late 1800s, where William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson took inspiration from a vaudeville performance in which the performer entered the stage on a single-cylinder powered trike.

In 1901, Harley, who had worked at a bicycle factory and later as a draftsman at Barth Manufacturing Company, and Davidson, who was a pattern maker at Barth, used their combined skills and inspiration to start work on a prototype, enlisting the help of friends Henry Melk and Ole Evinrude along the way.

If you want to speak of humble beginnings, this was certainly that. The prototype – which was effectively a bicycle powered by a small, belt-driven engine – proved incapable of climbing hills without pedal assistance.

Undeterred, they took what they learned and started fresh on a new project. In 1903, they recruited Davidson’s brother Walter, who was a machinist by trade, to join the effort. 

The result was a genuine motorcycle, not merely a powered bicycle, featuring a 405cc engine and more advanced loop-frame design. At the same time, the project graduated out of the Davidson basement and into a backyard shed, and Harley-Davidson was established as an ongoing concern.

The very first Harley-Davidson to be sold to a customer was built in said shed… ahem… factory, purchased by Milwaukee resident Henry Meyer.

By 1906 Harley-Davidson built 50 motorcycles. In 1907 – which also saw the firm hire another brother – William A. Davidson as Works Manager – and introduce a 45-degree v-twin engine – they produced 150 bikes. In 1908, they produced 450 and then a whopping 1150 in 1909.

Another key figure during this era as a Chicago-based businessman named Carl H. Lang, who, through his Windy City Shop, became the first H-D dealer. Additionally, Lang also worked tirelessly as an ambassador to the brand, helping to build up a new community of motorcyclists around it.

That momentum continued as Harley-Davidson also built its legend around its early racing exploits. While initially dismissing sporting competition as too dangerous for both participants and spectators, Harley-Davidson finally saw the marketing benefits and the allure of racing too difficult to ignore. Given a new avenue in which to showcase their technological and engineering prowess, H-D’s subsequent racing success helped spread the gospel of the brand while creating legends along the way, most notably via the marque’s famed “Wrecking Crew.”

By 1913, Harley-Davidson had opened a brand-new six-floor state-of-the-art factory and truly taken flight. With its new facilities in place, H-D was able to answer the call when the U.S. military purchased more than 20,000 motorcycles during World War I.

This early strength and some additional ingenuity proved necessary to survive the Great Depression and continue its rise afterward to develop into the worldwide phenomenon it stands as today.

Now with the power to summon hundreds of thousands to flock together from across the nation and inspire legions more to permanently brandish its logo on their skin, Harley-Davidson remains a remarkable example of what’s possible with friendship, inspiration, and a dream.