Not many vehicles can compare to the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. You hear it coming from a mile away before being visually entranced by its noble, powerful design. They are big, chrome-covered, and mighty. There are plenty of motorcycles on the market, but no machine speaks to the freedom and tenacity of the American people quite like Harley-Davidson.
Harley-Davidson is also one of the oldest vehicle manufacturers in American history. Starting with humble origins in turn of the century Milwaukee, Harley-Davidson has grown into an industry standard, offering heavyweight, motorized chariots that set a high standard in quality and design. Along the way, the company weathered countless storms but has always come away from challenges still standing. Discover the fascinating history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and how it turned a novel, two-wheeled vehicle design into an iconic symbol of American freedom and might. (For untapped aspects of the country, learn 10 things that most Americans don’t know about America.)
To compile an article on the history of Harley-Davidson, the two-wheeled American icon, 24/7 Tempo consulted several sources. These included the Wisconsin Historical Society, Motorcycle.com, and Motorcyclecruiser.com. To confirm aspects of our research, we used sites like Harley-Davidson and Britannica.
Humble Beginnings
At the turn of the 20th century, William S. Harley had a dream. He had an innate skill with mechanics and an interest in bicycles. Like all great innovators, he combined his skills with his passions. This naturally led to an interest in motor vehicles. The first rumblings of Harley-Davidson, however, came with Harley’s apprenticeship at the Barth Engineering and Manufacturing Company. There, he designed a motor engine that could be implemented into bicycles. This design involved a small engine featuring four-inch flywheels that could be installed into a bicycle frame. Sensing potential, Harley enlisted his friend Arthur Davidson to help build his motorbicycle.
Over the next two years, Harley and Davidson worked on the design in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin machine shop owned by their mutual friend Henry Melk. They finished their first prototype in 1903. Upon testing the contraption, however, they found it could not climb hills without pedal assistance. Harley and Davidson considered their first bike a failure, but they also saw it as a valuable learning experience.
In short order, the team began drafting plans for a new bike. They improved upon their initial design by increasing the size of the engine and flywheels. In a stroke of genius, Harley and Davidson incorporated a more advanced loop-frame design reminiscent of the 1903 Milwaukee Merkel motorcycle made by Joseph Merkel. Upon enlisting the help of outboard motor iconoclast Ole Evinrude, Harley and Davidson finally had a proper prototype.
In truth, their first real prototype looked like more of a bicycle than what we now consider to be a motorcycle. Their beefed-up design, however, elevated them out of the motorized bicycle category into unexplored horizons and paved the way for the modern motorcycle. After their prototype finished fourth place in a Milwaukee motorcycle race, Harley and Davidson started selling their motorcycles on a limited basis.
Gearing Up
Within a year, Harley and Davidson built their first factory on Chestnut Street in Milwaukee, the current headquarters of Harley-Davidson. After Harley graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in mechanical engineering, the team expanded their factory, incorporated their fledgling company, and fortuitously began selling bikes to police departments. Thanks to decisive business actions, Harley-Davidson’s annual production jumped from 450 motorcycles to nearly 1,500 by 1909.
By this time, Harley-Davidson faced competition from Indian Motorcycles. Thanks to steady advancements in engine capability, however, particularly its V-Twin model with mechanically operated intake valves, its motorcycles showed increasingly improved performance. These advancements helped Harley-Davidson win more races and sell more bikes. When the United States entered World War I, the company found further success after its products were adopted for military use. The government ordered 20,000 bikes for the war effort. Simultaneously, Harley-Davidson eyed untapped markets. It launched a line of bicycles for domestic use in 1917.
Whatever it was doing, Harley-Davidson was doing it well. By 1920, it was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, producing nearly 30,000 bikes annually and selling them in 67 countries. Harley-Davidson scored a further boon a year later when Otto Walker set a world record. Operating a Harley-Davidson, he won the first race at an average speed greater than 100mph. Things were looking up for Harley-Davidson, but the company didn’t rest on its laurels. Instead, they kept improving upon their designs, offering style and power capability innovations in the process. This likely helped the company survive the coming storm.
Setbacks
When the Great Depression hit America in the early 1930s, no one was prepared. Even though Harley-Davidson had taken great strides in the previous decades, it could not handle the economic crisis. Between 1929 and 1933, annual sales fell from 21,000 to just 3,703. Despite the massive drop in revenue, Harley-Davidson unveiled a new lineup of motorcycles in 1934. These featured a la mode Art Deco stylings and a flathead engine. While this brought accolades, it didn’t bring in more sales. To cope, Harley-Davidson diversified its offerings.
The company began producing industrial powerplants based on its motorcycle designs. It also began production on three-wheeled delivery vehicles called the Servi-Car. This latter design proved to be a hit, as the company continued its production well into the 1970s. Despite lackluster sales, Harley-Davidson refused to lower the quality of its motorcycles. The Great Depression dragged on but the company continued improving on its bikes. These advancements came in the form of the “Knucklehead” overhead valve engine and dry-sump oil recirculation systems.
The War Effort
The United States entered World War II and it began looking for vehicles that could be operated by service members. Since Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycles were the only two American motorcycle companies to survive the Great Depression, the government called on them to contribute to the war effort. Immediately, Harley-Davidson began producing military-issue motorcycles. It manufactured over 90,000 motorcycles for the military during the war. In the process, it won two Army-Navy “E” Awards for excellence in production. These lucrative contracts no doubt solidified Harley-Davidson’s standing in the years to come.
Once the war was over, Harley-Davidson acquired the blueprints for the DKW RT 125 German motorcycle thanks to war reparations. Subsequently, the company adapted the design to its liking, manufactured it, and sold it on the American market. It continued to release new models with aerodynamic designs and beefier engines over the next several years. The company was tasting newfound success but challenging headwinds lurked on the horizon. (For other midcentury innovations, explore the most successful inventions of the 1960s.)
Highest Bidder
In 1952, Harley Davidson faced its biggest challenge yet. The company applied to the U.S. Tariff Commission for a 40% tax on imported motorcycles but this proved disastrous. Instead of accepting its application, the Tariff Commission charged the company with restrictive practices. Over the next decade, innovation slowed and sales dwindled. It was in such bad shape that American Machine and Foundry (AMF) bought Harley-Davidson in 1969.
Instead of improving market share, however, AMF took a slash-and-burn approach. It downsized the firm’s workforce, streamlined production, and cut costs. This resulted in labor strikes and lower-quality motorcycles. At the same time, Japanese manufacturers like Kawasaki, Honda, and Yamaha transformed the American motorcycle market with their affordable and reliable machines. When compared to the newfound Japanese designs, the Harley-Davidson motorcycles suddenly seemed expensive yet inferior. Sales declined even further, and the American public started mocking the company, calling it names like “Hardly Ableson” and “Hardly Driveable.”
It took until 1981 for the business to fall back into its rightful hands. That year, AMF sold the company to several investors including Willie G. Davidson, the grandson of the company’s co-founder. Rather quickly, the new management team set about introducing new technologies and inventory management strategies. Despite facing tough competition from Japanese firms, Harley-Davidson was granted its long-awaited tariff protection by the Reagan Administration in 1983.
A Return to Form
Under the umbrella of tariff protections, Harley-Davidson began turning things around. Instead of aping Japanese model motorcycles, the company deliberately emphasized the retro appeal of older Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Quality increased and buyers slowly returned. This newfound emphasis on retro Harleys also opened doors for increasing customization.
This customization, in turn, gave rise to the chopper-style motorcycle which gave the company a reputation for big, powerful, and stylish machines. Perhaps the most emblematic of these “hogs” is the “Fat Boy.” After Harley-Davidson introduced this model in 1990, it became a sales leader in the heavyweight motorcycle division and solidified the company’s standing. At the same time, they began introducing lighter, sports models to capture more customers.
From then until now, it continued to weather storms and survive. Whether it was accusations of stock manipulation in the 90s, company-wide strikes in 2007, or dwindling sales from economic crises, the company survived. Thanks to clever merchandising tactics, a wide swath of dealerships, and an ardent fan club of riders, Harley-Davidson has retained its icon status well into the 21st century. (For other slices of American history, discover the curious history of the American Shopping Mall.)