The Harley-Davidson Story
The story behind the most inspirational brand EVER! Harley Davidson. Scroll through their illustrious story timeline and read my blog post on how the H-D brand achieved cult status on Brand Stories: http://www.brandstories.net/2012/06/08/the-harley-davidson-story-how-brand-achieves-cult-status/
1901
It all started in 1901 when William S. Harley (below), aged 21, completed a blueprint drawing of an engine designed to fit into a bicycle.The brains behind the Harley Davidson brand...
William S. Harley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaWilliam Sylvester Harley (December 29, 1880 - September 18, 1943) was a co-founder of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. He was born in M...
Arthur Davidson (motorcycling) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaOne of Davidson's favorite pastimes was fishing in the Wisconsin wilderness, which inspired him to create a motorcycle that would, "take ...and Arthur's brother, Walter Davidson
1903
In 1903 William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson made available to the public the first production Harley-Davidson® motorcycle. The bike was built to be a racer, with a 3-1/8 inch bore and 3-1/2 inch stroke. The factory in which they worked was a 10 x 15-foot wooden shed with the words "Harley-Davidson Motor Company" crudely scrawled on the door. Arthur's brother Walter later joined their efforts.Serial #1: the first production Harley-Davidson® motorcycle
1903 Harley-Davidson | Serial Number 1 | Motorcycle NewsClick the images below for bigger versions: H-D Motorcycle History Harley-Davidson Serial Number One, which currently resides in the H-D ...the H-D Serial #1 in all its glory...
It was built in this first Harley Davidson factory
10 x 15-foot wooden shed with the words "Harley-Davidson Motor Company" crudely scrawled on the door.- During the same year...Henry Meyer (pictured below) of Milwaukee, a schoolyard pal of William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson, buys one of the 1903 models directly from the founders...
1904
In 1904 the first Harley-Davidson Dealer, C.H. Lang (pictured below) of Chicago, IL, opened for business and sold one of the first three production Harley-Davidson motorcycles ever made.1905
On July 4th, a H-D motorcycle won a 15 mile race in Chicago with a time of 19:02. In Milwaukee, the first full-time employee was hired.1906
In 1906 a new factory (pictured below), measuring 28 x 80 feet, was built on the Chestnut St. site, later renamed Juneau Avenue. Staff size was increased to six full-time employees. Also, the first motorcycle catalog was produced by the Company and the nickname "Silent Gray Fellow" was used for the first time.
