They were looking for a way to make bicycle riding easier. With the new horseless carriages just beginning to be seen, these young men came up with the idea to fit a smaller combustion engine to a bicycle. Many changes were made to the first design before they were satisfied.
In 1903 they produced three motorcycles. Henry Meyer of Milwaukee bought one of the 1903 models directly from his former schoolyard pals William Harley and Arthur Davidson. This was a one-cylinder motorcycle with a gasoline combustion engine. The words "Harley-Davidson Motor Company" were written on the door of the shed where they worked.
Chicago merchant C. H. Lange, sold the first officially distributed Harley-Davidson. The first production Harley-Davidson motorcycle was built to be a racer. That first motorcycle built by Harley-Davidson ran for over 100,000 miles and survived five owners.
Production began in that same shed in the backyard of the Davidson family home. In 1904 they were producing a 30 cubic inch (494cc) single which was nicknamed the Silent Gray Fellow.
By 1906 they had outgrown their backyard shed and moved to their first building at the current Juneau Avenue site and hired about 20 employees. Harley-Davidson incorporated in 1907, the same year a prototype V-twin motorcycle was built. 1907 also saw the first Harley-Davidsons sold for police duty. It went to the Detroit, Michigan, police department.
The V-twin engine was introduced in 1909. They produced the first 1000 CC V-Twin which produced seven horsepower. The two cylinders at a 45 degree angle was an enduring symbol of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
The famous "Bar and Shield" logo was introduced in 1910. It is the same symbol we all recognize today on all Harley motorcycles and Harley-Davidson biking gear.
The next decades brought hard times and evolution to the young motorcycle company. They survived the depression of the 1930s, turned to exclusive war production during the early 1940s. They outlasted their American competition. Their greatest and last American competitor, the Indian, ceased production in 1953, the year the Harley-Davidson turned 50. They survived the British competition from the Triumph and in the coming years held out against the Japanese who were introducing lower priced motorcycles.
By 2003, the company was 100 years old and still "American Made". This summer the 100th Anniversary Open Road Tour brought enthusiasts together at the end of August in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, back where it all began. From all over the country the rumbles of Harleys centered on Milwaukee on August 27, 2003.
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