History of Harley Davidson Motorcycles
Harley Davidson is, without doubt, the most iconic motorcycle producer in the world today, having a fan base that stretches in to every single country on the globe. With their huge engines and intimidating style, they are every inch what a good motorcycle should be and attract admiring glances wherever they go. When either riding in convoy or alone, any Harley Davidson owner wouldn't trade their vehicle in for anything else.
The origins of the Harley Davidson stretch all the way back to 1901, when a young William Harley made plans to construct an engine that could be used when attached to a regular pedal bike. He did this with help from his friend Arthur Davidson and although this plan eventually failed, it laid the groundwork for the next project, which would prove far more successful.
After several years of toil, work was finally completed on the first ever Harley Davidson motorcycle, which was debuted at the Milwaukee motorcycle race in 1904. After this success the company began to make engines for others building their own motorbikes, and shortly after began limited production of full motorcycles. By 1913, the Harley-Davidson company had progressed enough to occupy a five story factory in the industrial area of Milwaukee, which allowed them to produce a company record of 16,284 motorcycles in that year alone.
World War I saw a slump in sales to commercial buyers, however the American military more than made up for this by ordering 15,000 of the machines for their forces. When the war finished, Harley-Davidson began their ascent up the ladder of motorcycle manufacturers yet again, and by the 1920s they were the world's leading company in their field, producing over 28,000 vehicles per year. Additionally, 1921 saw the Harley-Davidson group create a new record, when one of their bikes won a race at an average speed of more than 100mph, which was a feat never before accomplished.
This success was all brought crashing down in the following years, however, with the onset of the Great Depression, which caused the sale of Harley-Davidson motorcycles to fall to 3,703 units in 1933. After this, there was of course the Great War, which further hit Harley-Davidson's commercial sales, although the American military once again made up for this, this time purchasing 90,000 WLA model bikes for use in combat. There were also massive exports to the Russian military, numbering about 30,000. After the Great War, however, Harley-Davidson resumed their operations as market leader, with extra designs acquired through the reparations that Germany had been forced in to paying.
Harley-Davidson's good years didn't last long however, as in 1952 they were prosecuted by the US government for restrictive practices. Although this damaged their reputation, the years following were to prove the defining era of Harley-Davidson, making them synonymous with the Hell's Angel movement and therefore undesirable to many people throughout the world. Although at the time this was bad for business, nowadays this reputation as a bike ridden by outlaws is considered a major selling point, so the long term effects were good.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Harley-Davidson continued to create new bikes, but their most controversial hour came in 1977, when they released the Confederate Edition, a regular Harley bike with the Confederate flag painted on the gas tank. Long seen a symbol of racism and therefore undesirable to many, it was seen at the time to be playing up to the Hell's Angels who rode their bikes and to therefore alienate a significant portion of their potential customer base.
It wasn't until the takeover by a group of investors in 1981 that Harley-Davidson's fortunes began to turn again. For many years sales had been hit by the increase in Japanese motorcycles being imported in to the country, until President Reagan imposed stiff taxes that made the import of bikes more expensive. Allied to this decrease in competition, Harley-Davidson also began on a new design system, whereby they went back to their roots and started producing more "retro" bikes yet again. With these new designs and a massive increase in the general quality of the build, customers soon came flocking back to the brand that they had once shunned due to its dubious associations, meaning that by the 1990s Harley-Davidson were once again a market leader.
From the 1990s to the present, the road has been uneventful for the Harley-Davidson company. A partnership with Ford saw Harley-Davidson reaching out to a wider audience, with their badge appearing on some Ford vehicles briefly while both companies celebrated their 100th anniversaries. Additionally, Harley-Davidson have recently opened a huge museum dedicated to the history in the Menomonee Valley.