One of the greatest accomplishments to come out of Wisconsin is the Harley-Davidson company, HD began in Milwaukee in 1903 with two friends. The first project for the company got its start thanks to William Harley and Arthur Davidson, project competition would depend upon the talents of Arthur’s brothers, Walter and William. The abilities of the additional Davidson brothers – Walter was a mechanic, and William made tools – undoubtedly lead to the initial HD Company’s success that would drive them towards incorporation.
During 1903 Harley-Davidson turned out a grand total of 3 motorcycles, all were bought and paid for before completion. The early motorcycles did not show the brightness of their later counterparts, as they were all gray, earning them the name ‘Silent Gray Fellows. It took just two short years to add a number of products to the company’s list, in 1905 HD was also producing motorcycle motors, marine motors, reversible propellers, and float feed carburetors.
Harley-Davidson motorcycles gained even more notoriety and popularity as the next decade progressed. Among the biggest fans of the company was the United States Postal service, who in 1914 used 4,800 of the company’s bikes but nine departments in total used the company’s products in the federal government in that year. Machine guns were added to the government’s HD products as they faced off against Pancho Villa in border disputes in 1916. The federal government did not ease up on their use of HD during the first World War, on the contrary, the government purchased fifty percent of all of the HD motorcycles during this period and shipped them overseas for the military to use.
The following decade was another one of prosperity, as HD began to become a racing competitor. Harley-Davidson suffered, but managed to survive the Great Depression and continued to prosper through the 1930’s. Unfortunately World War II came in the 1940’s and they were pressed into service once again.
In the decade of the 1950s, the company began employing more aggressive marketing strategies and saw increased growth. The climate of the Korean War was not as conducive as the European market had been for making motorcycles into military equipment and as a result, the government opted for Jeeps instead. Civilian consumers more than made up for the lack of government contracts, Harley-Davidson responded by continuing to concentrate on the civilians who bought their products.
Not even the great company, however, could resist the change that was always prevalent in the 1960s. This decade is when the company began producing 3-wheeled golf carts. By the end of the decade these carts cornered about one third of the United States market, and were even used oversees. In according to the change theme, motorcycle accessories became part of the Harley-Davidson family during the 1960s too.
The 1970’s saw continuing success in the racing venue and great advancements were made in the racing bikes that were produced by Harley-Davidson. The 1980s were a decade of great financial change for many companies, and for the HD Company, this was especially true when they became a private ownership again as the result of a buyback. Also during the decade, the company’s increase devotion to better machines paid off in the form of many years’ worth of contract deals with the California Highway Patrol, from 184 to 1985, and again from 1987 to 1989.
The 1990’s were ushered in with the appearance of Harley-Davidson most customized factory custom motorcycle to date, the FLSTF Fat Boy. The goal of the new bike was to invoke the feel of past bikes while keeping up to date. The HD Company retains its strength and popularity in the dawn of the twenty-first century. There are several models of each line (which include the Sporster, the Dyna, the Softail, the VRSC, and a Touring line) in the company’s current production.