Preview

harley davidson

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1888 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
harley davidson
In 1901, a 20-year old William S. Harley drew up plans for a small engine designed for use in a regular pedal-bicycle frame. Over the next two years, Harley and his childhood friend Arthur Davidson worked on their motor-bicycle in the Milwaukee machine shop located at the home of their friend, Henry Melk. On the year 1903, Harley, Davidson and Davidson’s brother, Walter Davidson, finished their first motor-bicycle.
Harley and the Davidson brothers tested the power-cycle of their first motor-bicycle and they used it as a valuable learning experiment. The boys immediately began on a new and improved second-generation machine and the first “real” Harley-Davidson motorcycle was born. The bigger engine and loop-design took the motorcycle out of the motorized bicycle category and marked the path to future motorcycle designs. Outboard motor pioneer Ole Evinrude also gave the boys a helping hand.
By September 8, 1904, a Harley-Davidson prototype competed in a Milwaukee motorcycle race held at State Fair Park. It was ridden by Edwin Hildebrand and it placed fourth. This is the first documented appearance of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in historical record.
In January 1905, small advertisements were placed in the Automobile and Cycle Trade Journal offering bare Harley-Davidson engines to the do-it-yourself trade. By April, complete motorcycles were in production on a very limited basis. That year, the first Harley-Davidson dealer, Carl H. Lang of Chicago, sold three bikes from the five built in the Davidson backyard shed. Years later the original shed was taken to the Juneau Avenue factory where it would stand for many decades as a tribute to the Motor Company's humble origins until it was accidentally destroyed by contractors cleaning the factory yard in the early 1970s.
In 1906, Harley and the Davidson brothers built their first factory on Juneau Avenue, at the current location of Harley-Davidson's corporate headquarters. The first Juneau Avenue plant was a 40 ft × 60 ft

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    References: Communications, J. (n.d.). Progressive gets to the heart of what makes motorcycles tick. Retrieved from www.erichopr.com/studies/progressive-motorcycle.pdf…

    • 1162 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    As racing became more and more popular the company started producing specialty racing bikes that would win anything from laps on the dirt track, and endurance races. The people riding motorcycles were considered to be dare devils.…

    • 2508 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Harley-Davidson company was created 1903. The company was acquired by AMF Inc, which favored short-term profits instead of investing in research, development and retooling. Harley-Davidson’s focus was on sales, while competitors were continuously improving the quality of their motorcycles (echeat, 2008). This resulted in a downturn of the company with weak profits. Harley-Davidson Inc. acquired the Buell Motorcycle Company…

    • 7537 Words
    • 31 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harley Davidson is an American manufacturer of heavy weight motorcycles. The corporation is based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is the largest manufacturer of heavy weight motorcycles in the world. In 2007 Harley Davidson held 49.4% of the market share in the heavyweight motorcycle market with competitors like Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha…

    • 7018 Words
    • 29 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sylvester Roper invented the first motorcycle in 1867. It had a two-cylinder steam engine and was originally called the velocipede. It helped create a faster and more effective way to travel. It was small and used steam not gasoline. Today the motorcycle has been revolutionized.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arrowood Times Case

    • 3253 Words
    • 14 Pages

    |Harley-Davidson The iconic American motorcycle sustains a proud history, enduring product quality and a high price point. In | | |…

    • 3253 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    However, Harley-Davidson’s journey was not without its bumps in the road. As a result of the rapid rise in production growth – 0 in 1903, 28,000 in 1920, and 150,818 in 1998 – Harley-Davidson experienced quality control issues and faced stiff competition from Japanese manufacturers Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki. In the 1980s, things became so bad that Harley-Davidson found itself on the verge of bankruptcy. Determined to regain its prowess and move away from the verge of bankruptcy, the company “renewed focus on quality” and completed a successful IPO in 1986 leading to a worldwide resurgence (Austin, 2003, p.2).…

    • 3591 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC) is one of the world leaders in the production, marketing and servicing of motorcycles in the US and throughout the world. The company manufactures a range of motorcycles and has established a network of dealerships in the US and overseas, and has a series of merchandising and selling strategies, including a growing financing business. The company is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.…

    • 5980 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    The first motorcycle appeared in 1884, with the three-wheeled variety and the first to hit the road, followed by its two-wheeled cousin, a motorized bicycle, the following year. In 1901, the modern form with the engine underneath the seat made its debut. A significant number of motorcycle producers had been setup by 1903 (Brotherhood 22). In that year the manufacturer that would become synonymous with bikers and outlaw motorcycle clubs made its debut with a single cylinder 25 cubic inch engine capable of three horse power – Harley Davidson (Brotherhood 23).…

    • 3754 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Victory Motorcycles

    • 7073 Words
    • 29 Pages

    “Victory Motorcycles is a motorcycle manufacturer based in Spirit Lake, Iowa, United States, which began production of its vehicles in 1998. Its parent company, Polaris Industries, created the firm following the modern success of Harley-Davidson. Victory’s motorcycles are designed to compete directly with Harley Davidson and similar American-style motorcycle brands, with V-twin engines and touring, sport-touring, and cruiser configurations. The first Victory, the V92C, was announced in 1997 and began selling in 1998. Victory has been modestly profitable since 2002.”…

    • 7073 Words
    • 29 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Harley Davidson

    • 3297 Words
    • 14 Pages

    In 1903 they produced three motorcycles. Harley-Davidson erected its first building the current Juneau avenue site in 1906 and incorporated in 1907. In 1907 Harley-Davidson produced 150 motorcycles. SITUATION ANALYSIS The motorcycle market over 750cc has been increasing over the last five years.…

    • 3297 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cmi Level 7 Unit 7006

    • 3287 Words
    • 14 Pages

    The history of Harley-Davidson began in 1903, in a 10 ' x 15 ' shed located in the Davidson family 's Milwaukee backyard. The Davidson brothers - William D., Walter, and Arthur – and William S. Harley crafted their first motorcycle using the best tools they had available – mostly their hands and their ingenuity.…

    • 3287 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Yamaha Guitar Company

    • 1937 Words
    • 8 Pages

    After the Second World War, the corporation president, Genichi Kawakami, repurposed the remains of company’s war period, the production machinery and the corporation’s expertise in the metallurgical technologies to manufacture of motorcycles (Davis, 56). YA-1, of which almost 125 motorcycles, were created within the initial year of production, 1954, and was named in the honor of the founder. The motorcycle was a 125cc, two-stroke, single cylinder, street bike that was patterned after German DKWRT125. The model was copied by the British munitions firms in post war era, and it was manufactured as Bantam and the Hummer was Harley-Davidson. In the year 1995, the success of YA-1 resulted in foundation of the Yamaha Motor Company Limited (Davis, 56).…

    • 1937 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1919 Woodrow Wilson stated, "I can predict with absolute certainty that within another generation there will be another world war if the nations of the world do not work together to prevent it." The League of Nations was Wilson's idea in keeping the world at peace and it had four main aims: to stop war, to disarm, to improve people's lives and jobs and to enforce the Treaty of Versailles. Even though the aims of the League are presently clearly ? historians still argue that the real aims of the League are not what they appear to be.…

    • 1408 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Horizontal Revolution

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The flat engine was first used in motorcycles during the time of World War II. In 1923 BMW released its first motorcycle, the R32, with a horizontally opposed twin-cylinder engine (BMW Motorrad, para 2). This engine architecture was used by many motorcycles after the R32’s release. In fact, many aircraft still use a horizontally opposed engine to power their propellers.…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays