Harley-Davidson |
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Official Site: Harley-Davidson.com
Wikipedia: Harley-Davidson Subtopics Harley Owners' Group (H.O.G.) HarleyExpress.com Street Eagle Harley Rentals and Tours Page Sections History Bibliography Multimedia Images Unidentified Photographs Article Index Shopping |
History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Harley-Davidson page on 11 July 2016, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D), or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer, founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1903.
As one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression (along with Indian), the company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements (e.g., Aermacchi 1974-1978 and Buell 1987-2009), periods of poor economic health and product quality, as well as intense global competition — to become the world's fifth largest motorcycle manufacturer and an iconic brand widely known for its loyal following — with owner clubs and events worldwide as well as a company sponsored brand-focused museum.
Noted for a style of customization that gave rise to the chopper motorcycle style, Harley-Davidson traditionally marketed heavyweight, air-cooled cruiser motorcycles with engine displacements greater than 700 cc — and has broadened its offerings to include its more contemporary VRSC (2001) and middle-weight Street (2014) platforms.
Harley-Davidson manufactures its motorcycles at factories in York, Pennsylvania; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Kansas City, Missouri; Manaus, Brazil; and Bawal, India — and markets its products worldwide.
History: Beginning
In 1901, 20-year-old William S. Harley drew up plans for a small engine with a displacement of 7.07 cubic inches (116 cc) and four-inch (102 mm) flywheels. The engine was 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 using the northside Milwaukee machine shop at the home of their friend, Henry Melk. It was finished in 1903 with the help of Arthur's brother, Walter Davidson. Upon testing their power-cycle, Harley and the Davidson brothers found it unable to climb the hills around Milwaukee without pedal assistance. They quickly wrote off their first motor-bicycle as a valuable learning experiment.
Work immediately began on a new and improved second-generation machine. This first "real" Harley-Davidson motorcycle had a bigger engine of 24.74 cubic inches (405 cc) with 9.75 inches (25 cm) flywheels weighing 28 lb (13 kg). The machine's advanced loop-frame pattern was similar to the 1903 Milwaukee Merkel motorcycle (designed by Joseph Merkel, later of Flying Merkel fame). The bigger engine and loop-frame design took it out of the motorized bicycle category and marked the path to future motorcycle designs. The boys also received help with their bigger engine from outboard motor pioneer Ole Evinrude, who was then building gas engines of his own design for automotive use on Milwaukee's Lake Street.
The prototype of the new loop-frame Harley-Davidson was assembled in a 10 ft × 15 ft (3.0 m × 4.6 m) shed in the Davidson family backyard. Most of the major parts, however, were made elsewhere, including some probably fabricated at the West Milwaukee railshops where oldest brother William A. Davidson was then toolroom foreman. This prototype machine was functional by September 8, 1904, when it competed in a Milwaukee motorcycle race held at State Fair Park. It was ridden by Edward Hildebrand and placed fourth. This is the first documented appearance of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in the 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 Chestnut Street (later Juneau Avenue), at the current location of Harley-Davidson's corporate headquarters. The first Juneau Avenue plant was a 40 ft × 60 ft (12 m × 18 m) single-story wooden structure. The company produced about 50 motorcycles that year.
In 1907, William S. Harley graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a degree in mechanical engineering. That year additional factory expansion came with a second floor and later with facings and additions of Milwaukee pale yellow ("cream") brick. With the new facilities production increased to 150 motorcycles in 1907. The company was officially incorporated that September. They also began selling their motorcycles to police departments around this time, a market that has been important to them ever since.
| Title & Subtitle | Details |
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Biker Billy's Hog Wild on a Harley Cookbook200 Fiercely Flavorful Recipes to Kick-Start Your Home Cooking from Harley Riders Across the USA | Year & Type: 2003 Cookbook Author: Bill Hufnagle Publisher: The Harvard Common Press Dimensions: 6.25" x 9.25" hardcover Content: 312 pages with black & white photographs ISBN: 978-1-55832-250-9 Subject: Motorcycles Topic: Harley-Davidson Availability: Reference Desk |
| Date | Media or Collection Name & Details | Files |
|---|---|---|
| 26 June 2018 | Harley-Davidson Lisa Bryant, VOA News |  Article Page - 85.0MB - 2:57 |
Unidentified Photographs
If you know more information about these Harley-Davidson motorcycles, such as the specific model, please e-mail admin@carsandracingstuff.com.
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Subject: Harley-Davidson
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2010 The Cars Time Forgot View photo of Harley-Davidson - 3,910KB |
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Subject: Harley-Davidson
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2010 The Cars Time Forgot View photo of Harley-Davidson - 3,915KB |
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Subject: Harley-Davidson
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2010 The Cars Time Forgot View photo of Harley-Davidson - 4,480KB |
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Subject: Harley-Davidson
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2011 Attack of the Plastic View photo of Harley-Davidson Model - 2,182KB |
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Subject: Harley-Davidson
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Date: 2012 Caption: Classic big motorcycle. Tough guy in a black Harley-Davidson t-shirt. Black leather saddlebags. Is that a Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick-wrapping paper present on the back? Yes, yes it is! View photo of Harley-Davidson - 2,182KB |
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Subject: Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Harley-Davidson
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: McHenry Fiesta Days View photo of Law Enforcement Torch Run Harley-Davidson - 3.4MB |
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Subject: Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Harley-Davidson
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: McHenry Fiesta Days View photo of Law Enforcement Torch Run Harley-Davidson - 4.3MB |
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Subject: Harley-Davidson with Sidecar
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2018 Woodstock on the Square Benefit Car Show View photo of Harley-Davidson with Sidecar - 3.4MB |
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Subject: Harley-Davidson with Sidecar
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2018 Woodstock on the Square Benefit Car Show View photo of Harley-Davidson with Sidecar - 2.9MB |
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Subject: Harley-Davidson with Sidecar
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2018 Woodstock on the Square Benefit Car Show View photo of Harley-Davidson with Sidecar - 3.1MB |
| Post Date | Description | Price | Location |
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| 23 February 2013 | 2011 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson Edition 4x4 | Merrillville, Indiana |
