The legendary Harley-Davidson motorcycle and its history

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

The history of the Harley-Davidson brand is a history of professionalism, hard work, self-confidence. This is the story of a dream come true… And it began at the turn of the last century and the century before last, just as a huge number of other stories began, which, however, did not have the same victorious continuation.

Today, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle is the dream of millions. And the very name HD makes the heart of everyone who has anything to do with bike culture beat faster.

About a wooden garage, its inhabitants and their brainchild

One day, two friends, Arthur and William, decided to attach an engine assembled by their own hands to a bicycle. For this purpose, an inconspicuous garage in the city of Milwaukee was chosen. Soon the new unit was tested and successfully passed. Thus began the era of the world's most famous motorcycle brand.

Without further ado, the creators simply hyphenated their names on the doors of the wooden garage and got to work. For a long time, already, when the glory of "Harley-Davidson" thundered throughoutworld, that same garage was still the property of the owners. Moreover, the first assembly shop, and then the whole factory, was built around an inconspicuous plank building. Unfortunately, it did not survive to this day - hired cleaners accidentally destroyed it, mistaking it for old trash.

In step with progress

The company has always sought to win customers not with flashy advertising, not with dubious promotions and not with cheap PR. Its feature has always been quality and unique style. The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a number of innovations that gave the HD range several unique models. Each new Harley-Davidson motorcycle was equipped with the latest technology. The company's technologists were the first in the world to introduce such an innovation as water cooling of the engine. And for the development of new models, the most powerful engines at that time were used, the belt drive was replaced with a chain drive, and in 1909 the legendary V-shaped motor was first created and put into mass production.

In the service of the Motherland

One day W alter Davidson took part in a race on a motorcycle of his own production. And took first place. And then he also set a world record for efficiency - drove more than 300 km on one gallon of gasoline. The authorities of the city of Detroit were so impressed by these brilliant victories that they immediately ran to order a whole batch of the same transport. Since then, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle has served in the police force.

Falled on his fate and the war. And to be more precise, not even one. In both World War I and World War II, the lion's share of HD production went to the front. Furthermore,a widely known historical fact: after the surrender of Germany, the first American to cross its border - Corporal Holtz - was sitting not on anything, but on a Harley.

Invasion threat

Another war continued unabated - the war for the hearts of the fans. And if out of all the US motorcycle manufacturers that existed in the 20s, only one company survived to the 40s, then the enemy across the ocean never slumbered. Among the managers of the company there was even the term "Japanese invasion", which, of course, meant not a military threat, but the capture of the American market. It was not uncommon for Japanese-made bikes to copy the HD styling, and cost far less than Harley-Davidson motorcycles. This price was determined by the use of more budget consumables and materials, which the American motorcycle monster never allowed itself.

A number of marketing developments allowed the company to stay afloat and even bring its products to the domestic market of the Land of the Rising Sun.

The most famous models of Harley-Davidson motorcycles

• Sportster (1957) - powerful motorcycle with a 0.9-liter engine, inexpensive small in size.
• Electra-Glide (1965) - the legendary representative of the Glide family with an electric starter.
• Dyna is a whole family of motorcycles, the models of which were not equipped with chains, but … again with belts! Only this time with Kevlar - reliable, powerful, and virtually maintenance-free.
• V-Rod (2001) - a joint development with Porsche, equipped with the latestword of technology.
• XR1200 (2008) is the company's 100th Anniversary model, distributed worldwide.

New century - new perspectives

In the city of Milwaukee, a company museum has been opened, at the entrance to which there is a huge monument - a Harley-Davidson motorcycle flying up, piloted by the legendary W alter himself. More than a hundred years of the history of the company were not only rosy. After the ups, of course, there were downs. Today, the manufacturer, which survived the Great Depression, and several wars, and the crisis, and fierce competition, continues its work.