The history of Harley Davidson

Most of the people love motorcycles. They are easy to ride and operate. Even if you are not interested in motorcycles...you must have heard ...

Most of the people love motorcycles. They are easy to ride and operate.

Even if you are not interested in motorcycles...you must have heard of Harley Davidson.

It was originally founded by William Harley and Arthur Davidson in 1903 at Milwaukee Wisconsin , United States.And it was one of the few companies which survived The great depression.

Initially the idea was to build a pedal bicycle supported by motor engine. So in 1903 they build first 116cc pedal assisted motor bicycle,which then failed because it was not able to climb even small hills.

Eventhrough it failed, it was launched in 1905 in local showroom in limited quantity.

In 1905, two more Davidson brothers also joined the company and they build their 1st factory at chestnut street later known as Junot Avenue, which was a single storey wooden room which has now become Harley Davidson co-operate headquarters.

In the 1st year HD produced only 50 motorcycles while in the second year they produced as much as 150.

In 1907 they officially started selling motorcycles to police department and this was a kickstart for their long journey. And then from 1907 to the beginning of the world war1(1914) the production went from 450 to 16000+ and during world war 1 , U.S military purchased around 15000 motorcycles and they eventually became the king of motorcycles in the world with 2000 dealers in 67 countries across the globe.

Following this in 1920s they made major advancements in their field.

Like the introduction of 74 cubic-inch V-twin in 1922 and teardrop gas tank in 1925 and firm brakes in 1928.

Effect of The great depression:

During The great depression (1929-1933) the sales went down from 21,000 to 3700. Which was ofcourse a huge loss but even the great depression was not enough to stop the company, they even survived it and they also sold motorcycles in world war2 to U.S army.

In world war2, the military demand was so high that they stopped selling motorcycles to civilians and focused solely on military demands. Meanwhile they sold 90000 WLA models within 1941-45.

In 60's the Japanese companies began to rise in America which were providing high performance bikes with much less price because of the fiber they used to make bikes was not metal and was much cheaper , which finally resulted in huge loss to Harley Davidson sells. And eventually the company was sold to AMF(American machine foundry) who used new tactics which resulted in labour strike and low quality bikes and customer service which even worsened the condition , and they were on the verge of bankruptcy. No one had ever thought that once the king of motorcycles would end like this.

Finally in 1981, a group of company executives led by Vaughn beals brought the company for $75 million and revived it using funds for new product development and by implementing world class quality control. And finally it was listed in Newyork stock exchange in 1987.

And this was all about the great journey of Harley Davidson.

Even today this legendary bike company is active seller in market and makes quality products which purely satisfies the customer.