Harley-Davidson Street Bike History

In 1905 Bill Harley and Arthur Walter Davidson had made 11 motorcycles, in 1908 they had made 154 in a little wooden barn, that was build by Davidson's father. The small company extended quickly and another member of the Davidson family, William, joined them. In no time they hired about 20 employees in a specially build stone-factory.

1910 brought the legendary "Bar and Shield" logo that was placed on their motorcycle. This would become the defining symbol of Harley-Davidson to this day. Numerous first place winnings in races, endurance contests and hill climbs give Harley-Davidson more recognition.

In 1917, one-third of all Harley-Davidsons were sent overseas to the U.S. Military to fulfill their patriotic call and to aid in the war effort. The following year, roughly half of the motorcycles produced were sold to the U.S. military. In the end, about 20,000 motorcycles were used in the war, most of them Harley-Davidsons. By this time Harley-Davidson was the biggest motorcycle factory in the world with nearly 2,000 dealerships worldwide.

In 1918 Harley-Davidson was the biggest motorcycle factory in the world. They even survived the depression. But these days were the toughest, because the motorcycles got out of date and the prices of automobiles decreased.

The 1920's saw some changes to the appearance of the motorcycle, which are more recognizable today. One such change was the identifiable teardrop shape gas tank. The 1930's and subsequent years saw more record breaking and award winning Harley-Davidson's. In the 1940's, the Harley-Davidson once again answered the patriotic call and sent its motorcycles overseas to aid in the war effort. In the fifty's Harley survived another bad period. The British Triumph owned 40 % of the motorcycle market. Fortunately the Sportster, the fastest Harley ever was born in 1957.

In 1983 the group H.O.G was founded and became the largest factory-sponsored motorcycle club in the world.