That familiar rumbling thunder, revving to a powerful roar as the traffic light changes, uniquely distinguishes this bike. And, while that growl-like rumbling does alert drivers that one of Harley’s decibel-prolific machines (or, likely, a whole pack) will soon be passing through the center lane, they didn’t always sound so, well, uncivilized.
In fact, the original Harley prided itself on its refined mode of transportation and marketed the motorbike toward an upscale lifestyle. To this end, they tried for years to engineer a quieter motor. In fact, the first company catalog name for the Harley was “Silent Gray Fellow.” Today, the Harley remains a luxury indulgence, an extravagant purchase, a bold statement impossible to miss, but definitely not quiet.
The Original Factory
The Model 1 was manufactured in the backyard shed of the Davidson’s family home. In 1903, the Harley and Davidson boys set up shop. It was inside this small wooden shed, measuring only 10 by 15 feet, that Harley-Davidson was founded. With the words “Harley Davidson Motor Co.” carved into the front door, the first factory headquarters were established.
By 1907, the headquarters were moved to Chestnut Street, now Juneau Avenue, where they built a bigger and better factory—about five times as large. Harley, straight out of engineering school, created the signature air-cooled V-Twin engine, doubling the engine capacity, a much more powerful bike. That year, 150 motorcycles were produced. By 1914, 16,284 machines were built! That factory, remarkably, is the location of Harley-Davidson’s current corporate headquarters. The company ranks as one of the world’s oldest automakers.
How Harley-Davidson Survived the Great Depression
When the Great Depression hit, H-D motorbike sales plummeted from 21,000 to 3,700 per year. Unfazed, the company demonstrated its commitment to innovation by introducing the Model D Flathead, a new sleek and modern-looking model which became so popular it stayed in production until 1970. They also introduced the revolutionary, three-wheeled Servi-Car. In order to boost production levels, Harley-Davidson made a bold move. In the 1930s they built a production line in Japan by teaming up with the Sankyo Seiyako Corporation.
It went well until WWII tensions prompted Sankyo to cut ties. The Japanese company continued to produce Harley-like bikes under the Rikuo name. Almost every American motorcycle company went belly-up during the Great Depression. Only Harley-Davidson and its original competitor, Indian Motorcycle, rode out of the Depression Era intact.
The Iconic V-Twin Engine
It was the Indian company that unwittingly helped build Harley-Davidson. When Harley engineered the V-Twin engine, he used Indian Motorcycle's bike as a model. He basically copied their engine exactly, but today it’s his engine that is considered a Harley-Davidson’s trademark design. So, what the heck is a V-Twin engine? The V-Twin engine is characterized by its v-shaped design which, essentially, connects two single cylinders at their lower ends, giving it a distinctive v-formation and doubling the power of a single-cylinder engine.
In 1907, Harley-Davidson’s first V-Twin engine was introduced. Its internal combustion cranked out a 7-horsepower motor. It could zip along at top speeds of 60 miles per hour. In 1908, they manufactured 450 of the V-Twins. About this time, Harleys began to dominate the motorcycle racing circuit.
The Racing Department
They kept making them faster. Harley-Davidsons were the first motorbike to clock speeds at 100 miles per hour. In 1913, the first Racing Department was formed. William Ottaway was its first racer, as well as its assistant engineer to lead engineer, William Harley. This was Harley-Davidson’s chance to directly challenge Indian’s dominance. The next year, in 1914, the company formally entered racing. Team Harley-Davidson precipitously earned themselves a nickname, the “Wrecking Crew,” referring to their overwhelming supremacy on the track.
The first race tracks were offroad courses on extremely rough terrain. The first Harley that ever raced broke completely in half when it hit a deep pit. Leslie “Red” Parkhurst broke several speed records in 1920. After the races, Parkhurst would showboat by taking a pig, his team’s mascot, around the track on the victory laps. By 1922, all eight national championship races were swept by Harley-Davidson’s riders. The bike became synonymous with total domination.