William Harley and Arthur Davidson: Men Behind the Iconic Motorcycle

In 1906, Harley and Davidson built their first dedicated factory, on a parcel of land on Chestnut Street, just one block from the Davidson home. At the new factory, production increased to 150 motorcycles the first year.

In September of 1907, the company was officially incorporated. That same year they acquired their first major market: police departments across the region. To this day, tens of thousands of police officers patrol the streets and highways on Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

In 1908, Carl H. Lang hit upon a promotional idea: He’d lead a motorcycle ride of his customers around the city to attract business. Setting a precedent, similar events continue to define Harley-Davidson. Employees and dealers ride with the customers, conceiving new reasons to ride.

In 1913, Harley-Davidson, Inc. moved into a new state-of-the-art, six-floor brick motorcycle factory. From only three motorcycles sold in their first year, within 10 years’ time, that number reached nearly 13,000.

Production

In 1905 and 1906, all Harley-Davidsons were single-cylinder models with 26.84 cubic-inch (440 cc) engines. But then in February of 1907, they introduced a 45-degree V-Twin engine prototype at the Chicago Automobile Show intended for sale in 1911.

The new V-Twin displaced 53.68 cubic inches (880 cc) and produced a whopping 7 horsepower. This gave nearly double the power of the single-cylinders, with top speeds of about 60 mph.

From 1908 to 1909, Harley-Davidson Inc. motorcycle sales jumped from 450 bikes to 1,149.