History of William Harley

Biography of William Harley - Harley Davidson Founder

Who is not familiar with Harley-Davidson, a made in the United States are legendary and formidable. Harley-Davidson was founded by two people: William Harley and Arthur Davidson. One of the original founders of Harley-Davidson, William Sylvester Harley was born December 29, 1880, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin  USA. William Harley is very ambitious, with good vision in the field of business, Harley began his career at age 15 when he started working in a bicycle factory. William Harley took an interest in the early development of the bicycle, which triggered the attraction of mechanics and engineering. With his friend Arthur Davidson, he began to gear bike with motor engine. Working with Arthur Davidson who is his childhood friend, just like Harley, Arthur Davidson also had a thought in the field of mechanics. Both also share a deep interest about bikes and are confident they can create a new kind of bike mechanics will be easier to use.

Soon the two friends then began experimenting with gasoline engines and try on their own bikes. In 1903 William Harley and Arthur Davidson and two brothers formed a company of Arthur Davidson Harley Davidson Motor Company, a company motorcycle manufacturer who would be great in the world. Determined to make a better life for himself, Harley then depart for college, he was the first person in his family that college and eventually earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1907. When finished studying, Harley then returned to Milwaukee after college and began working again with Davidson to fulfill their dream to build a motorized bicycle.

They started the company operates the Harley Davidson Motor Company from a small shed in the Davidson family backyard. Harley name posted at the beginning because the original idea came from thinking about the motorcycle. In the first year, the company produced three bicycles, which includes bicycle crank and pedal as well as one-cylinder motorcycle. Over the next few years, the company improve motorcycle ideas and attract new businesses. In 1909, the company has its own factory, employs 35 workers and generate more than a thousand motorcycles per year.

Behind the development of the company, William Harley was a perfectionist who create and install a two-cylinder engine first motorcycle in the world. He did so in 1907, and in just a few years later, then patented a V-Twin engine which then rocketed and help grow the company's production to 3,200 bikes a year. Over the next few decades Harley-Davidson continues to see a huge boost in sales and popularity. when the U.S. participated in World War I. Unmitigated, U.S. Military dared to include it with the amount of one-third of the total of 70,000 units of motorcycles were needed for the war. It was the right choice, because Harley-Davidson motorcycles can simplify U.S. forces in reconnaissance and delivery logistics to the forefront of the battle field.

Finally, during World War I, approximately 20,000 units of Harley-Davidson motorcycles are sent into battle. Although the remaining 14,600 units are not produced anymore because the end of the war, Harley-Davidson turns like a star. The motorcycle received tremendous appreciation from the U.S. public, as it is considered enough to help the country "Uncle Sam" in the battle field. Image of the "Motor Nationalist" was pinned to the motorcycle community.

Crowded mass media talk of "greatness" Harley Davidson vehicles. The slogan "Uncle Sam's Choice; Harley-Davidson" was posted in one of the company's ads in the 1920s. In that time, Harley-Davidson finally start its heyday. Harley-Davidson went on to become a legend and is able to outperform its competitors to become the largest motorcycle company in the world to the present day.

Until his death, William Harley proved instrumental in the success of the company and the introduction of a new motorcycle. He was a racer and have a passion to test his new bike. Harley died of heart failure on September 18, 1943. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in Milwaukee. In 1998, he was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio once known as the "Father of the Harley-Davidson" with Arthur Davidson.