Harley Biker Girls & Harley Davidson Facts

In 1901 William S Harley first completes a blueprint of an engine designed to fit into a bicycle.

The first Harley-Davidson 'factory' was a 10ft by 15ft shed (3m x 4.5m) built by William C Davidson - Willie G's great-grandfather - for his son's new business.

Legend has it that the first carburettor made for Harley-Davidson's first engine was fashioned from a tomato can!

The first Harley-Davidson model, Serial Number One, of 1903 is nicknamed 'Silent Gray Fellow' on account of its quietness. It was tough though, with one of them travelling 100,000 miles (160,000 km) on its original bearings.

The first Harley-Davidson dealer - C.H. Lang of Chicago - opens for business in 1904.

On July 4, 1905, a Harley-Davidson wins a 15-mile race in Chicago.

In 1906 the company moves to their first premises: which turns out to be shared with the railroad. When it is discovered that the factory is in the wrong place, and on railroad property, ten employees carried the 28ft by 80ft (8.5m 24.3m) factory themselves to its proper location!

Walter Davidson wins a two-day endurance run in New York's Catskill Mountains in June, 1908, with a perfect score of 1,000 points.

In 1908 the Detroit Police Department becomes the first police force in America to use Harley-Davidsons.

The first Harley-Davidson V-twin is produced in 1909.

Harley-Davidson's famous 'Bar and Shield' logo is used for the first time in 1910.

In 1912, construction begins on what will become the firm's famous six-storey headquarters on Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee.

By 1913 production is up to 17,000 bikes a year.

Harley-Davidson clothing first began to appear in 1914 but at first it is given only to race team members. The official factory race team - that later becomes known as 'The Wrecking Crew' - is launched in the same year.

The firm builds over 20,000 bikes for the Allied war effort between 1914 and 1918.

Harley riders get their own magazine in 1916. It's called 'The Harley-Davidson Enthusiast' and it has since become the longest continuously published motorcycle magazine in the world.

On 8th November 1918, with the German army in retreat, Corporal Roy Holtz and his Harley-Davidson V-twin got lost in bad weather and ride into an enemy headquarters. Holtz was captured and credited with being the first American serviceman on German soil.

In 1918 a Harley-Davidson dealer in Seattle asks famous Vaudeville artist Trixie Fraganza to pose with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Since then, stars including Marlene Dietrich, Clark Gable, Elvis Presley, Cher, Elizabeth Taylor, Bruce Willis, and Jay Leno have posed on, or owned, Harleys, making them the bike of choice to the stars!

Not all Harley twins have been V-twins. The Electric Sport was an in-line opposed twin that was made from 1919-1922.

In 1920 Harley-Davidson is officially recognised as the largest producer of motorcycles in the world. Bikes can now be bought from more than 2,000 dealers in 67 different countries.

Leslie 'Red' Parkhurst breaks 23 speed records on a 61cubic-inch racing Harley in 1920. In the same year, the 'hog' association begins when the official race team begins to use as pig as a mascot, sitting it on the fuel tanks of their bikes on victory laps.

In 1921 a Harley-Davidson becomes the first motorcycle to win a race at an average speed of more than 100mph.

All models are given a distinctive 'tear-drop' shaped fuel tank in 1925. The look sets the tone for all future Harleys and it is still hugely popular with custom bike builders.

Front wheel brakes are available on all models from 1928 onwards.

The first Flathead engine is launched in 1929.

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