117 1915 is considered the end of The Motor Company’s early era. By this time, Harley-Davidsons were achieving consistent speeds that were only dreams just 10 years earlier. On April 12, 1915, Roy Artley piloted his Harley to a win at the 1-hour Bakersfield, California, race, and managed a top speed of 68.7 miles in that hour. He averaged speeds that, even just a few years earlier, could only be hit at maximum throttle, on a smooth road, and with a tail wind. Artley, naturally, set the track record that day.
118 One year before Harley-Davidson began its official race program, Ben Torres and Ray Watkins set a world record on their H-D by riding 346 dirt-track miles in just 7 hours on December 8, 1913. Their 8-hp, single-speed twin ran open headers for exhaust and used a low seat with dropped handlebars for speed and rider aerodynamics. For the entire record-setting run in San Jose, California, they didn’t have to make a single repair or adjustment on the bike. They finished 17 miles ahead of the second-place competitor, proving outright Harley-Davidson’s dominance as a durable and powerful motorcycle.
119 In September 1907, Walter Davidson competed in a two-day, 414-mile endurance race from Chicago to Kokomo, Indiana. Of the 23 riders to start, Walter was one of only three to finish the event with perfect scores. This race was before his better-known endurance races in 1908, which launched The Motor Company’s motorcycles into their position among the country’s best machines.
120 Walter Davidson, who pushed for racing involvement in the earliest days of The Motor Company, competed in his first recorded race of any kind in 1896 at age 20. The race was the first annual bicycle road race put on by railroad shop employees where his father and brother Walter worked. The thrill of two-wheeled competition certainly stuck with him and fueled his desire to build a faster two-wheeler.
121 A September 8, 1904, Milwaukee Daily News article listed the names of riders expected to race in an upcoming event that month at the Wisconsin State Fair. Among the names listed was A. Davidson; no makes were listed, and it’s unknown if this is actually the Arthur Davidson. In the September 9 edition of the Milwaukee Sentinel, Walter Davidson’s name is listed as a rider in the upcoming event. This race was the first known instance of a Harley-Davidson being used in competition.
122 September 9, 1904, not only marked the first recorded race of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, but also the first undisputed evidence of one actually running. Motorcycle racing was quite uncertain back then and no one was ever sure who would actually show up to compete with a running machine. The most reliable information I have that the Harley-Davidson on September 9 actually ran is from a Milwaukee Journal article that lists the identities of the racers and the make of their motorcycle. That article lists Edward Hildebrand as the rider. This seems to make the company’s early history even more confusing because neither a Harley nor a Davidson is listed as a racer. Hildebrand finished sixth in the 2-mile race and fifth in the 5-mile race. It’s not clear if the machine was supplied by the young factory or simply brought out by Hildebrand, one of its earliest customers.
123 Peter Olson of Cambridge, Wisconsin, received a 1905 Harley-Davidson delivered directly from Arthur Davidson, and became the first postal carrier to use a Harley-Davidson. Upon delivery of his motorcycle, Olson mounted baskets to the front end and rear frame to carry mail on his deliveries. If he wasn’t the fastest man in Cambridge, he was certainly the fastest mail carrier.
124 Walter Davidson’s first motorcycle race win came at the Wisconsin State Fair on June 2, 1905. He beat Henry Zerbel, who rode a Merkel, by an eighth of a mile. The Milwaukee Sentinel wrote, “Walter Davidson demonstrated the superiority of the larger motor. Davidson led all the way.” The following day, he finished second to Perry Mack, also aboard a Harley-Davidson.
125 Walter Davidson and Perry Mack swept another race weekend, this time in the nationally recognized Fourth of July races in Chicago. In the 15-mile race, Mack took the checkered flag in the heavyweights class followed closely by Walter, who placed second. In the 10-mile race held next, Walter won after Mack hit a dog that had roamed onto the track and was hurt badly in the ensuing crash. This race was a turning point in The Motor Company’s history. It had become clear that a profitable business could be built around motorcycles and that the machines themselves were top notch when compared to the competition.
126 The Enthusiast is published by Harley-Davidson for the first time in 1916 and provides H-D owners with a real, personal connection to the brand. It also provides The Motor Company with a marketing tool to showcase the latest products and accessories directly to its increasingly loyal consumers. The Enthusiast, distributed only to registered owners and dealers, was an immediate hit and, in 1919, it became a monthly publication. The Enthusiast bears the title of the longest continuously produced motorcycle magazine in the world.
127 Following the success of the Quartermasters School during World War I, Harley-Davidson changed the name to the Service School, and authorized dealership employees were invited to attend. The Service School succeeded on the civilian side as well, bringing dealership techs from all over the country up to date on mechanical procedures and motorcycle operation. The Service School exists today as Harley-Davidson University.
Harley-Davidson has instructed hopeful technicians in the intricacies of its motorcycles for 100 years. Uniform and consistent repair procedures and knowledgeable techs have helped make the purchase of a Harley-Davidson stress-free. Shown here is the small Service School in operation in 1920. (Photo Courtesy Harley-Davidson)
128 Most motorcycle brands at the turn of the century began as bicycle manufacturers. They transitioned into bicycles with motors fixed to their frames, which finally gave way to the full-fledged motorcycle. Harley-Davidson did things the opposite way, starting first as a motorcycle company and then, in 1917, launching a line of foot-pedal bicycles. It commissioned the Davis Machine Company in Dayton, Ohio, to build its bicycles, hoping to bring more customers to the brand and then to eventually sell more motorcycles. Three models were available including the standard diamond frame version for men, a step-through version known as the Ladies Standard, and a youth model called the Boy Scout. Sales were disappointing and production ceased in 1923.
129 By 1920, Harley-Davidson was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world with more than 2,000 dealerships in 67 countries. It took the brand just 17 years after selling its first motorcycle to achieve this status.
130 Remember that young advertising executive, Walter Dunlap, who helped his friends publish their first catalog on credit when they didn’t have any cash available? The Harley-Davidson Motor Company was now one of the largest advertisers in the country with an annual budget of $250,000, all going to Dunlap’s firm.
131 Although its origin is from racing, the term Hog has become synonymous with the Harley-Davidson motorcycle as well as the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) and the New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol. The name was first used in 1920 when the H-D factory race team became known as the Hog Boys. It wasn’t just their farming background that garnered the nickname; they actually brought a live pig to events as their mascot. After each of their frequent victories, the winning rider put the hog on his bike and took a victory lap.
