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Do you ever say that you’re going for a ride on your “hog”? The name seems synonymous with Harley-Davidsons today, and is even the name of the company’s owners group: Harley Owners Group, aka H.O.G. But how did it start? You guessed it, with a pig. (Photo Courtesy Harley-Davidson)
132 By the end of 1917, motorcycling was clearly in favor of the V-twin. Of the total 18,522 motorcycles that The Motor Company sold, only 730 were singles.
133 Unfortunately, even with its incredible engineering, the W Sport Twin didn’t sell well, and production ceased in 1923. Several factors have been attributed to the demise of the well-engineered machine including its price, which was only 10 percent less than that of a full-size twin. It just never caught on with the younger riders for whom it was designed. The nail in the coffin may have been the 1920 launch of the Indian Scout that was faster, more comfortable, and had a traditional design.
134 In 1919, Harley-Davidson was hit by a legal blow that could have easily destroyed a poorly managed company. The Eclipse Company sued H-D for infringing on the patent of its clutch design. Eclipse was awarded a $1.1 million settlement that had to be paid within two weeks. Fortunately, The Motor Company had enough money stashed away in government bonds to meet its obligation.
135 The first Harley-Davidson dealers’ convention was held November 13–15, 1919. The convention, which has been held every year since, provided a convenient way for dealers to meet and discuss company business with H-D executives. It also has always functioned as a way for corporate staff to find out about trends and concerns occurring at the dealership and consumer levels. In addition, these conventions allow dealers to have the first look at the motorcycles for the upcoming model year. Today, two meetings are held each year, but they’re now called Dealer Meetings, possibly to clarify to the IRS that it falls under the business category.
136 In 1928, Harley-Davidson sent a notice to the dealerships that a great way of encouraging customers to take advantage of the maintenance and repair services at the dealership was to equip technicians with bright white “service coats.” The coat, which more closely resembled something that a doctor might wear rather than a Harley-Davidson mechanic, had the Bar & Shield logo on the left chest and Harley-Davidson script stitched on the back. The Motor Company informed its dealers that wearing these coats made it clear to customers that the dealer shop was a factory-affiliated facility.
137 The Harley-Davidson headquarters was not always at the now-famous Juneau Avenue address; it was originally on Chestnut Street. Prior to 1926, the one street had two names: it was Chestnut Street east of the Milwaukee River and Division Street west of the Milwaukee River. The City of Milwaukee thought this was too confusing. It wanted to name a significant street after Milwaukee’s founder and first settler, Solomon Juneau. “Avenue” was more fashionable than “street,” and so Chestnut/Division Streets became Juneau Avenue.
138 By 1916, Harley-Davidson had so many dealers and was producing so many motorcycles that it became impossible for Arthur Davidson to maintain successful contact with all of them. Therefore, he divided the country and global markets into regions, each with its own representative. Arthur continued to maintain personal relationships with individual dealerships; he also oversaw the factory representatives who provided more in-depth contact with the dealers in their region. This is the same way that The Motor Company’s dealer network is set up today, albeit with many more regions.
139 During World War II, Harley-Davidson, like every other automotive company, halted all civilian production to focus on the war effort. During World War I, however, The Motor Company continued to build and sell civilian models. Indian took a different approach and relied solely on the military for its income during the war years. Although Indian didn’t go out of business until much later, many people believe that those years of not building any machines for the public sent a significant amount of business to Harley-Davidson, a decision from which Indian never fully recovered.
140 In late 1918, construction began on a massive 600,000–square-foot factory at Juneau Avenue to keep up with the incredible demand for motorcycles. The L-shaped structure was divided into 96 unique departments; it had enough room for 2,400 full-time employees. Upon completion of the new factory, Harley-Davidson’s company was now physically larger than Indian’s and had a greater production capacity.
141 In 1923, a secret meeting took place between the three major motorcycle brands: Harley-Davidson, Indian, and Excelsior. By today’s standards, its legality was questionable. This meeting led to the agreement that dealerships should be required to represent only one brand. The different manufacturers could no longer influence dealers to sell motorcycles from different companies. Consumers didn’t like the new organizational strategy because they couldn’t study different makes side by side or test several makes at a time to find the one best suited to their needs. This strategy, whether intentional or not, essentially wiped out all of the small-time motorcycle manufacturers that could no longer effectively maintain a dealership network.
142 Amid the economic downturn of the early 1920s, Harley-Davidson cut output by almost two-thirds and laid off half of its employees. Arthur Davidson knew that the dealerships would play a pivotal role in keeping the entire operation in business. He sought to improve brand loyalty through the new dealership strategy. He also implored dealers to host rides, meetings, and competition events to increase the amount of fun that people had on their motorcycle and to encourage others to take up the sport. In addition, it was at about this time that a new pay-as-you-ride program began, now known as Harley-Davidson Financial.
143 Harley-Davidson produced nearly three times fewer motorcycles for the U.S. government during World War I than Indian. But the fact that it did supply army bikes gave The Motor Company the opportunity to advertise its part in supporting the war effort.
144 Racing is expensive at any level and sponsors weren’t as engrained in the sport in first half of the 20th Century as they are now. To give you an idea: Harley-Davidson spent only $250,000 on the 1920 race season. If The Motor Company had kept and maintained its old race bikes through the years, it could have proven quite profitable. Factory racers from the 1920s have sold at auction for up to $420,000, and private sales often fetch far more than that!
145 In 1920, $250,000 was a lot of money, even for mighty Harley-Davidson. However, it had sold only 11,000 motorcycles in 1920, so at the end of the 1921 season, it cancelled the racing program. The team found out about the disbanding only after the races in Phoenix, Arizona. The Motor Company gave everyone money only to cover food and hotel expenses, but no salary or money for the trip home. Only the mechanics received their salaries and trip money to Milwaukee, with the understanding that they would take the motorcycles, tools, and any other equipment back with them. Legend has it that the racers had to borrow money from the local Harley-Davidson dealer to get home.
146 Many people know about the wartime production restrictions during World War II, but did you know that the United States used similar measures during World War I? In addition to Harley-Davidson’s military contracts, it was allowed to continue producing civilian models as well, which were seen as efficient modes of transportation for industrial and government workers. Bill Harley was a member of the Motorcycle War Service Board and pushed to give two-wheelers a B-4 classification, meaning that it was an essential industry.
147 Harley-Davidson assisted the war effort by supplying thousands of motorcycles to the U.S. army and its allies’ armies, and 312 H-D employees volunteered and served in the military. Three made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. At the war’s end, The Motor Company invited every employee who served to return to their jobs at the same standing that they had before they left.
148 To introduce the 1924 models, Harley-Davidson released an advertisement that featured images of President Walter Davidson and Bill Harley enjoying a sidecar-equipped JD in a variety of ways. Each photo was
