Challenge Of The Mind

Nicolas Alvarez

Mr. Skipper

Encounters 7

March 2, 2022

Screw it, let’s ride

Introduction

In the United states, about 14% of Americans own a motorcycle. But not just any motorcycle. Americans mostly own a Harley Davidson. Harley Davidson is the number one motorcycle manufacturer in The United States. Harley Davidson started out with two boys, William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson. William Harley and Arthur Davidson were neighbors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When they were both in their twenties, they promised each other that everyday they would work on a project that they started from scratch. They would also meet up in the basement in one of their homes so they could have full concentration. That project was to build their very own motorized motorcycle. Little did they know that all the effort and determination that they were putting into this project would change motoring history forever and that they would become the most successful motorcycle company in the United States of America.

Early Life

William Harley had a lot of family. Arthur Davidson did not have that big of a family. William Sylvester Harley was born December 29, 1880 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He died on September 18, 1943 at the age of 1962. William’s father was also named William Harley. He was born in 1835 and died in 1916 at the age of eighty. But he died as a married man. He was married to Mary Smith. Mary was born in 1842 and died in 1915 at the age of seventy three. During their marriage, they had seven kids including William and four of them were girls and three of them were boys. William was the second youngest out of all of the siblings. Even though he was one of the youngest in his family, he was the most successful in his family (Arthur Davidson Biography, Life, Interesting Facts).

Arthur Davidson was born on February 11, 1881 and he died on December thirty, 1950 at the age of 69. His father was William C. Davidson. William was a carpenter which really inspired Arthur to make things just like his father did. His father  was born in 1846 and died in 1923 at the age of 73. Arthur’s father was married to Margaret Adams McFarlane. Margaret was born in 1843 and died in 1993 at the age of 89. William and Margaret had five kids including Arthur. Arthur was the second youngest out of all of his siblings just like his  best friend William Harley (Arthur Davidson Biography, Life, Interesting Facts). 

William and Arthur were really close friends. When they were both just fifteen years old they got a job at the same bicycle factory. They both had a mind for mechanics. They both shared a deep interest in bicycles and they knew that they could improve the bicycle so it could be easier to ride. Soon, they both began experimenting with gasoline engines and trying them out on their own bikes. After years of trying, William went to college, he was the first in his family to do so. Eventually, he earned a degree for mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1907. With more knowledge in mechanics, William and Arthur were determined to improve the bicycle (William S. Harley Biography).

Beginning of Career

Arthur Davidson was influenced by his dad to start working on motorcycles. His dad was a carpenter and he would take Arthur to work so he could see how the carpentering industry was like. He was inspired by his dad’s crafting skills and determination. His dad put a lot of work into his job and so did Arthur Davidson (Arthur Davidson Biography, Life, Interesting Facts). 

William Harley’s dad was an engineer. He often took William to work with him where he learned a lot about engineering. But his dad was not  just an engineer, he was  also a businessman. Him being a businessman also inspired William because he wanted to become a businessman. And his dream came true when William and Arthur started their own motorcycle business. They had no factory to make their motorcycles. They just had a tiny shed in which they would work everyday (Chalakoski). Their first model was completed in 1903 with the assistance of Walter Davidson. They worked in their friend Henry Melk’s shed in Milwaukee. After testing the machine, they found out that it did not go and it needed pedals. Learning from their first design, they went back to their drawing board to start on a new model. Their new model was bigger and it also had a bigger engine. They built this motorcycle in a shed in Arthur Davidson’s backyard. The motorcycle competed in the Milwaukee State Fair in a motorcycle race and it finished in 4th place (Arthur Davidson Biography, Life, Interesting Facts)

Significant Accomplishments

Arthur Davidson and William Harley had to work really hard for their motorcycles to become popular and famous. They were first working in a shed and making different models of their bikes. One of their first accomplishments was that they established the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company. By 1904, they had built three different models of motorcycles and sold one of their first products to C.H. Lang of Chicago. By the year 1906, the Harley Davidson motor company built their first factory in Milwaukee and had produced 50 motorcycles. Arthur Davidson wanted the U.S. Postal Service to use their motorcycles. His dream came true when they sold five thousand motorcycles to the U.S. Postal Service in 1914. In 1916, Harley Davidson designed a motorcycle that did not need any pedals and that was a very big accomplishment because it moved motorcycles into a new category (Harley Davidson and William Harley). When World War I happened, most of the factories were being used for military production including the Harley Davidson Motor Company’s factory. That ended in 1918. The U.S. government had bought thousands of Harley Davidson motorcycles to use them in the military. After World War I, Harley Davidson Motor Company had more than 2,000 dealers internationally and it had also become the biggest motorcycle manufacturing company in the world. Luckily the company has not had any pitfalls. The company was also able to survive The Great Depression. Another event that the company survived is World War II. The only reason they survived is because William Harley led Harley Davidson’s sales of almost 75,000 motorcycles to the U.S. war department during World War II (Harley Davidson and William Harley). The Harley Davidson company did not just sell motorcycles, they also started a Harley Davidson Service School which was also very successful and it was one of the company’s biggest accomplishments. Another one of Harley Davidson Motor Company’s biggest accomplishments was being inducted into the Labor Hall of Fame. In 1998, the company was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame (Arthur Davidson Biography, Life, Interesting Facts).

Impact on the World

The Harley Davidson company had a few impacts on the world and all of the impacts they had were all good. One good  impact was during the time of World War II. During World War II, the United States War department needed war vehicles. They knew that they could buy motorcycles from the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company so that is what they did. The United States War department  purchased around 75,000 of Harley Davidson’s motorcycles. That helped the army a lot and it also helped Harley Davidson’s sales by a lot. Another way that they impacted America is that the U.S. War department also bought thousands of motorcycles for World War I. Another great example on how they impacted America is that the U.S. Postal Service needed some transportation. So the U.S. Postal Service company bought around 5,000 of the Harley Davidson company’s motorcycles. That was one of the company’s first big sales. Another way that the Harley Davidson company impacted America is that they changed the motorcycle industry forever. 

Conclusion

Arthur Davidson and William Harley changed motoring history and the world forever. William and Arthur were just two guys from Milwaukkee designing bikes in a shed to having a lot of success and having a multi million dollar company called Harley Davidson. Arthur Davidson and William Harley both knew that one day they were going to make something revolutionary (Chalakoski).  And that is exactly what they did.  They never let anything get in their way and they never ever gave up. They always kept pushing forward and nothing ever stopped them. Not even the great depression. They also survived World War One and World War Two because the United States War Department needed vehicles used for war so they bought a lot from the Harley Davidson Motor Company. Their company was and still is unstoppable. William and Arthur were one of the best company owners because they handled their money really well. Them handling their money well never got them in any debt or in any other problems involving money. They were also very good people because they did not just have a motorcycle company, they also had a school where people could go if they wanted to become an engineer or if they wanted to learn more about engineering. William and Harley one of the greatest company founders ever.

Works Cited

“Arthur Davidson Biography, Life, Interesting Facts.” Famous Birthdays by SunSigns.Org, www.sunsigns.org/famousbirthdays/d/profile/arthur-davidson. Accessed 18 Nov. 2021.

Chalakoski, Martin. “Childhood Friends William Harley & Arthur Davidson Designed Their First ‘Motor-Bicycle’ in 1903.” The Vintage News, 18 Jan. 2018, www.thevintagenews.com.

“Harley-Davidson and William Harley.” alumnipark”.  www.alumnipark.comv. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021

“William S. Harley Biography.” Biography.com www.biography.com/business-figure/william-s-harley#citation. Accessed 5 Nov. 2021.