Harley-Davidson Time Line - Very Early Years to 1906
1879: William S. Harley born.
1880: Arthur Davidson born.
1900: William S. Harley (apprentice draftsman) and Arthur Davidson (pattern maker) begin tinkering with the idea of a motor driven bicycle in their basement workshop, in the home of a friend on Chambers St. in Milwaukee.
1901: Engineering drawing by William S. Harley depicting a 7.07ci {116cc) bicycle engine.
1902: The first "true" engine was completed.
A 1902 motorized cycle prototype was built with a 10.2ci, (167cc), single with 2.125" X 2.875" bore and stroke with a 5" flywheel. Top speed 25 MPH.
1903: A 10 X 15 foot shed workshop is built by William C. Davidson (father of the three Davidson brothers) in the backyard of his home at the southwest corner of the present intersection of 38th street and Highland Blvd. in Milwaukee.
The shed is soon taken over for motorcycle and engine production and becomes the first H-D factory. The words "Harley-Davidson Motor Co." are written on door of shed by Davidson sister Janet May Davidson.
The first legitimate H-D motorcycle is produced with a 24.74ci, 405.41cc, F-Head single and early "loop" design frame. It was painted "Piano-Finish Black" w/Gold double pin stripping and red lettering. The pin stripping and tank logo was done by sister Janet Davidson. Cost is $200.
Features included: Automatic inlet valve engine with 3 X 3.5 inch bore and stroke, 51 inch wheel base, 185 lb, 21.5 inch seat height, clutchless single speed 2-ply belt final drive to back wheel hub, (the manual drive was chain), 3 coil suspension saddle, chrome-nickel exhaust valves, vacuum operated inlet valves, ball bearing rear hub, iron pistons, step joint piston rings, exposed exhaust valve springs, 2 inch case studs, drip feed and hand pump motor lubrication as main lubrication, [aka, "Total Loss" oil system], one piece cylinder, tapered pistons, 28 inch tires with spoked wheels, 1 3/8 inch filler caps, 3.75" wide fenders, three plate battery, 60 degree seats on exhaust valves, 0 degrees on automatice inlets, 2 piece automotive style connecting rods with bolt on lower ends.
(Note: The first buyer was a Mr. Meyer, who supposedly rode it for 6,000 miles before selling it to George Lyon, who sold it to Louis Fluke at 21,000 miles, who transferred it to George Sparrow, who took it up to 83,000 miles, [rumor is that he took it to work every day, and so quickly accumulated the mileage]. In 1913, HD would advertise that this first machine would top 100,000 miles, and that the original bearings were still in tact and that no major components had been replaced.
Serial Number 1 currently resides in lobby of the H-D Juneau Ave headquarters in Milwaukee. SN 1 was originally built as a high performance racing motorcycle. SN 1 was modified with the 1905 loop frame design for the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, in 1915.)
Motorcycle production: 3
1904: Ed Hildebrand rides a H-D to victory over the Merkel, but is beaten by the Mitchel and by the Indian.
A 10 X 15 foot addition is added to the "shed" factory, to accommodate a second hand 4 hp gasoline engine to power a lathe and drill press.
Motorcycle production: 8
1905: H-D motorcycle has the 26.84 ci (440 cc) ’03 engine in proven loop frame.
Wheel base 51 inches, weight 138 pounds, flat belt drive, 50 MPH top speed.
Perry E. Mack H-D’s first real employee sets speed record in Milwaukee.
H-D begins to focus exclusively on producing motorcycles.
Another addition is added to the "shed" factory.
Motorcycle production:16
1906: H-D publishes first motorcycle catalog
Motorcycle production begins at the current Juneau Av. site.
Motorcycle production: 50