Harley-Davidson: From a Milwaukee Shed in 1903 to Today
How two friends and a brother built a first motorcycle in a backyard shed, survived the Depression and a 1969 sale, and reached their 100th year in 2003.
In this article
Harley-Davidson began in 1903 in a small wooden shed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson built a motorcycle with help from Arthur's brother Walter. Within roughly ten years the company was selling nearly 13,000 machines a year, and it is still one of the best-known motorcycle names. This article follows the main dates, using the company's own archive and Wikipedia's company history.
The shed and the first bikes
According to the Harley-Davidson Museum's archive, Harley and Davidson began experimenting with motorised bicycles in 1901, and their first attempt was underpowered. In 1903 they built a wooden shed measuring 10 by 15 feet in the Davidson family's backyard and sold their first motorcycle to a friend, Henry Meyer. A Chicago toolmaker, Carl H. Lang, became the first dealer.
Wikipedia adds that the first 1903 machine could not climb Milwaukee's hills without pedal help, so the founders treated it as a learning exercise and built a second, improved one that year. Sources differ on how many motorcycles were made in 1903; the company archive says three were sold in the first year, and other accounts give different counts.
Growing into a factory
- 1904: the shed was doubled in size, and the company borrowed 170 dollars from a family friend, James McLay, rather than from a bank
- 1906: a new factory opened on Chestnut Street, near the Davidson home, and about 50 motorcycles were built that year
- 1907: the Motor Company was incorporated on 17 September, and William A. Davidson became works manager
- 1909: output reached 1,149 machines, up from 450 in 1908
- 1913: a six-floor brick factory was completed
Wikipedia also records that a V-twin engine prototype was shown in 1907 and that a V-twin with mechanically operated intake valves arrived in 1911. By 1914 production had reached 16,284 machines.
War, racing and the 1920s
When the United States entered the First World War in 1917, the military bought more than 20,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles, according to Wikipedia. By 1920 the company was the world's largest motorcycle maker, with dealers in 67 countries. In 1929 it introduced a 45 cubic inch flathead model to compete with the Scout from Indian, its main American rival.
The Depression and the Second World War
Sales fell sharply after 1929. Wikipedia gives a drop from about 21,000 units in 1929 to 3,703 in 1933. Harley-Davidson and Indian were the two big American makers to survive the Depression. In 1936 Harley introduced the overhead-valve engine nicknamed the Knucklehead. During 1942 to 1945 the company built about 90,000 military motorcycles, mostly the WLA and WLC models.
Sale, strike and buy-back
In 1969 the American Machine and Foundry company, known as AMF, bought Harley-Davidson. Wikipedia says cost-cutting led to a strike and to lower quality, while Japanese makers gained market share. In 1981 AMF sold the company for 80 million dollars to a group of 13 investors led by Vaughn Beals and Willie G. Davidson. In 1983 tariff protection was granted on large imported motorcycles, and models such as the 1984 Softail and the 1990 Fat Boy followed.
The modern company
- 2003: the company marked its 100th anniversary on 1 September
- 2008: the Harley-Davidson Museum opened in Milwaukee
- 2014: the company launched its Street platform of smaller bikes
The company has also changed its business more than once. It owned Buell Motorcycle Company fully from 2003 until discontinuing it on 15 October 2009, and it bought and later sold MV Agusta. Wikipedia reports that on 30 July 2025 the company announced the sale of a 9.8% stake in its finance arm and more than 5 billion dollars of consumer loan receivables to KKR and PIMCO.
Why the early story matters
The early years show a pattern that repeats through the history: small experiments, quick growth after incorporation, and survival through wars and slumps by changing products and owners. The museum in Milwaukee displays the oldest surviving machine and a replica of the shed, according to travel and local sources, which makes the 1903 beginning easy to picture.
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