HISTORY
OF THE HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE
Many
of the nineteenth century inventors who worked on early motorcycles
often moved on to other inventions. Daimler and Roper, for example,
both went on to develop automobiles. However, inventors Harley and
the Davidsons developed motorcycles and their business competitors
were other new start-up companies such as Excelsior, Indian, Pierce,
Merkel, Schickel and Thor.
In
1903, William Harley and his friends Arthur and Walter Davidson launched
the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. The bike had a quality engine,
so it could prove itself in races, however, the company planned to
manufacture it as a transport vehicle. Merchant, C. H. Lange, sold
the first officially distributed Harley-Davidson in Chicago.
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