9781422285183

is unique to Harley-Davidsons and owners have cherished that “rumble” from the outset. On July 4, 1905, Harley- Davidson entered and won a 15-mile race in Chicago and Walter left his day job the same year to work full-time for the firm. Harley-Davidson moved to a purpose-built factory on Chestnut Street (later Juneau Avenue) in 1906, where 49 bikes (nicknamed Silent Gray Fellows after their paintwork) were produced in the first year. The fledgling company now boasted six employees and registered a world first with the publication of a motorcycle catalog. By the time Bill had graduated in 1907, 152 Harley-Davidsons were being manufactured a year and the company was incorporated, with

Harley and the three Davidson brothers as stockholders. Arthur was being kept busy demonstrating the bike to potential dealers – specifically targeting New England – while William was brought in as factory manager. Walter entered the 7 th Annual Federation of American Motorcyclists’ (FAM) Endurance and Reliability Contest in 1908 and scored a perfect 1,000 points. Three days later, he set a new FAM economy record of 188.234 miles per gallon and the number of bikes manufactured again trebled as the business grew. The company also began supplying motorcycles to the Detroit Police Department. But as the business expanded, so did the number of riders and the distances traveled and they began to

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