Harley Davidson: The American Legend The first idea of ​​the motorcycle as a means of transportation began in 1900. The pioneers in this field were William S. Harley and his lifelong friend Arthur Davidson. They were both born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. It took them almost three years to build their first production-ready motorcycle, which was a 10 cubic inch single-cylinder engine. It was bolted directly to a bicycle frame driven by a pulley system with a leather belt. We'll look at the development, racing and people who made the Harley Davidson an American legend. By 1907, they were experimenting with a two-cylinder model, which was essentially the same engine they started with. The only difference was that they bolted an additional cylinder at a 45 degree angle to the first. There were only two possible configurations. The side-by-side twin would have been too wide and bulky. The V configuration was the necessary choice. According to Harry Sucher, author of “Harley Davidson; The Milwaukee Wonder,” the engine's horsepower would nearly double while adding far less than double the weight. Bill Harley designed the engine. He figured he would need to have the cylinders reach the top of their stroke almost simultaneously to take advantage of the low-range torque and make the engine more reliable according to Rand Leffingwell, “Harley-Davidson; History and mysticism. This created two lasting effects: the vibration and exhaust noise that Harley-Davidson is famous for. After the first 15 years, Harley-Davidson has established itself as a trendsetter in the motorcycle market. Other important companies were Indian, Thor and Excelsior. At the start of World War I, they were inundated with orders for bicycles for the war effort from governments around the world. This allowed Harley-Davidson to nearly triple the size of its manufacturing plant, which is still located in the same location in Milwaukee. These orders brought greater economic prosperity to all motorcycle companies of the time, but particularly Harley-Davidson. Harley-Davidson became heavily involved in racing between 1915 and 1925. Since then, they have continued to remain involved in racing, although with much less success since. they had to start competing with Japanese companies. Harley-Davidsons always placed in the top five at every event, and sometimes all five seats were occupied by Harley-Davidsons. These first races were very well organized but generally very dangerous. This frightened the majority of the public, but young people were fascinated and sought sponsorship from major companies such as Harley-Davidson..