Harley-Davidson

The Basic Harley-Davidson Story

Harley-Davidson has a storied past beginning in the days that U.S.
roads were so bad that a motorcyle provided one of the best modes of
transportation. A depression, the Interstate Highway Act, wars and an
unsuccessful merger with A! are all part of this story. As stated on its
web page, Harley-Davidson began in a shed, went to war, became the
symbol of American individualism and ended up "#ing of the road", all
in $% years. &uying a Harley is not ac'uiring a product but buying an
e(perience and even a life style say its enthusiasts.
During the )$*+s ,apanese competition threatened the very e(istance
of Harley-Davidson that was at that time a subsidiary of American
achine and !oundry -ompany .A!/. In )$0) thirteen members of
Harley-Davidson management led by 1aughn &eals purchased the
company in a leveraged buy-out. In the subse'uent 2ve years the
company was streamlined and it refocused its e3orts to improve its
mar#et share through a ma4or improvment in product 'uality. any of
the improved manufacturing techni'ues were learned from the
,apanese. 5egardless of the source, Harley-Davidson once again has a
strong but not dominant position in the heavy-duty segment of the U.S.
motorcycle mar#et.
ost people #now this story of Harley6s 4ourney to the edge of
corporate death and bac# to the pinnacle of American business
iconography. 7ess well #nown is the trip that Harley has ta#en in the
past few years as unparalleled success has created new problems. In
)$$8 Harley shipped ))0,**) motorcycles, up from )+%,+++ in )$$%.
&ut even with increased output, supply has lagged demand, leaving
disappointed customers who couln6t get their hands on a Harley. 9he
imbalance between supply and demand has created a :ourishing blac#
mar#et, with bi#es selling for more than the suggested retail price and
customers high on waiting lists selling their places to impatient buyers
lower on the list. 9hese same supply constraints have prevented Harley
from going after new growth opportunities in international mar#ets.
9he solution to this problem is an ambitious plan to more than double
production by the company6s )++th anniversary. &y the year ;++<
Harley wants to be able to ma#e at least ;++,+++ to <++,+++
motorcycles a year. 9hey want to do that without losing any of the
'uality or family feeling that they fought so hard to gain during their
dramatic come-bac# as a company.
!ollowing the management buy-out led by 1aughn &eals, Harley
struggled for survival for a number of years. U.S. government
protection in the form of import duties of foreign made products helped
them survive. =hen a company is struggling to ma#e payroll it doesn6t
invest a lot of money in information systems. Having established itself
with 'uality products that made the company 2nancially sound, it then
turned its attention to having information technology where it could
contribute to the success of the business
Harley Davidson
History Time
Line
[Harley Davidson Links]

1903 Harley Davidson is founded
1903 The first Harley-Davidson
motorcycle is manufactured
1905 The "Silent Grey Fello"
nic!name coincides ith the ne
standard "rey
color#
190$ The first Harley-Davidsons sold
for %olice duty
1909 First "&-Tin" en"ine
191' First clutch mechanism
191( Ste%starter and internal e)%andin"
rear *ra!e
1915 Three s%eed transmission
191+ The first issue of "The ,nthusiast"
%u*lication
#
19'' $(" Tin en"ine de*uts
19'- Front heel *ra!e a%%ears
19'9 ./ (5" Tin en"ine
193' (5" Servicar
193+ -0" Side &alve Tin en"ine and
the first "0nuc!le Head" +1" en"ine
193$ .illiam 1# Davidson dies
19(1 $(" 2H& Su%er 3oer en"ine
19(' .alter Davidson dies at a"e +5
19(3 4ill Harley dies at a"e ++
19($ $(" 2H& 4i" Tin en"ine
19(- $(" "3anhead" en"ine is
introduced
19(9 The Hydra-Glide de*uts
1950 1rthur Davidson dies at a"e +9
195$ 5/H S%ortster
195- The Hydra-Glide turns into the
Duo-Glide
1959 5/6H S%ortster
19+0 The "To%%er7" a fi*er"lass
motorscooter7 as introduced#
19+0 Harley Davidson teams u% ith
8talian manufacturer 1eronautica
9acchi
S#%#1# to %roduce a line of smaller *i!es
includin" the Shortster and S%rint
models#
19+5 The ,lectra-Glide de*uts
19+5 Geor"e :oeder sets a orld land
s%eed record ;1$$#''5 m#%#h#< for '50
cc motorcycles on a much modified
Harley-Davidson S%rint#
19+5 1fter *ein" %rivately held for over
+0 years7 Harley-Davidson "oes
%u*lic#
19++ The introduction of the Harley
Davidson "shovel head" en"ine
19+$ ,lectric start S%ortster
19+9 9er"er ith 1merican 9achine
and Foundry 6om%any ;19F<
19$1 F5 1'00 Su%er Glide
19$' 1000 cc 5/H=5/6H S%ortster
19$' First disc *ra!es on a Harley
19$$ F5S 1'00 /o :ider and F/HS
19$- $5th 1nniversary models
19$- F/H -0 ,lectra-Glide
19$- First electronic i"nition on a
Harley
19$9 F5S -0 /o :ider
19-0 F/T ru**er mounted en"ine
19-1 Senior e)ecutives at Harley-
Davidson %urchase the com%any from
19F#
Harley-Davidson once a"ain *ecomes a
%rivately oned com%any#
19-3 3resident :ea"an im%oses
additional tariffs on all >a%anese
motorcycles
$00 cc or lar"er#
19-3 The Harley 2ners Grou%
;H#2#G#< is esta*lished#
19-( The 8ntroduction of the ",volution"
en"ine
19-( First Softail models and 1ir
1ssisted 1nti-Drive
19-+ 4y offerin" common stoc! and
su*ordinated notes7 Harley-Davidson
once
a"ain *ecomes a %u*lically oned
cor%oration#
19-$ 8n an un%recedented move7
Harley-Davidson %etitions the 8T6 for
early
termination of the five year tariff
im%osed in 19-3#
19-- 3atented "S%rin"er" front-end
returns
1990 Dyna model is introduced
1991 1ll Harleys chan"e to five s%eed
transmission
199' 1ll Harleys ado%t a *elt drive
1993 "90th 1nniversary" homecomin"
1995 First fuel in?ection models