NEWS : Investors and the Art of Motorcycle Business

Date Created: Dec 17, 2005, 11:09 AM

Investors and the Art of Motorcycle Business The gas-engine motorcycle was invented in Germany in 1885 by Gottlieb Daimler. Fast-forward to 1903, here in America. William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson -- just 21 and 20 years old, respectively -- broke all the rules in a wooden shed with "Harley-Davidson Motor Company" scribbled across the door. They were hooking up a motor to a bicycle -- and writing a page in U.S. history. The first Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HDI) dealer was formed in Chicago, when C.H. Lang sold one of the first Harley-Davidson motorcycles ever made. In 1909, Harley-Davidson introduced the first V-Twin engine, which produced that deafening growl that many of us associate with motorcycles. The famous -- or, at times, infamous -- Bar & Shield Harley-Davidson logo showed up for the first time in 1910, and it was definitely not hand-drawn this time around. It was patented a year later, and thus one of the most lasting brands in U.S. history was born. In the beginning years, almost half of the motorcycles cranked out by Harley-Davidson were sold to the military, which shows what a technological innovation they were at the time. From the Motley Fool