The Harley Davidson company is located in the United States and was created in Milwaukee, Wisconsi. The company was founded in 1903 by William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson. Motorcylces are the main product that the company produces along with other motorcycle gear. The company also produces motorcycle helmets for riders that purchase bikes from the company.
Less than 10,000 employees work for the company, which pulls in roughly $6 billion per year. There are locations all over the country that sells motorcycle gear for the public. Over the past couple of decades the popularity of riding and owning a motorcycle has risen to incredible levels. The company remains popular with its customers because of sponsoring events, clubs, and runs an official museum that marks the history of its motorcycles. Other operations of the company include the Buell Motorcycle Company, MV Agusta, and Cagiva.
William S. Harley was only 23 years old when the company was founded along with Arthur Davidson. The original engine plans for a small frame bicycle were drawn up in 1901 by Harley. The two founders of the company, Davidson and Harley, were childhood friends prior to founding one of the most successful motorcycle production companies in the world. During the Poncho Villa Expedition, the United States government used motorcycles from this popular company but the demand for the vehicles increased when World War I began. Riders of the company’s bikes were protected by the company’s helmets, which were manufactured in mass amounts during the war effort. The three wheeled delivery vehicle known as the Servi-Car and power plants based on the company’s motorcycle engines were manufactured during the Great Depression to keep the company in business. There have been leather helmets manufactured by the company in the past but not the main helmet product is fiberglass. Some of the helmets manufactured during the company’s history have had face guards and some haven’t. 2007 saw the plant in York, PA suffer a strike at the company’s largest manufacturing plant. The strike caused the layoff of 440 employees in Wisconsin and employees in other areas of the country. The Labor Hall of Fame inducted Harley, Davidson, Walter Davidson and William A. Davidson for their efforts founding and running the company.
