How did it all start?

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company was incorporated on the 17th of September 1907 by William S Harley, Arthur Davidson and two other founders. Their workforce was already 18 strong and dealer recruitment had begun. The first Harley-Davidson was produced between 1901 and 1903 and was available to the public during 1903. The bike was built to be a racer and in 1908 Walter Davidson, Arthur's brother and co founder won the 7th annual Federation of American Motorcyclists Endurance and Reliability Contest. Harley-Davidson's motorcycles soon got a reputation of being tough and reliable.

1909 saw, for the first time, the introduction of spare Harley-Davidson parts.

By 1913 a racing department had been formed, with William Ottaway as its first assistant engineer to racing engineer William S Harley. Team Harley-Davidson soon became known as the wrecking crew due to their dominance of the sport.

During 1917 nearly one third of all the motor cycles are sold to the U.S military and by 1918 nearly half their production is sold to the U.S military. 1920 is a huge year as Harley-Davidson is the largest motorcycle manufacture in the world.

By the end of 1925 all Harley-Davidson motorcycles were produced with the teardrop shape fuel tank that we've come to recognize as a Harley trait.

In 1935 the Japanese motorcycle industry is founded as Harley-Davidson licenses the blue prints, tools, dies and machinery to the Sankyo Company of Japan. With the results being the Rikuo motorcycle.

During World War II civilian production is almost entirely suspended as motorcycles are produced for the U.S military. 

By the end of the war in 1945 almost 90,000 motorcycles had produced for military use.

1953 sees Harley-Davidson celebrate 50 years of production and their largest competition Hendee Manufacturing, the creator of the Indian motorcycle goes out of business leaving Harley as the sole U.S manufacturer until 1999.

During 1964 electric start is introduced and in 1964 Harley-Davidson merges with the American Machine and Foundry Company (AMF), a longtime producer of leisure products.

The 80's sees the introduction of the Kevlar belt, replacing the chain as the final drive. The belt is cleaner running and needs less adjustment. 13 senior executives also decide to buy back AMF's share of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

1993 sees Harley purchase a minority stake in the Buell Motorcycle Company, and by 1998 they buy the remaining 49% and Erik Buell is named Chairman of Buell operations.

2003 sees over 250,000 people come to Milwaukee for the final stop of the Open Road Tour and the Harley-Davidson 100th Anniversary Celebration and Party.

Jersey Harley-Davidson

Jersey Harley-Davidson was started on the 1st April 1998 by Geoff Habin and his team. In 2004 the decision was made to move to larger premises with a 2500 sq ft showroom.

2007 saw the introduction of www.jerseyh-d.com offering the best value Harley-Davidson parts online within the UK. There over 14,000 Harley parts to choose from and the site has been designed to be user friendly to navigate. If you should have any problems locating the parts you require do not hesitate to contact one of our friendly team on +44 (0) 1534 870708 or info@jerseyh-d.com