Mile Marker 50: Harley & The Davidsons

Join us on this special 50th Episode as we take you to the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin to visit the graves & delve into some history of the men that brought us the Harley Davidson Motorcycle, a machine that has changed ours as well as millions of others lives, mostly for the better.

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Transcript

Key: Drifter, Male voice. Gypsie, Female voice

Uplifting rock/western tune plays for 15 seconds, music begins to taper down then:

(Drifter) Welcome to the Rebel At Large Adventure Podcast. I’m Drifter

(Gypsie) And I’m  Gypsie

(Drifter) Talking about Ghost towns,

(Gypsie) Graveyards,

(Drifter) Outlaws, Heroes

(Gypsie) And Ladies of the night.

Music tapers to an end

Begin 30 seconds of the same uplifting Rock/Western tune as the introduction.

(Drifter) Howdy folks, Thanks for joining us for yet another adventure. This is Mile Marker 50, that's right, our 50th episode. Thank you all again so very much for tuning in & giving us a reason to keep doing this podcast. It has been a lot of fun, we’ve met some great folks & are really enhancing our adventures. So, for this special episode we are heading to the midwest to give our regards to some folks that have changed our’s among millions of others lives, mostly for the better i’d say.

(Gypsie) The month of May has been designated as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. They chose this month due to the influx of riders with the warm weather coming, they are trying to make drivers in cars more aware of motorcycles out on the road. We are motorcycle riders if you haven’t figured that out by now! We both ride Harley’s, (Drifter) I ride a road king (Gypsie) and I ride a fat boy. Because of our passion to ride we are excited to share with you some history on Harley Davidson and the men that put the motorcycle on the maps.

(Drifter) The Harley Davidson company got its start from two young men, who had the great idea to add an engine to a pedal bike. These men were born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During this time the town had a large German population, in 1880 27% of the city population were native Germans. Miller Brewing began brewing beer in the 1850’s and by 1856 there were more than 2 dozen breweries in the town. Not only was the town known for its Germans and beer but it was also known for its steel and iron manufacturing plants. In 1868 the largest steel mill opened in town and it supplied rails for the railroad. By 1889 Milwaukee had 2,879 manufacturing plants. 

(Gypsie) Now that we have set the stage for you on the town these men came from, let's tell you about them. William Sylvester Harley was born on December 29, 1880 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Growing up with so many manufacturing plants around him he made the decision to work at a bicycle factory. This would turn out to be one of the best choices he could make. 

(Drifter) Arthur Davidson was born on February 11, 1881 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. He grew up with William and the two of them did everything together from schooling, fishing and riding bicycles. William eventually got a job as a draftsman at an electrical motor shop and Arthur got a job at the same place working as a pattern maker. By 1901 most Americans were using the bicycle to get them around. The bike was easy to maneuver, and offered them freedom. Arthur came up with the idea to “take the hard work out of pedaling a bicycle.” 

(Gypsie) We can’t blame him for not wanting to pedal a bike around, not only do we both own motorcycles but we also have electric pedal assist bikes. Because we too don’t want to pedal! Some articles I read said these  men were lazy and I can see how they would think that, but they also like to go fishing in the mountains. I am betting it was a decent distance to travel just to fish and if most of your time is spent riding the bike to the river, imagine how much time you could spend fishing if you could get to the river faster! 

(Drifter) In 1901 William Harley at the age of 20 came up with plans for a bicycle with a gasoline engine. Arthur Davidson now 21 began working with William experimenting with engines and trying to mount them on their own bikes. The two guys realized they could not build this bike on their own and enlisted the help of Arthur's older brother Walter. They sent a letter to him, who was working as a railroad machinist in Kansas. In the letter they promised him that he could be the first to ride their new motorcycle if he came to visit. When Walter arrived home he found their motorcycle hadn’t even been built yet and that if he wanted to ride it he would have to put it together. 

(Gypsie) He was a huge help in building the motorcycle because he had access to tools from the railroad. Walter got so wrapped up in the dream of building this bike that he never went back to work from the railroad and stayed home to help them. He did get a job at a manufacturing plant in town to help pay for supplies to build the bike. All of his free time was spent working on the bike

(Drifter) William did leave for a time to go to college, the first in his family to do this. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The timing for this was difficult as the bike was just starting to come together and the Davidsons needed his help to perfect it. 

(Gypsie) Work on the motorcycle started in the back of Davidson’s parents backyard, in a 10x15 foot shed. The front door of the shed had Harley Davidson Motor Company painted on it. They were official, that's all it takes to be official right just a painted sign! Harley was decided to go first in the company name since he first suggested building a motorized bicycle. The men quickly found that the bicycle frames were too weak to handle the weight of an engine and a rider as well. They scrapped the idea and went to work developing a more robust loop frame to accommodate all the weight. 

(Drifter) By 1903 the men had three Harley Davidsons built and ready to sell. They built it using a bicycle crank and a single cylinder engine. The bike still had pedals and a leather drive belt. If you wanted to take the bike for a ride you would have to first pedal it to build up the compression in the engine. The motorbike may not have worked like they wanted, since you still had to pedal a bit to get it going but it did what they envisioned, it moved without having to pedal the entire time. From here there was only improvement left for the guys. 

(Gypsie) We used to have bikes like this where you would have to engage the clutch and then pedal until the engine would start to roll over, then you would let out the clutch and the bike would run on its own. It's crazy to think that this style of engine is still being used today. 

(Drifter) The following year C.H. Lang of Chicago Illinois opened the first Harley Davidson dealership. He sold three of the five bikes that were built that year. And this was all being done in the small shed behind the Davidson’s house. Popularity of the motorcycle picked up the next year when on July 4th 1905 a rider won a 15 mile race with a Harley Davidson. Racing did a lot to help promote the motorcycle and every win for them made the bike more desirable. (Gypsie) You have to think during this time Harley Davidson did not create the idea of a motorcycle it had been around for a bit, they just created their own design and perfected what was out there. Indian motorcycles were the largest name and their biggest competitor. 

(Drifter) With the demand for more bikes the three men set to work building their first factory on Chestnut Street, at the current location of the Harley Davidson corporate headquarters. 1906 was their first year of production at the new factory and they built about 50 motorcycles. That's a big jump from the 5 just 2 years prior. 

(Gypsie) Demand for the bike only increased as people were seeing how easy the bike was to ride and how quickly they could get around. The next year they added a second floor to the building and were now able to build about 150 motorcycles. The company also became incorporated at this time. William spent this time working on developing the world's first two-cylinder motorcycle engine. This engine would change the world for people interested in motorcycles as well as for the company. It made the bike faster and that was what people wanted. 

(Drifter) Some sources say that Aurthr’s older brother Willaim joined the company in 1907 others say 1908. When he finally did join the company he was put in place as the Vice-President and Walter was the president. William “Big Bill” Davidson oversaw the day to day operations in the manufacturing area. Arthur was put in charge of sales. William Harley was the engineer and designer, and Walter oversaw the entire thing. Not only did Watler work at the company but he also enjoyed riding motorcycles. In 1908 he won the American Federation Endurance Race, making Harley Davidson that much more popular and desired. 

(Gypsie) That same year 1908 Harley Davidson introduced its first v-twin engine motorcycle with two cylinders in a 45 degree angle. This engine was such a successful design that the company still uses it today. It’s called a V-Twin because it is shaped like a V inside each one of the angles is a cylinder, DRIFTER TELL US ABOUT THIS IN LAYMAN TERMS

(Gypsie) The new engine in the bikes gave the rider the ability to easily reach speeds up to 60 miles an hour. (Drifter) I looked up the model t for 1908 & it had a top speed of 45 MPH. (Gypsie) Sales for the new bike increased and the company had sold over 3,000 bikes. They had around 35 employees working full time at the factory. The bike still had pedals on it and you still had to use them to start the bike. They were still using a leather belt to run the bike up until 1913. They then added a chain on the bike giving it more strength but the bike did have two chains one to peddle the bike the other to connect the engine to the wheels. (Drifter) The bike did not have a brake handle on it like we are used to today; rather if you needed to slow down you would pedal backwards and that would engage the brake. The following year they added a foot board so you would not have to rest your foot on the pedals while riding. In 1913 they had their building torn down and a new 5 story building was put in its place. This building was massive and covered two city blocks. 

(Gypsie) With the new engine and new designs to the bike the company started focusing on racing. Though Arthur Davison opposed racing and is quoted as saying (Drifter) “We do not believe in it.” (Gypsie) He felt that racing was dangerous and the company made a position statement that the motorcycle was quote, (Drifter) “for the safe and sane rider who uses his machine both for business and pleasure…” (Gypsie) A statement like that leaves it open for interpretation. What if your job is a motorcycle racer and you enjoy it? That falls into both categories right? Making it for business and pleasure. 

(Drifter) Arthur may not have approved of the racing side of things but it was inevitable. Board track racing around the world was as popular as NASCAR is today. What is board track racing you might ask? well rather than racing on a dirt track or pavement the men would race on a track made of wood. They would take 2x4s and lay them at a 45 degree angle making the track slop up into the air. In 1915 there were 80,000 people watching the race in Chicago. The issue they would have with this style of racing is the people that were there watching the race would stand on the top of the track to see what was happening. There was no net or safety barrier so if a bike wrecked the bike and rider would be shot up and more often than not kill the rider and injure a spectator. 

(Gypsie) In the mid 1910’s Harley Davidson formed a racing team called Wrecking Crew. These men were a group of factory or factory supported riders. Some of the noteworthy events they accomplished was on July 4, 1916 Irving Janke came in first in the Dodge City 300. This race consisted of the men riding their bike 300 miles and having to come in first place. Janke not only took first place but he was a full 2 minutes ahead of the second place rider. 

(Drifter) In 1921 Otto Walker was racing with the Wrecking Crew. He managed to reach speeds over 100 miles per hour on the Fresno California Board Track and he was the first to ever reach these kinds of speeds on a motorcycle. 

(Gypsie) Ray Weishaar changed history for Harley Davidson in 1920. He had been racing with the Wrecking Crew for quite some time up to this point. The team went to Marion Indiana for the Marion 200 mile International Motorcycle Race. He was one of the oldest racers at the race. The team showed up a  few days early to practice and work on the bike. When they were not out racing there wasnt much for the men to do. 

(Drifter) Ray wandered off at some point and returned with a piglet. He said a farmer told him that he was a runt and could have him for half the cost. Ray named him Johnny. Ray came out the winner of the racing that day and when he did his victory lap he did it with Johnny in tow. This event was thought to be when Harley’s became known as HOGS. Today if you have a Harley Davidson you can join the HOG group which stands for Harley Owner Group. 

(Gypsie) The United States entered World War 1 in April of 1917. Harley Davidson switched its gears from producing motorcycles for the general public and started manufacturing them for the war. Roughly 20,000 Harley’s were shipped across the sea. Along with the Motorcycles, Harley Davidson also trained men to be able to work on the bike if something were to happen to them. These motorcycles were modified with a sidecar mounted machine gun, they also were converted into ambulances that were able to carry one or two injured soldiers. They added a stretcher to the side low to the ground then a second stretcher was added above it. 

(Drifter) Roy Holtz was sent on a mission to ride his J Model Harley into enemy lines. His officer then insisted he knock on a door and ask for directions. German officers opened the door and captured him. He was only held prisoner for three days before the war ended and he was released. Once he was free he took his Harley Davidson and rode it into Germany making him the first American to enter Germany after the war and he did it on his favorite motorcycle. During World War 2 the company made almost 90,000 motorcycles for the military. Harley Davidson still to this day supports our troops, they offer discounts on the bikes, they will store your bike for free if you are being deployed, and they do several rides every year for the military. 

(Gypsie) Arthur spent a lot of time trying to work with the United States government to get them to supply their motorcycles to mail carriers, police officers, and military personnel. His hard work paid off and there were nearly 5,000 Harley Davidson motorcycles being used for mail delivery and even more being used by the police. The mail carriers liked it because they could get the job done faster, and the police loved them because they would catch a speeding car faster now. By 1920 Harley Davidson was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. They built 28,189 machines and had 67 dealerships. 

(Drifter) By the 30’s sales were dropping for the company. They came up with a brilliant marketing scheme. They started offering different color options for their motorcycles, prior to this they were all a shade of grey or green. Walter Davidson got to work designing accessories for the bike and the rider. They had clothing, boots, leather chaps, and saddlebags for the bikes. This is no different today, when we travel we almost always look for a Harley dealership to get something from them. We first started buying shirts but our collection of shirts has grown to the point we don’t have room in the closets so we started collecting poker chips, they are more cost effective and small so you can travel with them really well. 

(Gypsie) With the slow amount of sales on the motorcycle William Harley started spending more time on his new project. In 1936 the company launched its new motorcycles the 61E and 61EL. These bikes came equipped with the Knucklehead engine. The engine got its nickname from the shape of the valve covers looking like knuckles on a person’s fist. They also created a new frame for the engine, added new suspension parts, and a new tank design. 

(Drifter) On the 21st of April, 1937, The first of the four men to pass away was WIlliam Davidson at the age of 66. He passed away after he got an infection from an operation. It was said of him that every Christmas he would put together baskets for his employees to show his appreciation. Old Bill, as his employees liked to call him, was loved by his crew. He kept an open door policy with his employees, if they needed anything he would stop what he was doing and listen to them. His wife was Mary Davidson and the couple had 5 children, three girls and two boys. 

(Gypsie) Walter Davidson passed away on February 7, 1942 at the age of 65. He passed away from exhaustion and liver ailment. He was the president of the company when it started and remained so until he passed away making him the longest running president the company has ever had. Not only did he work as the president of the Harley Davidson company he also became a trustee of the highly successful Northwest Mutual Insurance Company and a director for the states largest bank First Wisconsin. He was also the director for the Milwaukee Gas Light company. His wife was Emma Rosenhein Davidson and the couple had three sons together. 

(Drifter) William Harley was the next one of the men to pass away. He died of heart failure on September 18, 1943 at the age of 62. During his lifetime he not only worked on building new motorcycles but he also served on the AMA Competition Committee for 24 years. He was also very instrumental in pushing motorcycle dealers to sell only one brand of motorcycle at their shop. Towards the end of his life he spent his time outdoors fishing, hunting and golfing.  He was married to Anna Caroline Jachthuber in 1910. The couple had 3 children, one girl and two boys. 

(Gypsie) The last one of the men to pass away was Arthur Davidson. On December 30, 1950 at the age of 69 he and his wife Clara along with two friends were killed in a car accident just 3 miles away from their home. In 1923 he helped organize the Kilbourn Finance Corporation giving people the ability to finance a motorcycle. Arthur loved working for the company but in his free time he enjoyed raising prize Guernsey cattle at his farm just west of Milwaukee. He supported the Boy Scouts by establishing a trust fund and donating land for a camp. Arthur had three children, one daughter and two sons. 

(Drifter) The three Davidson brothers are all laying to rest in the same section of the Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee Wisconsin. William Harley is laid to rest with his family in the Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in Milwaukee Wisconsin. We went to visit all four men and have pictures that we will post online for you.

(Gypsie) In 1998 all four men were inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. With the passing of all 4 men the company still ran very successfully. Several of the children stepped up and took over the operations of the company. William's son William took over as president for the company. William Jr’s son Jon then took over as president and his other son William G better known as Willie G serves as Chief Styling Officer Emeritus. 

(Drifter) The year 1969 brought some unique changes to Harley Davidson. The company was struggling financially and AMF took over production of the Harley’s. It’s interesting that AMF wanted to be a part of Harley because prior to this they were manufacturing bowling equipment, and other recreational items. They began building smaller bikes with less speed. They made Harley Davidson golf cars, scooters, a boat it seems. The company created and built the 1200CC Super Glide FX. From 1971 to 1975 the company manufactured Harley Davidson snowmobiles.

(Gypsie) In 1977 AMF-Harley launched one of the rarest bikes known as the Confederate Edition. Each bike was painted silver and you could get the sportster, electra glides, and super glides. On both sides of the gas tank was a confederate flag and a third flag was placed on the fender. The fender flag also had a gold braid reminiscent of the Confederate Generals uniform and the words “The confederate States of America.” About 650 of the bikes were produced. 

(Drifter) Between 1972 to 1980 the AMF-Harley company built the XR-750 racing bike. The bike quickly rose to fame when stunt rider Evel Knievel rode the bike 90 MPH to jump over 13 buses at Wembley Stadium. In order to cut costs AMF opened an assembly operation in York Pennsylvania. 

(Gypsie) In 1981 a group of investors including Willie G bought back the Harley Davidson Company from AMF allowing them the freedom and ability to design motorcycles the way they wanted them to be and not be bound by corporate bullshit. There were also a lot of complaints that during the AMF years of Harley the bikes were not up to the same standards as they once were. When the company was bought back from AMF the investors rode their motorcycles nearly 800 miles from York Pennsylvania to Milwaukee to welcome the company back to its original roots. 

(Drifter) The company became publicly funded in 1986 so now if you want to have a little part of the Harley Davidson company you can buy stocks in them. (Gypsie) 1990 Harley introduced the world to my favorite motorcycle, it was designed by Willie G himself and it is called the Fat Boy. For a time it was thought the name came from the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during WW2 called fat man and little boy as an insult to Japanese Motorcycles but that has since been debunked when Harley announced the name came from the way the bike looked head on. It was wider than other bikes making it look fat! (Drifter) Fun Facts to know and share, the FatBoy really took off after it was used in the Terminator 2 movie. The movie was released in July of 1991 & used a current 1991 model. (Gypsie) My fat boy is the first large bike I have owned. I bought it from Drifter and though I do not share the same history and stories that he does I have been able to experience my own joy and happiness with her. 

(Drifter) Harley Davidson continues to work on developing new motorcycles, bringing riders together for rallies, supporting our troops, and giving back to the community. Owning a Harley Davidson makes you part of a family, it provides you the freedom to be alone even when you're in a group. You get to see the world from different eyes, and there is nothing better than the wind on your face when you are riding in a windy canyon road during spring. 

(Gypsie) Before we leave you we want to give you a few tips while you are out on the road in your car. Take an extra moment to look for a motorcycle before you change lanes or make a turn. Predict a motorcycle is closer than it looks. Keep a safe distance, this is because motorcycles tend to slow down by letting off the throttle or downshifting and they do not activate their brake until it's getting closer to coming to a full stop. And most importantly See more than the motorcycle, see the person under the helmet. This person could be your friend, a neighbor, someone's mom or dad. Bikes deserve to be on the road just as much as cars do, they may seem obnoxious with the loud pipes and changing lanes but just remember they are someone too. 

(Gypsie) And for all our motorcycle riders out there the most important thing I learned from my riding class was, the person with the most lug nuts always wins. Stay safe out there and be aware of your surroundings. 

(Drifter) Dad Joke?

(Gypsie) What motorcycle do ghosts prefer?

A Booocati 

(Gypsie) What do you call a laughing motorcycle

A Yamahahahahah

(Drifter) Well there you have it folks, a bit of the history that led us to the graves of Harley & the Davidsons. Again, Thank you all, we mentioned last episode that we had a record breaking month in April and as of our recording, we are on track to break that record. All your support is greatly appreciated,(Gypsie)  Please keep sharing us with your friends. (Drifter) So, if you want to stay up to date with us, we are most active on the Instagram, (Gypsie) @rebelatlarge. (Drifter) We’ll post photos of our adventure on the website, (Gypsie) Rebelatlarge.com where you’ll also find links to our email, other social deals, New Merch Store and our Patreon if youd like to help support the show. 

(Drifter) Alright, we’ll talk to you all here in a couple of weeks, Safe Riding, We’ll see ya down the road.

Begin 30 seconds of the same uplifting Rock/Western tune as the introduction.