The brand didn't begin in a corporate boardroom but in a 10x15-foot wooden shed in the Davidson family’s backyard. In 1901, a 20-year-old William S. Harley drew up plans for a small 116cc engine designed to fit a standard bicycle frame.
While the miniseries dramatizes fictional brawls, the real Walter Davidson proved the bike's worth in grueling endurance runs. His 1908 victory in the Catskill Mountains Endurance Run proved that Harleys weren't just fast—they were unbreakable. Harley and the Davidsons
A central theme of the Harley story is the fierce, often bitter rivalry with Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company . At the time, Indian was the dominant force in America. To compete, Harley-Davidson turned to the track. The brand didn't begin in a corporate boardroom