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Staff post about: William Harley Arthur Davidson Become an Author

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It has been described as a “throaty pounding and off-centered drumming beat,” but everyone who owns a Harley-Davidson motorcycle knows what it is to hear one. In fact, the adept ear can pick a Harley out of a crowd before the eyes are even able to see it; every bike the company produces sounds the same when you turn the keys, and yet completely different from any other bike manufacturer. Attaching a unique sound to Harley-Davidson engines was just one of many deliberate steps the company’s four founders took to build a strong brand and a loyal following.

Today’s Harley-Davidson riders are indeed that – loyal, to the point of being cult-like – and, that isn’t just an accident. Since the company’s inception, Harley and the Davidson’s have taken deliberate steps to establishing a unique image for itself from its competitors. From specifying component noise source levels to performing lab and track tests, every step was taken to ensure Harley-Davidson bikes had a signature sound. They knew that bike owners didn’t just want to get from Point A to Point B; they wanted an experience. In giving its motorcycles a unique sound, the company was providing the soundtrack to that experience.

Few other companies have the loyal following that the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. boasts today. It is a following that began being cultivated back in 1916, when the company put out its first issue of The Enthusiast, a magazine for the motorcycle devotee. Since then, it has continued to reign as the longest continuously published motorcycle magazine in the world. It has not only helped to create a community of dedicated motorcycle enthusiasts but also to establish Harley-Davidson as the common link that joins them all together.

In 1910, the first Bar & Shield logo appeared on a Harley-Davidson motorbike. It was trademarked by the U.S. Patent Office the next year. Today, that symbol has become synonymous with the brand. So, too, has the art-deco eagle design that continues to be painted on all Harley-Davidson motorcycles. What began as an attempt in 1933 to stimulate low sales during the Great Depression has become part of the company’s identity, and a symbol of American culture to boot. In 1925, all Harley-Davidson gas tanks also took on a unique shape, being fashioned in the form of a distinctive teardrop.

Harley-Davidson has also attempted to extend its brand even further by expanding into the retail clothing market. Of significant note is the company’s move in 1947 to begin selling a classic black leather motorcycle jacket. Today, few motorcycle owners – whether Harley-Davidson fans or not – feel complete without this jacket.

The legacy of Harley and the Davidson brothers’ attempts to build a unique and strong brand live on in H.O.G. – the Harley Owners Group. Founded in 1983, this group immediately became the world’s largest factory-sponsored club of motorcycle enthusiasts. In six years, membership had soared to over 90,000. Today, H.O.G. boasts more than half a million members, which speaks volumes to the strength of the brand and the passion Harley-Davidson owners feel towards their machines and each other.

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