H-D Motors in 1903

[cyborg]

Do we have any H-D historians here?

I was told that when H-D started they were getting there motors made by Milwaukee Tool. Any truth to this?
I don’t see how this is possible, H-D started in 1903. Milwaukee Tools didn’t start till 1924.

 

[RickyBobby]

There is plenty of evidence that they actually made their first in 1904, not 1903. They had a advertising man that started in with the 1903 bit to rile up Indian.
They made their own engines. In a shed in back of the house. I forgot who's house Harley or Davidson. One of them and the father was in on it too I think.
No, it was a brother.

 

[cyborg]

1903 William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson make available to the public the first production Harley-Davidson® motorcycle. The bike was built to be a racer, with a 3-1/8 inch bore and 3-1/2 inch stroke. The factory in which they worked was a 10 x 15-foot wooden shed with the words "Harley-Davidson Motor Company" crudely scrawled on the door. Arthur's brother Walter later joins their efforts.

1903 Henry Meyer of Milwaukee, a schoolyard pal of William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson, buys one of the 1903 models directly from the founders.