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William Harley
Of all the truly remarkable small business success stories, the story of William Harley is one that inspires and moves people to action. Born in Milwaukee, WI in 1880, William S. Harley became lifelong friends with his neighbor Arthur Davidson. The product of their friendship would impact several generations, inspire a strong subculture and in some ways a nation: the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. In 1901 William drew up plans for what he called a "bicycle motor." In essence this was a small motor meant to be attached to a bicycle and propel it. No motors really existed at the time so all parts for this motor were handmade at a friend's shop by Arthur and Bill Davidson. This is starting from the ground up on the level of extreme.

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The Seats of Success: How Harley-Davidson Powered Itself to the Top
Harley-Davidson fans are known for the overt pride they take in their machines. A T-shirt that one devotee made reads: “Put your ass on some class.” Whether that motto has been officially sanctioned by the company or not, that is exactly what hundreds of thousands of bike riders around the world have done. With more than 33 models of touring and custom Harleys, which are sold by over 1,300 dealers, Harley-Davidson remains the only major American manufacturer of motorcycles, and dominates sales of the more heavyweight bikes. How did four young boys from Milwaukee turn their shed-bound experiments into a thriving enterprise and a cultural icon of America?

Revving its Engines: Harley-Davidson Goes Hog Wild
After the success of their first three models of motorbikes, Harley and the Davidson boys all plunged themselves wholeheartedly into the newly formed company. Walter Davidson became the company’s first president, while his brother William handled much of the human resources, and Arthur handled sales and the establishment of a dealer network. William Harley served as the company’s chief engineer and treasurer. Together, the four worked day and night to get their business off the ground and running. “We worked every day, Sunday included, until at least ten o’clock at night,” recalled Walter Davidson. “I remember it was an event when we quit work on Christmas night at eight o’clock to attend a family reunion.”

Kings of the Road: The Beginnings of the Harley-Davidson Empire
They were simply two young boys fooling around with motors in their garage; William Harley and Arthur Davidson were childhood friends who loved fishing, but hated the amount of time it took to get to their favourite fishing spots. And so, they decided to create a motorized bicycle that would help them get to where they wanted to go faster. Their youthful experiments laid the foundation for what would later become one of the largest and last remaining mass producers of motorcycles in the U.S. Today, with over $1.5 billion in annual sales last year, Harley-Davidson remains an American icon and an example of entrepreneurship at its finest.

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