Harley - Davidson Diecast Model Cars

From Combat to Cruising

The worldwide brand of Harley Davidson had humble beginnings inside a 10' by 18' wooden shed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where William Harley and Arthur Davidson outfitted a bicycle with a small engine. The friends fine-tuned their effort and in 1906 built a small factory where they produced about 50 motorcycles that year. Today's expansive corporate headquarters occupy the same location today.

In those early days, the motorcycle was all about hill climbing power. By 1910 a few dual cylinder engines that put out about 7 HP had been produced. This doubled the power to climb hills and enabled the bikes to hit top speeds of 60 mph. In 1921, a Harley-Davidson pushed the limits to 100 mph in a much celebrated racing win.

This p ...more

From Combat to Cruising

The worldwide brand of Harley Davidson had humble beginnings inside a 10' by 18' wooden shed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where William Harley and Arthur Davidson outfitted a bicycle with a small engine. The friends fine-tuned their effort and in 1906 built a small factory where they produced about 50 motorcycles that year. Today's expansive corporate headquarters occupy the same location today.

In those early days, the motorcycle was all about hill climbing power. By 1910 a few dual cylinder engines that put out about 7 HP had been produced. This doubled the power to climb hills and enabled the bikes to hit top speeds of 60 mph. In 1921, a Harley-Davidson pushed the limits to 100 mph in a much celebrated racing win.

This power, maneuverability and speed was put to good use in the war effort. More than 20,000 Harley-Davidsons hit the combat fields during WWI and brought global recognition to the scrappy enterprise that had begun in a backyard shed. After the war, Harleys were sold in more than 60 countries and clearly led the motorcycle pack.

It was perhaps this geographical diversification that helped the company become one of only two motorcycle manufacturers to weather the Great Depression and then to move on once again and prove its worth in WWII. When peacetime production resumed, Harley-Davidsons motorcycles appeared on the streets of America and race tracks everywhere.

But in 1961, the company hit a bump in the road when it was sold to American Machinery and Foundry. Certain business decisions and workforce issues hurt the venerable brand and its sales and reputation plummeted. In 1981 it was sold to a group of investors who began an historic turn-around.

Today, Harley is more than a successful motorcycle company. It's a branded lifestyle, complete with fan clubs, a line of clothing and accessories and a reputation unto itself. The detailed historic models (particularly those from its heroic war days) are also a favorite of die cast collectors worldwide. But on the streets of America, barely a day goes by when the unmistakable roar of Harley's signature engine is not heard. ...less