Bill Harley & Arthur Davidson: Innovation on Two Wheels – Wisconsin Biographies

How do you make history?

At the turn of the century (the 20th century, that is), a hilly ride to the lake sparked an innovation opportunity for two boyhood friends. Combining their ideas and skills with some help from family and friends, Bill Harley and Arthur Davidson took the motorcycle to new heights. They built one of the largest companies in Wisconsin, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, which is still sending bikes out onto the roads today.

Meet Bill Harley & Arthur Davidson

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Questions to Consider

Building a better motorcycle wasn’t all fun and games. The first one Bill and Arthur built didn’t last long on the road, but they didn’t take that as a sign to give up. What qualities did they show by continuing to work on their designs? Have you ever tried to do something you loved, but didn’t find instant success? What happened? How did you feel and what did you do next?

While Bill and Arthur were not the original inventors of the motorcycle, they took an existing idea and made it better. Do you know of other examples of improving on an existing idea, tool, or process? Have you had an idea for how to make something even better?

Making motorcycles turned into big business for Harley-Davidson. Think about all the kinds of work that go into making motorcycles. What are some of those industries and jobs? How did those industries impact Wisconsin?

Peek Into the Past

A color photograph of a white, silver and black motorcycle in front of a plain off-white background.

A Modern Motorcycle

1961 Harley-Davidson Duo-Glide.

Piero. 2006. Wikimedia Commons.

A black and white image showing a drawing of a side view and a top-down view of a motorized bicycled with lines pointing to parts of the bicycle, labeled with numbers and letters.

Pennington Patent

A drawing of Edward Pennington’s motorcycle (1896).

United States Patent Office. 1896.

Outboard Motor

A drawing of the outboard motor from Ole Evinrude’s patent application.

Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

A black and white photograph of William Davidson, Walter Davidson, Arthur Davidson and Bill Harley. All four men have serious are wearing suits and ties.

Company Leaders

(from left to right) William Davidson, Walter Davidson, Arthur Davidson, Bill Harley (1920).

Grant, L. The North Shore Bulletin, vol 4. Page 9.

A black and white photograph taken during the winter, showing the wooden backyard shed where the first Harley-Davidson motorcycles were assembled.

The First Shop

The Davidsons’ little sister painted “Harley Davidson Motor Company” on the original shop door—it became the official name!

Wisconsin Historical Society. WHi-43394.

A black and white outdoor photograph of Walter Davidson standing on the edge of a sidewalk behind a motorcycle.

Walter & Motorcycle

Walter with one of the Harley-Davidson motorcycles in 1908.

Wisconsin Historical Society. WHi-2546.

A black and white image of a man wearing a sweater with the word "Harley" visible on it, and goggles. His head and shoulders are visible and he is looking directly at the viewer.

A Harley Rider

Ray Tursky, one of the country’s best motorcycle riders. He rode in the Madison Motorcycle Club’s annual “”Tourist Trophy”” races.

Wisconsin Historical Society. WHi-60543.

A black and white photograph showing a man standing behind a motorcycle in front of a building. On the back of the bike is a wooden crate, and inside the crate is a calf.

Calf in a Motorcycle

A calf riding on the back of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle (1912).

Wisconsin Historical Society. WHi-5499.

A black and white photograph showing a row of police officers, each standing next to a motorcycle.

Police Motorcycles

Police officers with their Harleys (1931).

Wisconsin Historical Society. WHi-19219.

A black and white photograph of a man standing behind a motorcycle. On the side of the motorcycle are the words "Harley-Davidson."

Man with His Harley

A photograph of a man with his Harley-Davidson motorcycle (1910).

Wisconsin Historical Society. WHi-3252.

A color image showing a large red brick building with windows and a bright blue sky above it.

Harley-Davidson

The Harley-Davidson Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2010).

Freekee. 2010. Wikimedia Commons.

A color photograph showing a man riding a motorcycle on the road, with water and the state capitol in the background.

Tommy Thompson

Wisconsin politician Tommy Thompson riding his Harley in Madison, Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Historical Society. WHi-70998.

Read On

Illustrated portrait of Bill Harley and Arthur Davidson

Bill Harley & Arthur Davidson

Get the full story with this biography book. Audio files are available on each page if you’d like to listen along!

Project Credits

Producer
Dan Kaplan
Becky Marburger
Kurt Griesemer

Associate Producer
Joe Young

Animation
The Brave Union

Illustration
The Brave Union

Animation Voice Over
Dawson McKay

Audiobook Narration
Paul Elite

Audiobook Editing
Kerman Eckes

Captioning
Catie Pfeifer
Vicki Way Kipp

Educator Support Materials
Mia Forslund

Web
John Vieth
Erika Kachama-Nkoy
Tim Schneider

Design
Charles Barrows

Translation Services
University of Wisconsin-Madison Cultural Linguistic Services

Executive Producer
Peggy Garties

Special Thanks
Marta Bechtol

Story Advisors

Brenda Autz
Park Elementary School
Middleton, WI
(2014)

Charlene Dupler
Lakeview Elementary School
Wind Lake, WI
(2014)

Kristen McDaniel
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Madison, WI
(2014)

David J. O’Connor
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Madison, WI
(2014)

Amanda Price
Marshall Elementary School
Marshall, WI
(2014)

Beth Thayer
Hillsboro Elementary School
Hillsboro, WI
(2021)

Corey Thompson
Cardinal Stritch University
(2014)

Stephanie Unertl
Lake Mills Area School District
Lake Mills, WI
(2014)

Christina Venn
Sheboygan Falls Elementary School
Sheboygan Falls, WI
(2021)