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Harley-Davidson survives as the only continuously operating company of the approximately 100 motorcycle manufacturers that existed in the United States during the early twentieth century. William S. Harley (1880–1943) along with brothers Arthur (1881–1950), Walter (1876–1942), and William (1870–1937) Davidson constructed the first three Harley-Davidson motorcycles in 1903 in a small workshop located in the backyard of the Davidson family home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Although they built just three more of their simple, single-cylinder motorcycles the following year, Harley-Davidson moved to a new building on the company’s current Juneau Avenue site and increased production to fifty motorcycles in 1906. In 1910, Harley-Davidson moved into a modern 9,520 square-foot production facility, and by 1913 they produced more than sixty motorcycles per day. The 1910 Harley-Davidson Model 6 shown features an optional carbide headlamp, which is lit by flammable acetylene gas that is produced by a reaction between carbide pellets and water in the base of the lamp. “Early American Motorcycles” is on view pre-security in the International Terminal Main Hall and online - link in bio. This image was posted on April 02, 2021.

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