First Harley-Davidson production unit in 1904, was gloss black with gold pinstriping, a single-loop tubular steel frame, unsprung forks and leadther belt final drive directly from the crankshaft. Additional power was provided by the pedals, which was also the only braking force available.
Each of the production unit was assembled in a 15 x 10ft shed erected in the Davidson backyard by the boy's father. Considered modest though, the shed bore the Legendary "Harley-Davidson Motor Co." on its humble wooden front door.
One of the early key achievement of the company, happens on one of the first production unit that was owned by Mr Henry Meyer, a school friend of William and Arthur Davidson. The unit has clocked almost 6,000 miles by Henry Meyer before passing to George Lyon, who covered another 15,000 miles. The unit was later sold to Dr Webster, followed by Louis Fluke ans Stephen Sparrow, who between them clocked almost another 62,000 untroubled miles (a total of 134,000 km).
The company was so proud that in 1913, the company decided to advertise the bike's exploits and promotes an image of dependable travel.
"100,000 miles on its original bearings and no major components replaced."
By 1905, motorcycles production had soared to seven as the company took on its first employee and attracted its first dealer, C.H. Lang of Chicago. A year later in 1906, "Renault gray with red pinstriping" was provided by the company as an alternative colour option, and the model became known as "the Silent Gray Fellow", a name that depicts its quietness and dependability.
By now, production at the shed had soared to 50 units and these prompted a move from the company's original shed on 37th Street and Highway Boulevard into a proper building on the present Junean Avenue site.
Harley Davidson Inc. was incorporated in 1907, on the same year both the manufacturing floor areas and number of employee had doubled in size as compared to the year before. The company was producing no fewer than 150 motorcycles and had started expanding its dealership networks with the opening of a store in New England. The company had also sold the first of many thousands for police duty by 1908.
15 February 1909 saw the launch of the company's first production V-twin, the Model D, essentially a doubled-up single using a forked connecting rod to join both pistons to a single crankshaft. The Model D twin was an inlet-over-exhaust valve design with a capacity of 53.7cu in (880cc), developing around six horsepower and capable of a top speed of close to 62mph (100kph).
However, the engine was flawed and only 27 of the 5D motorcycles were produced. The company did not offered another twin until 1911. With the revised V-twin engine, the Model 7D motorcycle was the first in an uninterrupted succession of V-twins that had become almost synonymous with Harley Davidson motorcycles.
By 1913, the company had established a reputation for producing motorcycles that were dependable in both domestic and competitive use. More than 1,500 employees worked for a company whose manufacturing floor area grew from a small shed to almost 300,000sq ft (28,000sq metres) within a decade. Production rocketed from eight motorcycles in 1905 to 1,149 in 1911 and 17,439 in 1916, the year prior to the United States' entry into the First World War. Harley Davidson was called to service of Uncle Sam on 6 April 1917 when the United States declared war on Germany.
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