The First Iron Heads

Harley Davidson was established in 1903 by William Harley and Arthur Davidson in Milwaukee, WI where they built the first Harley motorcycle, a sports bike, in a small wooden shed. In 1906 the company built a new factory in Milwaukee, WI and also launched its first product catalog this year. The company began to gain a reputation for itself when Walter Davidson, Arthur’s brother, rode a Harley motorcycle to victory in a race in 1908. Harley became known as a company that offers heavy customization of its product for its customers and by 1910 Harley had sold 3,200 motorcycles in the US where its dealer network grew to over 200 separate locations. By the end of 1920, Harley had become the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world which was supported by over 2000 dealers in 67 countries. The company supplied over 90,000 motorcycles to the US military during the Second World War and it earned the Army-Navy E award for excellence in war time production for three consecutive years. After the World Wars, Harley shifted its focus to more recreational bikes due to increased competition of foreign imports, mostly from Europe. During the late 1950’s, competition from Japanese motorcycle manufacturers like Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki began to take over the US market share. By the late 1960’s Japanese motorcycle sales accounted for 85% of total motorcycle sales in the US due to their cheaper and technologically superior bikes. Between 1973 and 1983, Harley’s market share decreased

John Davis earned his racing scars in the mountain racing circuit in America, where he won numerous downhill and cross-country championships. Early on, John realized that the mass-produced bicycles available were inadequate in many ways for the type of racing he was doing. So, John stripped four of his old bikes down to the bare metal and rebuilt them into a single “Frankenstein” bike that he rode to win the national championship. Once news of his Frankenstein bike got out, John’s friends and even his competitors began asking him to build them a Frankenstein bike too. While recovering from an injury in 1990, John started producing the first series of Frankenstein bikes in his garage—each one custom-built from cannibalized parts from other bikes. As more and more orders came in, John successfully expanded Frankenstein Bikes from his garage operations into a full-blown manufacturing facility in Dallas and began producing custom trail bikes which he sold through a network of specialized bike dealers throughout the country.

held in the late 60s. One other kind of race is an enduro race. In these races

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) was founded in 1903. The home base was originally founded in and even today remains in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Harley-Davidson’s popularity grew significantly during World War I, when the U.S. infantry used 20,000 of the company’s motorcycles in its war effort (Taylor, 2010). Best recognized for its manufacturing of heavyweight motorcycles, Harley-Davidson has captured half the U.S. market and a third of the global market (Wikinvest, 2010). Harley-Davidson motorcycles are noted for their classic lines, custom paint jobs, dependability, fine craftsmanship and the Harley-Davidson signature choppy sounding engine. Most importantly, it has been

| * Only motorcycle company that dominated the World Superbike Championship in years preceding 2003 * Broad range of bikes (dual sport, sport touring, super sport) with leading edge technology * Its development in the U.S. in early 2000’s has supported Ducati steady growth

To fill their psychological needs of freedom and individualism, as well as their sense of adventure, women are purchasing customized motorcycles by the thousands. Harley Davidson has certainly recognized the women motorcyclist market as a great growth opportunity for

The Harley motorcycle had a unique look and the sound of the engine too was different attracting the customers especially the older males.

Increase of sales and the growth in the industry resulted to creation to motorcycle clubs as well as rallies were established. Unfortunately, lewd behavior exhibited by many people linked to the motorcycle clubs and rallies, had an image of being messy and raucous. This gave the bikers a terrible reputation. The image of Harley-Davidson was negatively affected because of the Hells Angels. All of these factors combined resulted to a sharp decline lead in demand and purchase of the motorcycles throughout the whole industry in the 1970's.The motorcycle industry provides products, which are often viewed as luxuries or desires rather than necessities. In regard to Harley-Davidson many motorcycle owners bought their bikes as a second vehicle, to use often

Historically Harley-Davidson to be a Niche Marketer, which is they had focused in on one particular aspect of the market. Kotler and Keller identified the following characteristics of niche marketing; customers have a distinct set of needs, they are willing to pay more to the firm that best suits their needs, it is not likely to attract competitors, gains economies through specialized products and it has a size, profit and to grow. Almost all of these hold true for the “heavyweight” segment of motor cycles that Harley-Davidson produced.

Since Harley Davison Motor Company started in 1903, they have been successfully “taking the work out of bicycling” better than any other motorcycle manufacturing company. They have experienced great success recently with growing numbers in their percentage of motorcycles shipped, up 14 percent from 1997, and their target market size, up 13.8 percent from 1997. Their brand has also grown so strong over the years that customers are willing to wait up to two years for a motorcycle. The problems that Harley Davison is faced with are how to improve their existing purchasing process, how to integrate their existing procurement methods together, and how to develop longer term

Below is a free essay on "Harley Davidson Analysis" from Anti Essays, your source for online free essays, free research papers, and free term papers.

Current sport bikes were inspired and derived from their traditional core competencies such as engines with futuristic design and good handling.

motorcycle and automobile maker by the mid-20th century, and today it is an internationally respected

F.At the beginning of the economic miracle, the motorcycle had lost its significance as a means of transport. People had finally come round to the idea of wanting a roof over their heads during their journeys. BMW reacted quickly and surprised the world in 1955 with an unusual vehicle concept. Although it was initially looked upon as something of a curiosity, the BMW Isetta with its one-cylinder motorcycle engine quickly established itself on the market. The economic Motocoupè, based on the Italian Iso construction, became a much-loved top seller in the golden 50s.

The website of Harley Davidson gave us a new concept of Motorcycles! The extension of this website is exceptional. The virtual Customer Service in this website is notorious and extremely helpful. From other motorcycles websites this is one of the most professionals ones where the customer can get a flavor of the company from products up to their businesses profits and others...Harley Davidson publishes material related to all aspects of their motorcycles and provides to their own and the general public good information, expanding their products and other services with local information for countries around the world. Their information and technology, including digital libraries, metadata, authorization and