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Strategic Management and Policy
Case Study of
Harley-Davidson, Inc.
August 19, 2006
Introduction
In 1903, a legendary motorcycle company was formed when William S. Harley and the
Davidson brothers, William D., Arthur and Walter, handcrafted their first three
motorcycles. In 1909, Harley-Davidson introduced the first V-Twin engine, which is still
the company standard to this day. From 1917-1918, the company supplied 20,000
motorcycles for the military during World War I, and during this time major design
advancements of motorcycles were made with Harley-Davidson as the leader. By the end
of the Great Depression, only Harley-Davidson and Indian (Hendee Manufacturing) were
the sole U.S. motorcycle manufactures that survived through the 1930. Throughout the
1940, Harley-Davidson supplied more that 90,000 motorcycles to the military for World
War II, added additional facilities and started to decertify by selling