Harley Davidson, synonymous with speed and freedom
Harley Davidson the famous motorcycle brand that has managed to catch thousands of motorcycling fans around the world and has become and has become the most important cult maca in the world. All thanks to their genuine relationships with their customers and the way they deal with them, but how do you get this, as Harley Davidson went from selling motorcycles to selling a lifestyle.
The origin of Harley Davidson motorcycles dates back to around 1901, a young William Harley worried about his future and eager to find a business idea, he started designing and producing what was his first motorcycle prototype, it was really just a bicycle with a gear that allowed whoever used it not to have to pedal, but little by little this idea took shape and continued to improve its invention. In 1903 one of his best friends Arthur Davidson gave future to that novel invention and joined him to create the company, so in a small wooden shed located in Milwaukee the legend of Harley Davidson was born. In 1904 the first dealer appeared and with it the first initial sales of this motorcycle model, a few years later in 1909 the legendary two-cylinder V engine also came out, also known as V2 that was adapted to the Harley Davidson motorcycles and remains today in day one of the most notable characteristics of the brand.
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They soon realized that they needed a striking image to represent their company and that's how the iconic Harley Davidson logo was born in 1910, everything went smoothly but in 1917 it fell into the First World War and a third of Harley's production Davidson began to be sold to the military corps, motorcycles became a light and efficient means of transport for combatants. At the beginning of the 20s the war was over and Harley Davidson had already become the most important motorcycle company in the world, however, as expected, the first copies began to appear from different parts of the world, but in spite of it Harley Davidson stayed in the position number 1.
He had nothing more and nothing less than 2000 distributed in 67 different countries and all this he had achieved in just 17 years. It was at that time when one of the most emblematic icons of the brand emerged, at that time they organized motorcycle races with Harley and the winner always went around with a pig in his arms, there appeared the endearing nickname of "Hawk" for the drivers of this type of motorcycles. The practices of their bikes continued to improve at a dizzying pace and by 1928 the V-twin could already run at just over 100 miles per hour at 160km / h, an incredible speed considering that by then most of the roads of North America were not even paved, to get an idea the fastest car of that time the Indianapolis 500 could only reach 122 miles / h only 22 miles more than a Harley.
Harley Davidson was exceeding all expectations and soon began to know this brand as synonymous with speed and absolute freedom. In 1941, submerged in the Second World War, the production of motorcycles was stopped for sale to the public and they began to produce units for the American army. Six years later, once the war was over, the first Harley Davidson jacket was sold in 1947. Hollywood began to give the brand more fame by taking out its shiny motorcycles in various movies, this fact made many more people know the brand, but we have that to think that this was a double-edged sword since the public began to associate these bikes with criminals, criminals, violent people and of bad character, with which the brand took a rather negative fame that directly affected the sales. In 1954 they had their first big setback, when they were accused of restricted business practices when trying to impose tariffs on imported motorcycles in the US, mainly from Japan because they were much cheaper and you were eating part of the market. This action was perceived very negatively by American society because it indirectly attacked the right of the free market, little by little the revenues of the company were falling and around 1969 Harley Davidson was already practically bankrupt.
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The directors of the company were desperate to find a possible solution to save their company, so they soon accepted the purchase of the company by the AMF an American sports brand that was dedicated to marketing with different sports products, unfortunately that new company I had no idea about motorcycles which made the decisions that were taken wrong, instead of focusing on the product they focused on the profit margins and changed several basic characteristics using cheaper materials and parts. The quality of the new Harleys was disastrous and loyal customers soon realized, this led to the fame and name of the brand that had cost so many years to sink completely in the early 70's. The prestige enjoyed by their motorcycles was had been in the past and the decision to sell the company to AMF had been an unfortunate decision that only served to make the company go bankrupt even faster, lost the leadership and left the way clear to the Japanese brands of motorcycles like Wave and Kawasaki. In 1981 the directors of the company, including William Davidson, the grandson of the founder, decided to make an important decision, to buy the company back from AMF and take up their position again. This was the only opportunity they had to refloat the company since they understood that Only Harley Davidson was able to save Harley Davidson. No one else could recover that magical essence that the brand had had years ago. They needed that atmosphere of freedom, speed and authenticity to return, and it would not work if other people outside the world of motorcycling made the decisions, at that very moment their saying "The Eagle Soars Alone" took all the meaning for the company.
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Once the company was recovered, the managers made several decisions based on what they had learned during those moments of crisis. All the success that the name and fame that the brand had obtained during its past years was due to a single factor its customers, the owners of Harley Davidson were the most valuable asset for the company, so to reinforce that loyalty and passion for the brand was created in 1983 the club Hog anonymous Harley or Nelson group also chosen in honor of the curious operation that was given to the pilots of Harleys at the beginning of the twentieth century. The idea of Harley was incredibly successful since it favored that the owners of those motorcycles felt like part of a group besides receiving many advantages with the membership, soon the symbolism of freedom, power and expression was linked again by the brand and the sales went up like foam. Harley was crowned at that time as a cult brand around the world. But it was not a simple way to achieve that status, it took many years and stumbles but above all a large dose of authenticity and differentiating characteristics. The cult brands such as Harley Davidson arise because there are people who want to feel identified with their values and principles, also want to convey that they are different from the rest what makes the Harleys truly unique is precisely their uniqueness, a singularity that spreads to people who are on board their motorcycles, Harley has understood that it is what makes her special and that is her consumers.
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