With all the negativity and disappointment Harley-Davidson has shown the loyal blue-collar American rider we decided to bring you back to the Good Ol’ Days! This article is Part 2 of the series HARLEY-DAVIDSON THE BETTER DAYS.
By Tom Bolfert, Director, Archives
A number of articles have appeared over the years in publications regarding the early years of Harley-Davidson and, more specifically, the motorcycle we refer to as Serial Number One, which currently resides in the lobby at Juneau Avenue. The Archives would like to clear the air regarding this most important of all Harley-Davidson motorcycles to familiarize enthusiasts with its origin and significance.
Serial Number One dates to the 1903-04 era. Company founders built at least one prototype before it and, of course, production machines after it that differed both in the power of the engine and in general configuration. Meticulous research by Archives staff and external experts proved that Serial Number One was built without fenders and used in competition, probably to illustrate the power and reliability of the motor. After all, as the company name implied, Harley-Davidson Motor Company sold motors as well as motorcycles.
While it is clearly identified on many of its components as Serial Number One, it is definitely not the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle. That distinction would go to one of the prototypes. Instead, it is the developmental platform from which the first true Harley-Davidson street motorcycles sprang. It is the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle to be considered ready for production and, except for refinements that civilized it as a street machine, is essentially the same as those models that followed it.
Serial Number One, then, is not the very first Harley-Davidson but it is the first true Harley-Davidson motorcycle as they were later developed. And, beyond any doubt, it is the oldest Harley-Davidson motorcycle in existence today.
The restored “Serial No. 1” motorcycle is currently on display in the lobby of the Juneau Avenue building, in Milwaukee. Built to be a racer, this was the first motorcycle sold to the public.
