Changes

The United States Army began using motorcycles even before entering World War I in 1917. The previous year General John "Blackjack" Pershing was deployed to the Mexican border to pursue Mexican Revolutionary general Pancho Villa who had engineered a raid on the New Mexico border town of Columbus. Pershing realized that the new motorized technology would be a boon to his pursuit of Villa across inhospitable desert lands and there was one particular motor bike that he favored. It was nimble, durable and easy to use. Pershing’s favorite motorcycle was built by a relatively obscure Wisconsin outfit called the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. <ref>”’H-D Supports the Military,” corporate history, Harley Davidson USA, 2015</ref>

William Harley and Arthur Davidson grew up in the dying days of the 19th century. Davidson worked as a pattern maker for Ole Evinrude who would soon gain fame for his outboard boat motors and Harley had a job fixing bicycles. The two friends got together to build a motorized bike and by 1903 they had a prototype puttering around the streets of Milwaukee at death-defying speeds of 25 miles per hour. Harley and Davidson painted their bike gloss black and went back to their jobs; it was just a private hobby. <ref>Girdler, Allan and Hackett, Jeff, ''Harley-Davidson Motorcycles'', MBI Publishing Company, 2000, page 10</ref>

But it would take more than a fancy logo to stand out in a motor bike market glutted with small manufacturers. So Walter Davidson was sent to New York to compete in a two-day endurance ride. Fewer than half of the 84 contestants entered rode machines that could handle the gutted country roads of the day and Davidson won the race. Soon Harley-Davidson had a racing team known as "The Wrecking Crew" and sales started to grow. <ref>Girdler, Allan and Hackett, Jeff, ''Harley-Davidson Motorcycles'', MBI Publishing Company, 2000, page 16</ref>

And then came Blackjack Pershing's order for 12 machines. The U.S. Army chased Pancho Villa for nine months and never caught him before World War I intervened. But in the meantime Harley-Davidson advertisements were trumpeting the motor bikes as "Uncle Sam's Choice." The Harley-Davidson Quartermasters School was established in Milwaukee so military instructors could direct Harley-Davidson engineers in designing motorcycles for the battlefield. Some of the innovations they developed were higher-horsepower engines, gas headlights and high, flat fenders to better navigate through mud. The school, now known as Harley-Davidson University, still trains mechanics today. <ref>”’H-D Supports the Military,” corporate history, Harley Davidson USA, 2015</ref>

Most of the Harley-Davidsons employed in World War II were legendary WLA models, assigned to reconnaissance and courier duty. While German machines were still often equipped with sidecars for gunners and deployed in battle, the Allies no longer sent unarmored cycles into combat as had occasionally happened in World War I. Harleys were so ubiquitous as scout vehicles at the head of military convoys that they were often the first vehicles into towns and villages liberated across Europe by the Allies and came to be known as "Liberators." <ref>Panhead, Jim, “Top 5 Harley-Davidson Prototypes of WWII,” ''Ride Apart'', 2016</ref>

After the end of World War II many servicemen with fond memories of their wartime Harley machines sought out the motorcycles in stateside showrooms. Often times one of the first things these returning veterans did was to customize their ride by chopping off front fenders and crash bars and clunky seats. Thus was born the iconic Harley-Davidson "chopper."