Harley-Davidson, Inc., H-D, or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression, along with Indian. The company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements, periods of poor economic health and product quality, and intense global competition to become one of the world's largest motorcycle manufacturers and an iconic brand widely known for its loyal following. There are owner clubs and events worldwide, as well as a company-sponsored, brand-focused museum.
Harley-Davidson is noted for a style of customization that gave rise to the chopper motorcycle style. The company traditionally marketed heavyweight, air-cooled cruiser motorcycles with engine displacements greater than 700 cc, but it has broadened its offerings to include more contemporary VRSC (2002) and middle-weight Street (2015) platforms.
Harley-Davidson CVO (Custom Vehicle Operations)for motorcycles are a family of models created by Harley-Davidson for the factory custom market. For every model year since the program's inception in 1999, Harley-Davidson has chosen a small selection of its mass-produced motorcycle models and created limited-edition customizations of those platforms with larger-displacement engines, costlier paint designs, and additional accessories not found on the mainstream models. Special features for the CVO lineup have included performance upgrades from Harley's "Screamin' Eagle" branded parts, hand-painted pinstripes, ostrich leather on seats and trunks, gold leaf incorporated in the paint, and electronic accessories like GPS navigation systems and iPod music players.
CVO models are produced in Harley-Davidson's York, Pennsylvania plant, where touring and Softail models are also manufactured. In each model year, CVO models feature larger-displacement engines than the mainstream models, and these larger-displacement engines make their way into the normal "big twin" line within a few years when CVO models are again upgraded. Accessories created for these customized units are sometimes offered in the Harley-Davidson accessory catalog for all models in later years, but badging and paint are kept exclusively for CVO model owners, and cannot be replaced without providing proof of ownership to the ordering dealer.
Maisto
Harley-Davidson, Inc., H-D, or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great...
