Harley-Davidson Advertising of the 1920s
Harley-Davidson advertising in the 1920s had plenty of range. That broader pitch had already started in the previous decade’s advertising, where roads, passengers, and ownership stories began replacing bare specifications. The company sold bicycles to younger riders, an easy-payment plan to city commuters, a record-setting Sport Model, sidecar weekends, fuel economy and new twins. By the last image, motorcycles are circling a globe above the Juneau Avenue factory.
Some of these are magazine ads, but others are catalog covers, brochures or company promotion. The format changes from page to page while the pitch keeps getting bigger: speed, sport, travel and a place in a worldwide motorcycle business.
Bicycles, Easy Payments and the Model W Sport
Harley-Davidson sold branded bicycles from 1917 through 1921, mainly through its motorcycle dealerships. The lower price put the name in front of younger riders, and the 1920 poster gives the bicycle the full color treatment instead of hiding it in the accessory department.
The “World’s Champion” ad drops the motorcycle into a city and factory district. Speed and comfort are the headline promises, but the easy-payment plan is just as important. Dealers could sell the motorcycle without making the full purchase price the only way through the door.
The Boss of the Solo Mounts gives the Model W Sport a very different kind of attention. Introduced for the 1919 model year, the Sport used a roughly 600 cc horizontally opposed twin with an external flywheel and a low center of gravity. Harley-Davidson aimed the lighter motorcycle at women and European buyers, and its power-to-weight ratio made it well suited to rough roads and long-distance runs.
The brochure backs up the sales talk with Hap Scherer’s Three-Flag record from the Canadian border to the Mexican border in 64 hours and 58 minutes. That was a real accomplishment for an unconventional motorcycle. More of its story appears in the history of Harley-Davidson’s Model W.
A uniformed rider sits beneath the Harley-Davidson name on a nearly empty illustrated cover. The sparse layout works like a poster: rider, motorcycle and brand, with nothing else competing for attention.
Sidecars and the Open Road
The 1925 cover says it plainly: “Motorcycling—Outdoors’ Greatest Sport.” A sidecar outfit rolls down a wooded road with another motorcycle behind it. The catalog is selling a day out, not a machine parked in a showroom.
The next sidecar cover keeps the passenger, tree-lined road and second motorcycle but drops the slogan. The scene still makes the point. The trip is the product.
“Get a Kick out of Life” loosens the collar even more. The rider and passenger are smiling, the sidecar fills the foreground and motorcycling looks like the best part of the day.
Factory Pride, Fuel Economy and a Wider World
“Six Interesting Facts about Harley Davidson” sells the company itself. Walter Davidson, William Davidson, William Harley and Arthur Davidson appear above the expanding Juneau Avenue factory, tying the motorcycles to the men and machinery behind them.
The “New-Type Motorcycle” ad goes straight after operating cost with an 80-miles-per-gallon claim. Comfort and safe travel are part of the pitch, but fuel economy is the hook.
A Brussels license plate and a flower market put Harley-Davidson on a European street. The artwork makes the motorcycle look completely at home in the scene, which is exactly the message an international company wanted.
“Now the 1927 twin” barely needs a motorcycle illustration. Bold type and modern graphics turn the model-year announcement into the entire cover.
“Get there on a Harley-Davidson” brings the sidecar back with real speed. The low viewpoint and oversized front wheel make the outfit feel like it is already moving past the reader.
Two-Cam Power and the New Side-Valve Line
The New Harley-Davidson Two Cam Twin puts late J-series performance at the center of the page. Harley-Davidson’s 1928 JDH was its first two-cam Big Twin, still part of the F-head line. The 45-cubic-inch side-valve Model D arrived for 1929, followed by the 74-cubic-inch Model V for 1930.
The handwritten “Spanish 1929” notation survives in the upper corner while the printed art shows a rider attacking a mountain road. The picture sells climbing power and momentum.
The last cover puts motorcycles around a globe above the factory complex. It is Harley-Davidson announcing that the company, its dealers and its motorcycles belong on a much bigger stage.
The 1930s opened with the 74-cubic-inch side-valve Model V and a harder sell built around economy, police work and mechanical change. That shift is clear in Harley-Davidson advertising from the 1930s.