History Series / HarleyAndTheDavidsons

[[quoteright:185:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watch_harley_and_the_davidsons_29097.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:185:Nope, this ain't a movie about a rock-and-roll group. Though it does sound like it.]]

Bill Harley, played by ''Series/GameOfThrones'' actor Creator/RobertAramayo, worked as a draftsman in his teens at a factory in Wisconsin, along with his childhood pal Arthur Davidson (Creator/BugHall). Arthur came up with the idea of making a motorcycle engine to take the burden out of pedaling, despite lacking the resources and thus StealingFromTheTill for parts, bribing fellow workers along the way. Their first effort was a success, well, sort of, as it sputtered and died after the initial run. Not giving in to despair, they sought help from Arthur's brother Walter Davidson (Creator/MichielHuisman), and together they improved upon their prototype which they took to a number of races, eventually catching the attention of C.H. Lang who took a shine to their high-speed antics and decided to invest on their venture. Their exploits eventually made them enemies with fellow motorcycling pioneer George Hendee, who felt that Harley was encroaching into his market share and decided to do every single villainous scheme he could throw at to keep Harley and the Davidson brothers at bay. Neither this nor TheGreatDepression deterred them, as they eventually emerged developing and releasing the "fastest damn motorcycle in the world".

Creator/DiscoveryChannel is no stranger to Harley-Davidsons, and this docudrama about the American motorcycle manufacturer's origins is no exception. When a ragtag group of mechanics set out to make motorcycling history at a shed in Wisconsin during the TheEdwardianEra, they were determined to do so at all costs - even if that means participating in a high-stakes [[TheBigRace race]] to prove their worth or getting into a fistfight with their corporate rivals.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Which was pretty much the main point of criticism with the miniseries. At least some of the events are rooted in reality, but the way it unfolded is far from the truth.

* BloodSport: Arthur was reluctant to have their company participate at the Newark Motordrome race, as it would mean [[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9404E0DA113AE633A2575AC0A96F9C946396D6CF suicide]] due to the G-forces involved. [[spoiler:This was proven true when a number of racers were killed, one of them being a (former) employee of theirs.]] The real-life Arthur Davidson likened motordrome racing to GladiatorGames in an editorial for the company's official newsletter--entertainment for spectators at the expense of those participating in it (or the audience for that matter, in case one or more of those bikes fly off the track and into the stands).

* BadassBiker: Which goes well with the [=MoCo=]'s rebel image on which they capitalise these days. Though in this case it was done more as a RuleOfCool since Harley at the time had a largely modest, clean-cut image until the likes of the [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels Hells Angels]] came along and perpetuated the outlaw biker stereotype. In fact, commercials for H-D during the mid-twentieth century were pedestrian to say the least, though Honda capitalised on Harley's tarnished reputation by presenting their bikes as a friendly alternative ("You meet the nicest people on a Honda.") to the ones frequently ridden by marauding hooligans.

* BloodSport: Arthur was reluctant to have their company participate at the Newark Motordrome race, as it would mean [[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9404E0DA113AE633A2575AC0A96F9C946396D6CF suicide]] due to the G-forces involved. [[spoiler:This was proven true when a number of racers were killed, one of them being a (former) employee of theirs.]]
** The real-life Arthur Davidson likened motordrome racing to GladiatorGames in an editorial for the company's official newsletter--entertainment for spectators at the expense of those participating in it (or the audience for that matter, in case one or more of those bikes fly off the track).

Bill Harley, played by ''Series/GameOfThrones'' actor Creator/RobertAramayo, worked as a draftsman in his teens at a factory in Wisconsin, along with his childhood pal Arthur Davidson (Creator/BugHall). Arthur came up with the idea of making a motorcycle engine to take the burden out of pedaling, despite lacking the resources and thus StealingFromTheTill for parts, bribing fellow workers along the way. Their first effort was a success, well, sort of, as it sputtered and died after the initial run. Not giving in to despair, they sought help from Arthur's brother Walter Davidson (Creator/MichielHuisman), and together they improved upon their prototype to which they took to a number of races, eventually catching the attention of C.H. Lang who took a shine to their high-speed antics and decided to invest on their venture. Their exploits eventually made them enemies with fellow motorcycling pioneer George Hendee, who felt that Harley was encroaching into his market share and decided to do every single villainous scheme he could throw at to keep Harley and the Davidson brothers at bay. Neither this nor TheGreatDepression deterred them, as they eventually emerged developing and releasing the "fastest damn motorcycle in the world".

* BadassBiker: Which goes well with the [=MoCo=]'s rebel image to which they capitalise these days. Though in this case it was done more as a RuleOfCool since Harley at the time had a largely modest, clean-cut image until the likes of the [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels Hells Angels]] came along and perpetuated the outlaw biker stereotype. In fact, commercials for H-D during the mid-twentieth century were pedestrian to say the least, though Honda capitalised on Harley's tarnished reputation by presenting their bikes as a friendly alternative ("You meet the nicest people on a Honda.") to the ones frequently ridden by marauding hooligans.

*** Not to mention that Bill Harley's remark of it being the "fastest damn motorcycle in the world" is more of a half-hearted boast on his part; the record was held by the Brough Superior SS100 from 1925 to 1940.

* BadassBiker: Which goes well with the [=MoCo=]'s rebel image to which they capitalise these days. Though in this case it was done more as a RuleOfCool since Harley at the time had a largely modest, clean-cut image until the likes of the [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels Hells Angels]] came along and perpetuated the outlaw biker stereotype. In fact, commercials for H-D during the mid-twentieth century were pedestrian to say the least, though Honda capitalised on Harley's tarnished reputation by presenting their bikes as a friendly alternative ("You meet the nicest people on a Honda.") to the ones frequently used by marauding hooligans.

* BadassBiker: Which goes well with the [=MoCo=]'s rebel image to which they capitalise these days. Though in this case it was done more as a RuleOfCool since Harley at the time had a more or less modest, clean-cut image until the likes of the [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels Hells Angels]] came along and perpetuated the outlaw biker stereotype.

** The real-life Arthur Davidson likened motordrome racing to GladiatorGames in an editorial for the company's official newsletter--entertainment for spectators at the expense of those participating in it.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Yeah, but what happened to George Hendee and Randrll James?[[note]]Or Oscar Hedstrom for that matter, since he was Indian's counterpart to Bill Harley.[[/note]] Some might HandWave that they got caught up in TheGreatDepression as what most businesses of the day suffered, but the real-life Indian actually fared more or less well at the time, having merged with Du Pont Motors in 1930.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Yeah, but what happened to George Hendee and Randrll James?[[note]]Or Oscard Hedstrom for that matter, since he was Indian's counterpart to Bill Harley.[[/note]] Some might HandWave that they got caught up in TheGreatDepression as what most businesses of the day suffered, but the real-life Indian actually fared more or less well at the time, having merged with Du Pont Motors in 1930.

* BadassBiker: Which goes well with the [=MoCo=]'s rebel image to which they capitalise these days. Though in this case it was done more as a RuleOfCool since Harley at the time had a more or less modest, clean-cut image until the likes of the Hells Angels came along and perpetuated the outlaw biker stereotype.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Yeah, but what happened to George Hendee and Randall James?[[note]]Or Oscard Hedstrom for that matter, since he was Indian's counterpart to Bill Harley.[[/note]] Some might HandWave that they got caught up in TheGreatDepression as what most businesses of the day suffered, but the real-life Indian actually fared more or less well at the time, having merged with Du Pont Motors in 1930.

Bill Harley, played by ''Series/GameOfThrones'' actor Creator/RobertAramayo, worked as a draftsman in his teens at a factory in Wisconsin, along with his childhood pal Arthur Davidson (Creator/BugHall). Arthur came up with the idea of making a motorcycle engine to take the burden out of pedaling, despite lacking the resources and thus StealingFromTheTill for parts, bribing fellow workers along the way. Their first effort was a success, well, sort of, as it sputtered and died after the initial run. Not giving in to despair, they sought help from Arthur's brother Walter Davidson (Michiel Huisman), and together they improved upon their prototype to which they took to a number of races, eventually catching the attention of C.H. Lang who took a shine to their high-speed antics and decided to invest on their venture. Their exploits eventually made them enemies with fellow motorcycling pioneer George Hendee, who felt that Harley was encroaching into his market share and decided to do every single villainous scheme he could throw at to keep Harley and the Davidson brothers at bay. Neither this nor TheGreatDepression deterred them, as they eventually emerged developing and releasing the "fastest damn motorcycle in the world".

Bill Harley, played by ''Series/GameOfThrones'' actor Creator/RobertAramayo, worked as a draftsman in his teens at a factory in Wisconsin, along with his childhood pal Arthur Davidson (Creator/BugHall). Arthur came up with the idea of making a motorcycle engine to take the burden out of pedaling, despite lacking the resources and thus StealingFromTheTill for parts, bribing fellow workers along the way. Their first effort was a success, well, sort of, as it sputtered and died after the initial run. Not giving in to despair, they sought help from Arthur's brother Walter Davidson (Michiel Huisman), and together they improved upon their prototype to which they took to a number of races, eventually catching the attention of C.H. Lang who took a shine to their high-speed antics and decided to invest on their venture.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Some have noted Hendee's depiction to be a tad too far from who he was in real life. [[http://motorbikewriter.com/harley-davidsons-tv-review/ One reviewer]] noted that while they were indeed rivals at both the race track and dealerships, Hendee and Arthur Davidson were noted to be close friends and looked after each other's businesses.

** The real-life Arthur Davidson likened motordrome racing to GladiatorGames in an editorial for the company's official newsletter - entertainment for spectators at the expense of those participating in it.

* BadassBiker: Which goes well with the [=MoCo=]'s rebel image to which they capitalise these days.