Harley and the Davidsons also killed. In addition, Hasha's involvement with the company in the first episode was exaggerated and expanded upon, although he did indeed become friends with co-founder Arthur Davidson when he worked at a Dallas dealership and raced a motorcycle loaned by the company, in contrast to not being able to represent Harley and betraying in favor of Indian as depicted in the miniseries. Arthur Davidson's proposal of 20,000 motorcycles to the United States military for World War I was also fictionalized; Indian provided 41,000 units for the military effort while Harley produced 15,000. While the founders unveiled their 1936 EL
Harley-Davidson by the Davis Machine Company from 1917 to 1921, when Davis stopped manufacturing bicycles. By 1920, Harley-Davidson was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, with 28,189 machines produced, and dealers in 67 countries. In 1921, a Harley-Davidson, ridden by Otto Walker, was the first motorcycle ever to win a race at an average speed greater than . During the 1920s, several improvements were put in place, such as a new 74 cubic inch (1,212.6 cm³) V-Twin, introduced in 1921, and the "teardrop" gas tank in 1925. A front brake was added in 1928 although notably only on the J/JD