Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Willie G. Davidson, Harley-Davidson's Vice-President of Styling, stands in front of his work. Willie G.Davidson:· Guardian of Style By Bruce Newton Imagine being born into motorcycling, being exposed to it from your birth, being part of a family that not only rides two-wheelers but also builds them. For Willie G. Davidson there is no need to imagine. This is his life. Davidson, or Willie G. as he 46 ( is more commonly known, is HarleyDavidson MotorCo.'s Vice-President of Styling. He is also the grandson of one of the four founders of Harley-Davidson, William A. Davidson, who formed the company back in 1903 along with brothers Arthur and Walter Davidson Sr. and friend William S. Harley. Willie G.'s father, William H. Davidson, was company president for nearly three decades., while Willie G. himself joined the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company in 1963. Now entering his 50s and having spent more than two decades styling the famous V-twins, he acknowledges readily that it was inevitable he would join Harley-Davidson. "I think so. I used to be very interested in the motorcycles my father rode home when I was a youngster and I went to race events and hillclimbs with my dad," he recalls. "When he came home with something new I was always very much interested in it and when I gOI my first motorcycle at 15 (a 1947 HarleyDavidson two-stroke I25cc single), I immediately started to change it, paint it, chrome iL, and that was an extension of my interest in rolling sculpture, as I like to call it." Davidson the younger didn't join th . ranks at Harley straight out of high school though, as some other companies' president's sons have been known to do. Aware from early on that his interests lay in designs work, 1. __ ••• t he spent some time in the Fine Art School at the University of Wisconsin, then to compliment that, earned a degree in Industrial Design from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California. "From there I designed for an independent design house fer a few years. I did some design on automobiles, refrigerators, outboards, furniture and whatever." In 1963 he got the call from his father to return to Milwaukee and set up H-D's styling department. "When I came aboard we had a lot of activities that needed a good answer as far as appearance goes and there really wasn't a formal design department or styling area," says Willie G. "The company was using some outside freelance which included some work I was doing and it was determined by my dad and myself that we needed a full-ti me department to keep the look, in capital letters. "That's really become important to tbe marketing of this company. There are certain visuals about a Harley- Davidson that a lot of people around the world react to and it's an important thing that we should maintain. " So for the last 22 years, Davidson and his small staff, cubby-holed in a corner of the juneau Avenue plant, have been styling Harleys with that special feel. A feel that he struggles to put into words. "The essence of feeling is so important," he says empbatically. "You can't put it in a computer and I can't describe it, but it's myself and my people's what it's all about. "It's a soul thing and it's the way we go at \_.____ it. Whenever we do some •••_•• ._4 ~ new casting or piece we do it full scale. We dtln't spend a lot of time making funny four-color renderings and all this and that because a motorcycle bas so many little pieces of jewelry and hardware, that it's difficult to deal with in a sketch medium. "We've got a machine shop right downstairs from here, so when we get in the area of rripleclamps orforks or things like that, we just make tbem and then we modify them, wecutthem or weld them or change them depending on what test results how." Davidson points out that he doesn't have a free hand in the design of a Harley. His department works very closely with engineering and sometimes there have to be compromises made. "It's a tug of war sometimes, but we're not totally at each other's throats, which would not be productive," says Davidson. One area in which the two departments have had to work hard to retain the distinct Harley-Davidson look is the side air-box and the staggered same-side pipes. Federal noise laws due for introduction in january 1986 see limits drop to 80 decibels, which, as Davidson explains, to keep'noise down and "keep performance relative to intake and exhaust, you want free-flowing areas, which means bigger and bigger mufflers and bigger and bigger aircleaners. "We worked hard and spent a lot of time to keep our power where it's good useable torque and horsepower and to maintain what we know is so important in the marketplace." The air-box nestling between the V and the staggered pipes is vital to the image of Harley-Davidson, but even more basic to that look is the V-twin motor. It is the basis of any Willie G. Davidson design. "We always try to embelish it, make the motor as attractive as we can. This is maybe a different approach from companies that want to enclose an engine. "I prefer to have ,the engine as a work of art, have it expressed. There are also certain basics as far as fenders, tanks, and chassis go that are really a blend of tradition, while at the same time we strive to have the latest in manufacturing procedures and efficiency of manufacture. "We have never totally disregarded our history; that w()Oid be a mistake in my view. "There's a certain American look about a Harley that's been more evoL-_ lutionary than revolutionary and I've tried to preserve some of that. "I guess what I'm talking about is the look that some of our competitors around the world are trying to achieve. "You've seen a rush of these customs in the last three or four years, so it's important for me to keep what's so important to US and try and be a step ahead." It's vital for Harlev that Davidson keeps a step ahead, as the japanese imitation Harleys at one stage threatened to decimate the last American motorcycle company's vital over-9OOcc market. But how does Willie G. hiniseJf feel about these japanese Harley copies? Compromised, complimented, disgusted? "I don't know how to answer that; I've rried many times," he says in an almost sad tone. "You can look at it both from a positive and negative way - you really can. "I guess I'm pleased so many people in the world like the way a HarleyDavidson lOOKS. I have to admit that, I guessJ'm not pleased that our territory wasn't left alone. In other words, every designer for himself, let's solve the problem through creative methods ratber than plagiarizing." "It must be bard for some of those (Japanese) designers," he continues. "Take the new Honda Rebel 250. They must have told a crew of creative people who are in a job like I do, to just walk across the street and buy a Wide-Glide andjust make it identical. To me, that son of thing to a designer would be a criminal act. "If I have thechanerof beingcreative, I wouldn't want somebody just telling me to go over to your garage, take what you've been working on, go and tool it up and manufacturer it. I guess that's what some of them are doing." Although he admits to liking the look of a few japanese motorcycles (the Suzuki Intruder custom and GPz900R Ninja are two which he admires; the gadgetry of the big tourers such as the Aspencades and Cavalcades he struggles to accept, however. "When I'm out on the road I don't want any telephone calls and my stereo is at home. I kind of like the wind and the scenery." Two things which Davidson gets to appreciate often, as he is an ardent road rider. In fact, he recently completed a 10day across-America ride in aid of the restoration of the Statue of Libeny. He took an ever-swelling group from L.A. to New Yark through the southern states, while H-D Chairman Vaughn L. Beals took another group across the northern states. Davidson had a great time, riding and meeting fellow riders aDd HarleyDavidson enthusiasts. . "The group got bigger as we went east and on the final day going into the statue I think we covered threequarters of the New jersey Turnpike - severdl 1110usand motorcycles. It really was a very moving experience, being followed by all these Harleys. It was great!" Davidson says he has worked hard to maintain a one-an-one relationship with riders despite [he inevitable pressures of his position. It is noticeable that his office lacks any secretaries and he tries to answer all letters personally. Davidson explained the necessity for maintaining [hat human contact. "We are in the sports/hobby business and I think to really understand our business you've got to ride motorcycles and to even understand it better, become friends with the people who use our product rather thaD being distant with them. "I prefer to have a good strong re, J'~ft· ~

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