That history goes back to 1908, a year before the commercial V-Twin, when the Detroit police department received the first Harley Davidson. Harley Davidson motorcycles were used in the pursuit of Poncho Villa in 1916 and shortly after, about 20,000 were used during World War I. Most of those were equipped with side cars and machine gun mounts.

Harley Davidson was named the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world by 1920.
During the infamous Roaring ’20s state police forces were being formed and Harley Davidson motorcycles were being used in protecting rural areas from lawlessness and enforcing prohibition. The motorcycles handled the rutted out roads far better than cars.

In 1921 the Washington State Troopers began consisting of six guys on Harleys. Louisiana had a force of just 16 Harley Davidson motorcycles that troopers used to patrol the entire state. And talk about “old school”? Those were some hard core bikers! During the mid ’20s as more motorcycles, cars and trucks were being mass produced and the lack of speed enforcement, traffic fatalities on the highways were increasing at an alarming rate. Being more agile and considerably faster than most vehicles, Harley Davidson motorcycles were on the forefront in an effort to enforce the speed laws and there by curb these fatalities. By the end of the 1920s over 3,000 police and government agencies were using Harley Davidson motorcycles…

Continue reading the original Harley Davidson’s long history with the police