William Godfrey "Willie G." Davidson (born 1933)[1] is an American businessman and motorcycle designer, and the former senior vice president & chief styling officer of Harley-Davidson Motor Company.[2][3] He was also the head of Harley-Davidson's Willie G. Davidson Product Development Center in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.[4] While being generally responsible for approving Harley-Davidson motorcycle designs, he also personally designed several motorcycles for Harley-Davidson, including the Super Glide and the Low Rider, which pioneered the factory custom motorcycle and created an intermediate line of motorcycles between their large touring models and their smaller Sportsters.[5][6]
Willie G. Davidson is the son of former Harley-Davidson president William H. Davidson and the grandson of co-founder William A. Davidson.[1] Consequently, he grew up around Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Davidson graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and went on to study at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
Before working for Harley-Davidson, Davidson worked for the design department of Ford Motor Company.[7]
At Harley-Davidson
Willie G. Davidson's 1980 Harley-Davidson Custom Belt-Drive FXWG at the Harley-Davidson Museum
Davidson joined the design department of Harley-Davidson in 1963. In 1969 he was promoted to Vice President of Styling.[7] His designs during the 1970s included the 1971 FX Super Glide, the 1977 FXS Low Rider, and the 1977 XLCR Sportster-based cafe racer.[8]
On March 16, 2012, it was announced that Willie G. would retire from Harley-Davidson on April 30, 2012. He is to remain involved as brand ambassador, and in Special Design Projects as Chief Styling Officer Emeritus.[2]
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