A Return to Prominence

’81 Heritage Edition Classic

Willie G and the rest of the management quickly dove into Harley’s new retro revolution look, and tried to bring quality back to the company. Many components such as brakes, forks, shocks, carburetors, electrics and wheels were outsourced from foreign manufacturers. Quality increased, and technical improvements were made which slowly
brought buyers back. One of the new bikes to showcase this was the brand new Softail Standard.The Softail took many styling q’s from the original Wide Glide, and was a success upon release. It featured the AMF designed 1340cc Evolution motor, and was considered one of the best Harleys in years.

Since then Willie G’s design studios have brought such bikes as the Heritage Classic, Fatboy, Vrod, Nightster, Blackline, and many others. Almost everything the Moco has produced in the past 30 years Willie has had a hand in, including growing the clothing line and the phenomenal amount of Harley custom parts. Willie G became Harley’s ambassador at rallies and events around the world. Autograph sessions, riding events, and talking to customers has become his trademark with the company. He has always kept his eyes on current trends
and tried to incorporate them into the lineup. Some people may say Harley’s designs have grown boring recently, but one can not deny Willie G. helped save Harley Davidson from a certain extinction.