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Harley-Davidson documents Bar & Shield use in 1910, but its Archives cannot confirm who designed it or what inspired the design. The familiar logo is not one unchanged mark: its early forms varied, simplified designs appeared in the 1960s, and the current version returned in 1976.
Who designed the Bar & Shield logo?
Harley-Davidson’s Archives says that no archival records confirm who designed the logo or what inspired them. The archive also notes that shields, crests and similar designs were already used by other companies, so Harley-Davidson’s mark was not the first of its kind. The company’s historical account does not establish a designer or a specific symbolic meaning for the shape. Harley-Davidson Archives: Bar & Shield Story
When did Harley-Davidson begin using it?
The company’s records point to 1910, but the dates refer to distinct evidence. The Harley-Davidson Archives says an official trademark application for the logo was filed on July 19, 1910, and identifies the back cover of the 1910 motorcycle catalog as an early surviving example. A later trademark application, filed January 30, 1930, stated that the mark had been continuously used on the company’s goods since May 6, 1910. That is the date claimed in the later application, not the filing date of the 1910 application.
The Archives also notes wet-transfer accessory decals for toolboxes and frame necks with part numbers dating to 1908. That supports an early history for Harley-Davidson decals, but it does not establish that the familiar present-day Bar & Shield was already in use in 1908—or that today’s design debuted in 1910.
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How has the logo changed over time?
Harley-Davidson’s account describes a succession of marks and uses, rather than a single design that remained visually identical. Shield shape, typeface and color treatments varied across catalogs, posters, packaging and accessories. The timeline distinguishes documented use of the early mark from the later revival of the modern version.
| Date | What the record describes | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1908 | Part numbers for wet-transfer decals are traced to this year. | Toolbox and frame-neck accessories; not proof the modern logo was already in use. |
| May 6, 1910 | A 1930 trademark application cited this as the start of continuous use. | Claim quoted in the Harley-Davidson Archives account. |
| July 19, 1910 | Official trademark application filed; an example also survives on a 1910 catalog back cover. | Trademark and print evidence. |
| 1922 | Black and orange became closely associated with the emblem. | Parts-and-accessories packaging. |
| 1931–1932 | The design now used as the modern Bar & Shield appeared as a monogram patch. | Patch, not a motorcycle gas tank. |
| 1963 model year / by 1964 | The diamond logo appeared on motorcycle tanks for the 1963 model year; by 1964, two simplified, modernized versions had replaced the earlier logo. | Motorcycle gas tanks and the broader simplified-logo period. |
| 1976 | Harley-Davidson revived the present-day design. | Modern Bar & Shield returns. |
| 1977 | The present-day logo first appeared on a motorcycle gas tank, according to Harley-Davidson. | XLCR Café Racer. |
Dates and design details in this timeline come from the Harley-Davidson Archives’ Bar & Shield history and the company’s account of how the modern Bar & Shield became an icon.
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Early Bar & Shield forms
The earliest records show an evolving mark, with variations in shield shape and typeface. The Archives describes different treatments across printed materials, so color or lettering in one surviving example should not be taken as a universal specification for every early use.
Black and orange
The Archives traces the close association of black and orange with the logo to around 1922, when those colors appeared on parts-and-accessories packaging. Other printed uses could have different colors; the evidence does not support saying every early Bar & Shield was black and orange.
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The simplified marks of the 1960s
For the 1963 model year, Harley-Davidson says a simplified design informally known as the “diamond logo” first appeared on motorcycle gas tanks. By 1964, two simplified, modernized versions had replaced the earlier logo. These marks belong to a distinct design period rather than being versions of the present-day shield.
The modern design’s return
The modern Bar & Shield had appeared before its 1976 revival, but not as a continuously used tank logo. Harley-Davidson says it was used on a flyer in 1917 and sold as a monogram patch in 1931 and 1932. The company identifies the 1977 XLCR Café Racer as the first motorcycle gas tank to carry the present-day version. Harley-Davidson: How the Modern Bar & Shield Became an Icon
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What the history establishes—and what it does not
- Established: Harley-Davidson documents logo use in 1910 through a trademark application and a surviving catalog example.
- Established: Early forms varied; black and orange became closely associated with the emblem around 1922.
- Established: Simplified marks emerged in the 1960s, and the modern design was revived in 1976 before appearing on the XLCR’s tank in 1977.
- Not established: The identity of the original designer, the design’s inspiration, or a single unchanged appearance from the earliest records onward.
- Not established: That the familiar modern mark was in use in 1908; the dated evidence from that year concerns accessory decal part numbers.
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