Willie G. is the grandson of one of the original founders of Harley-Davidson Motor Company. A native of Wisconsin, Davidson attended the University of Wisconsin for three years before transferring to the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. There, he was a classmate of Jack Telnack, the father of the Taurus automobile at Ford Motor Company.

He spent more than five years with Brook Stevens Associates, designing products ranging from furniture to outboard motors. Davidson joined Harley-Davidson in 1963, when he was invited to set-up its motorcycle design department. In 1981, Davidson was one of 13 executives who raised more than $75 million to purchase Harley-Davidson from AMF Incorporated.

His artistic vision and passion for riding have made him a legend among throngs of enthusiasts worldwide who consider him the patriarch of motorcycling.

The celebrations won't end with the ceremony. On Sunday, a charity ride starting at A.B.C. Harley-Davidson will take riders to the Eye on Design Classic car show which happens to include some motorcycles this year.

The show is expected to have 236 cars and about 25 motorcycles, including vintage racers, 1950s and ’60s convertibles and of course, muscle cars. Set in the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in a Detroit suburb that touches a picturesque lake, the show benefits the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology.

The last note leads to one of the interesting facets of this event, each category is judged by a group of young visually-impaired people who rate the entries by comparing the curves of the fenders and angles of the designs. Wearing white cotton gloves, they go over a dozen or so cars and decide the winner by touch.

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