Harley-Davidson enthusiasts and motorcycle aficionados, even those longing for the Indian brand or captivated by foreign imports, may have good reason to tune into three-night mini-series “Harley and the Davidsons.”

If ever a cable television series was so clearly targeted to a specific audience, this ambitious effort from the Discovery Channel knows how to appeal to those with the free-spirited love of the open road.

The meticulous reenactment of early motorcycle history at the turn of the 20th Century, which must have been a costly production investment, is practically a love letter to the Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. The Harley-Davidson name is a brand so instantly recognizable that even people who have never ridden a two-wheel vehicle with more power than a self-peddled bicycle can understand the appeal of a motorbike’s speed and power.

In the very early 20th century, young men from immigrant families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin grasped the possibilities of expanding upon the popular notion of motorizing the bicycle for greater and easier mobility.

A young Bill Harley (Robert Aramayo), whose parents pushed him to the academic pursuit of mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, was a terrific designer who drafted the plans for motorcycle prototypes.

His best friend, Arthur Davidson (Bug Hall), believed in the dream and found that teaming up with his older brother Walter and Harley would help him escape the family scorn of being a shiftless schemer.

Walter Davidson (Michiel Huisman) looked for a venture that was a chance to escape the confines of society by building a motorbike that would allow one to ignore the rules and to go anywhere and ride hard.

During the early stage of the first episode, Walter, who was willing to sacrifice everything for his acres of farmland, had it all taken from him by a railroad baron seizing his property through a shady execution of eminent domain.

“Harley and the Davidsons” charts the birth of the iconic motorcycle during a time of great social and technological change. But more than that, it chronicles the challenges for Harley and the Davidson brothers.

For Walter, Arthur and Bill risked their entire meager fortune and livelihood to launch the budding enterprise in the face of stiff and ruthless competition on a road to success filled with innumerable obstacles and extraordinary risks both financial and physical.

The mini-series may be faulted for not fully developing its central and minor characters to any meaningful extent. There is never a sense that the personal histories of Walter, Arthur and Bill go too far beyond the superficial.

The villains of the piece don’t fare much better, considering that the two primary rivals were depicted, almost literally, as the mustache-twirling types.

The co-founder of the Indian motorcycle, George Hendee (Philip Brodie), apparently willing to cheat, gleefully revels in every opportunity to upstage Harley and the Davidson brothers at any public event.

The other chief business rival to Harley-Davidson is Dougray Scott’s Randall James, but his character is truly one-dimensional and not much else is revealed about his motivations beyond his hatred for Walter, Arthur and Bill.

Other characters are even greater ciphers in the business climate or bike racing world. Bankers and lawyers are predictably involved in various affairs attempting to trip up the heroic entrepreneurs, but they are eminently forgettable.

The essence of “Harley and the Davidsons” is the focus on the motorcycle itself, whether during the detailed planning and production phases to the more exciting motorbike races occurring with enough frequency to fascinate those who love a good chase.

The passion for motorcycle racing is not only what draws Walter to the family enterprise, but it is the motivating factor that propels the industry to take risks with fortunes and lives.

Daredevil exploits put Harley-Davidson on the map, as Walter had a ferocious ambition to become a top motorcycle racer while competing in even deadly competitions, most notably the hazardous “motordrome” races on the wooden planks of an oval course.

“Harley and the Davidsons” also explores how an Army contract during World War I to provide bikes and training to soldiers and surviving the industry decimation of the Great Depression allowed Harley-Davidson to defy the odds.

The rest, as they say, is history, since we already know that Harley-Davidson remains to this very day an iconic brand of Americana, respected in various quarters all over the world.

The Discovery Channel is not really known for scripted programming, but “Harley and the Davidsons” is, at least, an interesting effort to break new ground.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.