Market Friday...for Harley Davidson Fans.

'For Harley Davidson Fans.'

This is my entry for this weeks Market Friday challenge organized by @dswigle

One of the highlights for many at The Coolys Rocks On Festival in Coolangatta, Gold Coast, Australia was the magnificent display of Harley Davidson bikes.

I heard them before I saw them and the sound was unmistakable as keen fans tried out a variety of Harley Davidson bikes. How many of them were in the market to buy as opposed to still fantasizing about owning one or just living their dream of sitting astride one? It was hard to tell. But what was clearly obvious, was the excitement of everyone admiring these shiny, superb machines.

It was hard to hear what people were saying over the noise but body language spoke volumes.

Founded in 1903, Harley-Davidson is an American motorcycle manufacturing company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Harley-Davidson was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers who survived the Great Depression, along with Indian.

Over the years, Harley-Davidson has survived multiple ownership and subsidiary arrangements whilst suffering times of poor economic health and quality issues. It has also needed to deal with intense global competition. Despite all these trials, Harley-Davidson is now recognized as one of the world's largest motorcycle manufacturers. This iconic brand has loyal club members who regularly attend club events around the world.

Harley-Davidson is noted for a style of customization that gave rise to the chopper motorcycle style. The company traditionally marketed heavyweight, air-cooled cruiser motorcycles with engine displacements greater than 700 cc, but it has broadened its offerings to include more contemporary VRSC (2002) and middle-weight Street (2015) platforms.

Harley-Davidson manufactures its motorcycles at factories in York, Pennsylvania; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Kansas City, Missouri (closing); Manaus, Brazil; and Bawal, India. Construction of a new plant in Thailand is scheduled to begin in late 2018.[5] The company markets its products worldwide, and also licenses and markets merchandise under the Harley-Davidson brand, among them apparel, home decor and ornaments, accessories, toys, scale figures of its motorcycles, and video games based on its motorcycle line and the community.

In 1901, 20 year-old William S. Harley drew up plans for a small engine with a displacement of 7.07 cubic inches (116 cc) and four-inch (102 mm) flywheels designed for use in a regular pedal-bicycle frame. Over the next two years, he and his childhood friend Arthur Davidson worked on their motor-bicycle using the northside Milwaukee machine shop at the home of their friend Henry Melk. It was finished in 1903 with the help of Arthur's brother Walter Davidson. Upon testing their power-cycle, Harley and the Davidson brothers found it unable to climb the hills around Milwaukee without pedal assistance, and they wrote off their first motor-bicycle as a valuable learning experiment.

Harley and the Davidson brothers built their first factory on Chestnut Street in 1906. 50 motorcycles were produced that year. During WW1, the US military demanded motorcycles for the war effort and they ended up purchasing over 20,000 motorcycles from Harley-Davidson. By the year 1920 they had produced 28,189 machines and had dealers established in 67 countries making them the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

Otto Walker was responsible for setting a record on a H-D with it being the first motorcycle to win a race with an average speed of more than 100 mph (160 km/h)

Sales dropped dramatically during The Great Depression but in 1934, H-D unveiled a new lineup which included a flathead engine and Art Deco styling. Factors which helped them survive The great Depression were designing and building a three-wheeled delivery vehicle called the Servi-Car and these continued to be produced right up until 1973.

H-D again provided huge numbers of motorcycles during WW11 for the US army and consequently continued their production for the general public post war. Their range included large V-twin motorcycles which were successful in the private sector and on racetracks.

Due to their supply of over 90,000 military motorcycles, many of which were provided for the allies, H-D received two Army-Navy 'E' Awards, one in 1943 and the other in 1945, which were awarded for Excellence in Production.

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Japanese sales of H-D’s began in 1912 and in 1929 to 1958 Harley-Davidsons were produced in Japan under license to an Internal Combustion Company called Rikuo. Then in 1998, the very first H-D factory outside the US opened in Manaus, Brazil, capitalizing on their free economic zone. The aim for this location was to attract motorcycle sales in the southern hemisphere.

In September 2003, as a highlight to their 100th Anniversary, Harley-Davidson hired Elton John to headline this special event on September 1, 2003. The Doobie Brothers, Kid Rock, and Tim McGraw also performed for this historical occasion.

On February 1, 1994, the company filed a sound trademark application for the distinctive sound of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine: "The mark consists of the exhaust sound of applicant's motorcycles, produced by V-twin, common crankpin motorcycle engines when the goods are in use". Nine of Harley-Davidson's competitors filed comments opposing the application, arguing that cruiser-style motorcycles of various brands use a single-crankpin V-twin engine which produce a similar sound.[112] These objections were followed by litigation. In June 2000, the company dropped efforts to federally register its trademark.

Following a Harley-Davidson study in 1987, half of all Harley riders were under age 35. That changed to only 15 percent of Harley buyers being under 35, but by 2005, the median age had risen to just over 46 years of age. Unfortunately for lovers of statistics, Harley-Davidson stopped disclosing the average age of riders in 2008, which at that point, was 48 years of age. Judging by the motorcycle riders I see in Queensland, Australia, the majority would be baby boomers. Fans of the H-D brand are fiercely loyal and the logo accounted for nearly 5% of the company’s net revenue ($41 million in 2004) The oldest H-D club which exists today was founded in Prague in 1928.

Harley-Davidson established the Harley Owners Group (HOG) in 1983 to build on the loyalty of Harley-Davidson enthusiasts as a means to promote a lifestyle alongside its products. The HOG also opened new revenue streams for the company, with the production of tie-in merchandise offered to club members, numbering more than one million.

Other motorcycle brands, and other and consumer brands outside motorcycling, have also tried to create factory-sponsored community marketing clubs of their own. HOG members typically spend 30 percent more than other Harley owners on such items as clothing and Harley-Davidson-sponsored events.

In 1991, HOG went international, with the first official European HOG Rally in Cheltenham, England.[174] Today, more than one million members and more than 1400 chapters worldwide make HOG the largest factory-sponsored motorcycle organization in the world.

Four of Harley-Davidson factories provide tours at their manufacturing sites, including the Harley-Davidson Museum, which opened in 2008. Exhibits cover Harley-Davidson's history, culture, vehicles, and also includes the motor company's corporate archives.

Since their 90th anniversary in 1993, Harley-Davidson has held celebratory rides to Milwaukee. They are called the "Ride Home" and this tradition has continued every five years. It is referred to unofficially as "Harleyfest", continuing the theme of other Milwaukee's festivals such as Summerfest, German fest, and Festa Italiana. This event attracts Harley riders from all around the world.

The 110th anniversary celebration was held on August 29–31, 2013 and the 115th anniversary took place in Prague, Czech Republic, which the home country of the oldest existing Harley Davidson Club. In July 5–8, 2018 the evet attracted more than 100.000 visitors and 60.000 bikes.

Source:

I thought I'd treat you to a digitized version from one of my original photos of this Harley- Davidson fan. He and 'his' motorcycle were made for each other, don't you agree?

THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.

If you'd like to check out my previous blogs about the Coolys rocks On Festival Click Here:

Part #1

Part #2
Part #3*