AUG 30, 2003

Ride on, Harley

Harley Davidson enthusiasts taking in one of the early bikes from 1905. They were at an event in Milwaukee in the US, to mark the American icon's 100th anniversary. -- REUTERS

NEW YORK - As Harley-Davidson motorcycles roll into their 100th anniversary this week, owners and collectors are celebrating an American icon that has come to represent cool - at a growing price tag. The 'tough-guy' image costs buyers of a new Harley-Davidson as much as US$150,000 (S$263,000) for rare, early models in Japan, a major market for Americana.

The company - founded in 1903 by William Harley and Arthur Davidson - embraced that image in recent decades as 'bad' became marketably 'cool' and rock 'n' roll became mainstream.

-- Reuters

August 30, 2003

Fans kick-start Harley's 100th anniversary

MILWAUKEE - Blair Kane couldn't celebrate Harley-Davidson's 100th anniversary without his two young daughters.

So he tucked them into his Road King's sidecar and rumbled to Milwaukee with his wife perched behind him - for all 4,023km from their home in British Columbia, Canada.

'It's boring in the (family) truck,' said 7-year-old Stephanie, preferring the black sidecar stenciled with Two Peas in a Pod on back.

Kane, a Harley dealership owner, and his family were among thousands of Harley lovers who roared into southeastern Wisconsin to celebrate the motorcycle maker's centennial. The four-day celebration started on Thursday with fireworks blasted from the roof of the firm's downtown headquarters.

Harleys lined the streets, and their distinctive growl reverberated downtown. Riders in black leather and denim checked out other bikes and soaked up the all-Harley atmosphere.

John Kavanagh, 43, also didn't let distance deter him from the party. He shipped his motorcycle from his home in Australia to San Francisco, where he reclaimed it for the trip to Milwaukee.

'I have a long history of riding Harleys. I'll probably ride my bike to the 200th,' joked Kavanagh, who browsed the motorcycle exhibits along the lakefront.

In one exhibition tent, Elvis Presley's 1956 orange-and-white Model KH was parked next to Jon Bon Jovi's red-and-white 1986 Heritage Softail.

In another, a 1960 Sportster with a fuzzy seat cover and the words 'Mrs Sup Jr' painted on its blue-and-white gas tank contrasted with the 1927 olive green Peashooter racer with its turned-down handlebars.

Gleaming 2004 models in all colours lined up under another tent.

The celebration, expected to draw up to 300,000 people, also features a parade of 10,000 Harleys through the city on Saturday and a birthday party with music and fireworks on Sunday.

Harley dealerships and cities around southeastern Wisconsin marked the anniversary with rallies or parties of their own throughout the week.

Tom and Suegayle Lucas of Detroit turned Harley's 100th birthday into a monthlong trip across the country on their pearl-white Heritage Softail. They cruised through 11,263km in 16 states before pulling into Milwaukee.

'Our bike has dirt on it from every state,' said Suegayle Lucas, 56. 'We won't wash our bike until we get home.'

Hogs on parade for 100th anniversary

10,000 rumbling Harleys cruise through Milwaukee

Saturday, August 30, 2003 Posted: 1811 GMT ( 2:11 AM HKT)

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- Ten thousand Harley riders wearing anything from Hog masks and feather boas to black leather roared through the city Saturday on an 8-mile parade celebrating Harley-Davidson's 100th anniversary. The event was as much a tapestry of red, white and blue as the motorcycle icon's signature orange and black. One Harley rider festooned his bike with two dozen American flags.

One of the 10,000 motorcycles participating in the official Harley-Davidson parade rides through downtown Milwaukee on Saturday.

Willie G. Davidson, a grandson of Harley-Davidson's co-founder, and his wife, Nancy, led the parade, followed by riders on bikes toting large Harley flags representing riders' clubs from all over the world.

"It just shows the diversity of people, how they can get together for a celebration like the Harley-Davidson anniversary," said Bob Boyd, 67, who rode his 2003 Dyna Wide Glide Harley from his farm in London, Ontario.

"This Canadian feels part of the American spirit. We're family."

Some of the motorcyclists were picked to participate in the parade because they had raised at least $5,300 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Harley has a 23-year history with the association and hoped to raise more than $5 million for the group during the Labor Day weekend.

The parade was one of the highlights of Harley's four-day anniversary celebration, which also includes motorcycle exhibits, memorabilia sales and live entertainment centered along Lake Michigan's shoreline.

As spectators in T-shirts and shorts mingled with those in denim and leather, at least one neighbor worried about the noise Saturday. The Milwaukee County Zoo took precautions to protect its more than 2,000 animals from the roar in the parking lot just outside, where the parade began, keeping many of the animals inside until the riders were gone.

The celebration, expected to draw 200,000 to 300,000 people, concludes Sunday with a birthday party featuring music and fireworks beside Lake Michigan.

Harley-Davidson Thinks Young as It Turns 100

Fri August 29, 2003 04:25 PM ET

By Susan Kelly

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Dennis Stamm, a lifelong Harley-Davidson rider, remembers getting around town on the back of his father's motorcycle when he was a boy and the family of five had no car.

"I was born and raised with Harleys," said the 61-year-old machinist from Leesport, Pennsylvania, wearing a black leather cap and T-shirt promoting his local Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) club.

After raising three children of his own and working two jobs most of his life, the open road beckons. Riding a custom Electra Glide touring bike, he is among hundreds of thousands of Harley faithful who have made the cross-country pilgrimage to this blue-collar Midwest city to mark the manufacturer's 100th anniversary.

"To me, it's family. It's tradition," he said. "You ride and forget all your worries in the world. You just think about getting out in the fresh air and having a good time."

At times the roar of the engines was deafening as Harley enthusiasts from across the country converged in a blur of chrome, wheels and leather to pay homage as much to the Harley lifestyle as to the manufacturer's status as a bona fide American legend.

The Milwaukee celebration, capping a yearlong blitz of parties, rides and record revenue boosted by sales of special-edition bikes and Harley-Davidson Inc. anniversary memorabilia, attracts the most die-hard of Harley loyalists.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said a jittery Bob Rietzler, 56, just minutes before marrying his sweetheart under the midday sun in a makeshift chapel in the parking lot behind Harley-Davidson's red-brick headquarters in downtown Milwaukee.

The bride, Lisa Dibrino, wearing a red dress, arrived in a sidecar attached to a Harley bike as the groom looked on, his long, wavy gray hair flowing over the shoulders of his silver-studded tuxedo.

RIDERS WELCOMED 'HOME'

Company-sponsored anniversary events, from parades and concerts to drag-racing demonstrations, began on Thursday and continue through the Labor Day weekend. Activities were spread out across several venues near the city's lakefront, snarling traffic along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

The experience only seemed to energize local residents, who stood on highway overpasses holding signs welcoming the riders "home" to Milwaukee, and the mostly middle-aged bikers who waved back.

"We learned a lot about America during this trip. The villages are really very small," said Herman Weltns, a 58-year-old German engineering executive at Tenneco Automotive Inc. who got his first Harley when he turned 40. Weltns traveled from Germany to attend the celebration, taking the back roads after arriving in Detroit.

Harley-Davidson, which survived the Great Depression and rebounded after foreign competition drove the company to near-bankruptcy in 1985, today is revered as much by Wall Street as by its loyal customers.

Its bikes can carry price tags upward of $30,000 when outfitted with custom colors and accessories.

Vern Berreth, 54, the owner of an auto parts store in Denver said: "What I like about Harley is the accessories. You can make each bike your own."

To broaden its appeal beyond the legions of affluent, but aging baby boomers, Harley has revamped its line of entry-level Sportster bikes and rolled out stylish new models of its V-Rod "power" cruisers. The 2004 bikes were unveiled to the public during the Milwaukee celebration.

Harley is hoping to attract more of the younger riders like Chris Steinmetz into the fold.

Steinmetz, a 28-year-old Chicago firefighter, bought his first Harley, an $11,000 Sportster model, last year. He chose a Harley, he said, even though it was a stretch to afford.

"It was the only one I wanted to get," said Steinmetz, who admitted to "peer pressure" from co-workers to buy a Harley.

"There's something about a Harley. They are just noisier and cooler," he said.

Harley fans kick-start 100th anniversary party

Thursday, August 28, 2003 Posted: 2000 GMT ( 4:00 AM HKT)

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- Harley-Davidson enthusiasts from around the nation and the world were roaring into town as the legendary motorcycle maker geared up for its centennial celebration. Harley's four-day event starts Thursday and was expected to draw 200,000 to 300,000 people. The festivities center on Milwaukee's lakefront and include a parade of 10,000 Harleys through the city. People waved from freeway bridges Wednesday to welcome riders streaming in from across the nation. Several accidents involving motorcycles snarled freeway traffic at times.

Harley-Davidson riders arrive Wednesday in West Bend, Wisconsin, for anniversary celebrations.

"I'm loving it. I'm here. I made it through Chicago," said Rhonda Racklisse, who rode some 1,800 miles from Minot, Maine.

She said she started riding her own Harley a year ago after spending years on the back of her husband's bike.

"I was bored riding in the back," she said.

This time, Rhonda and Randy Racklisse rode separate bikes, making the trip with their 20-year-old son, Josh, "to visit the best family in the world."

"We're all brothers and sisters," she said.

Dave and Rita Chester from Philadelphia stopped at a truck stop on their way and encountered 11 people from England, also riding Harleys to the celebration.

"It's just like a fraternity, a massive club, where everyone has one commonality, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle," he said.

The grand finale Sunday will be a 100th birthday party with music and fireworks at the Lake Michigan shore.

Classic rock acts such as Kansas, Peter Frampton and REO Speedwagon will perform, and 80,000 square feet of exhibits will showcase antique motorcycles, clothing, film clips and bikes owned by Elvis Presley and Jon Bon Jovi.

On Wednesday, Harley provided an early start for many riders by marking the first 20 years of HOG, or Harley Owners Group.

Up to 100,000 motorcyclists were expected to cruise through the annual HOG rally at the Washington County Fair Park at West Bend, 30 miles north of Milwaukee, by the time it ends Saturday night.

The company started the club in 1983 as a way to allow people to share the Harley experience.

About 30,000 riders joined in its first year, and the group now numbers about 750,000 in more than 1,300 chapters worldwide. Members meet regularly for rides, parties, fund-raisers, motorcycle seminars and other events.

Frank Lamantia of New York City said he rode a motorcycle as a young man but gave up his bike in 1988 when he had a son. He got another motorcycle in 2001, and hooked up with HOG to find people to ride with.

"Now it's a form of recreation for me," he said. "You can ride around or you can ride with a group, but you're also an individual so you make your bike individual" through the selection of accessories.

Collectors yearn for old Harley bikes

Classic Harley-Davidson motorcycles more than hold their value.

August 28, 2003: 9:52 PM EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As Harley-Davidson Inc. motorcycles roll into their 100th anniversary this week, owners and collectors are celebrating an American icon that has come to represent coolness and badness worldwide -- at a growing price tag.

This image costs buyers of a new Harley-Davidson $8,000 to $25,000 -- far more than other brands -- and as much as $150,000 for rare, early models in Japan, a major market for Americana.

"Many motorbikes look like Harleys, but a Harley sounds so different," said Lin Todd, a former helicopter pilot who, like other Harley fans, revels in the "heavy-throated, muscular sound" that other makers try unsuccessfully to imitate.

Even among newer models, "Harleys hold their value better than any other brand," added Mark Andrew, who works for a trucking company. He estimated that his fifth Harley, for which he paid $15,000 in 1998 and accessorized, could sell for up to $22,000 -- unless he trades it in at book value at a dealership.

Harley-Davidson's first production motorcycle

The loud roar of the engine -- which riders amplify by adjusting or removing the mufflers -- is just one aspect of the black leather, bad-boy image that Harley-Davidson tried to shake for most of its life. The company -- founded in 1903 by William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson, and joined later by Davidson's brothers Walter and William -- finally embraced that image in recent decades as "bad" became marketably "cool" and rock n' roll became mainstream.

"It's one of those images associated with freedom, individuality," said Bill Jack, senior archivist at Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "Riders talk about motorcycling as a peaceful experience, a frontier activity. There's a tribal nature to it. Information and history are passed on orally."

The aura of motorcycling has been popularized by movies such as Marlon Brando's "The Wild One" (1953), Steve McQueen's "The Great Escape" (1963) and, recently, "Bad Boys."

But this image goes back to the 1880s, when inventors such as Gottlieb Daimler in Germany motorized a bicycle with a gas engine. By the early 1900s, hundreds of companies were making these new loud and fast machines with no brakes or clutches.

Harleys were made especially rugged and heavy for the clayey muck of Milwaukee winters. The daredevil image stuck when in 1936, Harley-Davidson focused on the sports market to survive in competition with the cheap, plentiful automobiles rolling off Henry Ford's assembly line.

Collector value

Motorcycles from that period and earlier are the most valuable, because most were junked in a country that favored the new.

Models from 1905 to 1909 are now worth $80,000 to $150,000, according to Manabu Okada, owner of Semba, Japan's largest dealership. Taxes, freight and other charges push prices up in Japan, said the collector, whose grandfather started the business by buying up 200 military Harleys from the U.S. Army after World War Two. These models now sell for $13,000 to $18,000 on both sides of the Pacific.

This World War II Harley-Davidson military motorcycle was designed for desert use.

In 1971, when cheap, reliable Japanese motorcycles ruled the market, broken-down Harleys from the 1930s and 1940s sold for just $75 each, said Herbert Wagner, author of "At the Creation: Myth, Reality, and the Origin of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, 1901-1909". "You could get a runner for $300 to $400, he added.

Today, a restored 1936 Knucklehead -- named after the shape of its engine -- is worth $50,000 to $100,000, double the price in the mid-1980s. One completely restored model sold for $95,000 just six months ago in the United States, Okada said.

The Knucklehead, also called "the Blockhead" by Harley enthusiasts, was a milestone in design, with styled square blocks that housed the valves. It begat other innovative engines such as the Panhead (1948), Shovelhead (1966), Evolution (1983) and Twin Cam 88 (1999) for which collectors pay a premium prices.

In 1984 Harley-Davidson went public, and antique motorcycles sold for record prices at a auction after Steve McQueen's death, setting the tone for the secondary Harley market up till now. "What people want are unrestored original motorcycles, relatively unused," said Dale Walksler, who in 2000 sold his Harley-Davidson dealership and set up the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, with his personal collection.

Harley-Davidson's "Knucklehead" engine was introduced on this 1936 model.

High prices have spawned fakes. Last year, a totally fictitious "1908 Harley-Davidson racer" sold for $17,000 in an Internet auction. Concerned members of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America notified the buyer, who managed to get "most" of his money back, said Wagner, author of "Harley-Davidson 1930-1941: Revolutionary Motorcycles & Those Who Rode Them".

"He later sold it with a disclaimer, for a 'mere' $4,000," he said. "But it's still as phony as a $3 dollar bill."

To celebrate its 100th Anniversary, Harley-Davidson has released "100 Years of Harley-Davidson" (Bulfinch Press), by Willie G. Davidson, grandson of company co-founder William A. Davidson.

Transcripts

LIVE FROM...

Harley-Davidson Marks 100th Birthday

Aired August 28, 2003 - 15:42 ET

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Bikers celebrating a milestone as their beloved Harley turns 100 years old this weekend. True Hog believers will be celebrating for four days in Milwaukee.

One of those believers, our CNN's Keith Oppenheim, who is getting a little rebel side going.

I understand, Keith, you're surrounded by some major babes. Is that true?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, these are a couple women who are into the Harley thing. And since this is our live last shot of the day for you, Kyra, we decided to make it the best one with the help of Rose (ph) and Ginger (ph), both who bought new bikes.

And first, I'm going to start with Rose. Tell us about your bike, Rose, and why you picked that one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a 1200 Custom Sportster. It was shiny. I changed a little bit. I changed the front fender. I changed the rear fender. It was two-tone and I made it all silver. And I haven't ridden since high school, so I wanted to get something that's a little bit smaller for me because pushing it forward and backward, it's pretty heavy. It's about 500 pounds. So that was about the right size for me. I might upgrade in a couple years or something.

OPPENHEIM: Right, and that's what the idea is that you can always add to it.

And Ginger, on a similar idea, you've got a very similar bike. It's the 100th anniversary edition of the Fat Boy. Tell us a little bit about why you came to the 100th birthday event and what's in it for you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I came to be a part of a, you know, a great legend. Harley's been around for 100 years. It's an awesome bike, it's been a dream of mine since I was 19 to own my own bike. And I've been able to do that and we're just down here to have good, you know, safe fun.

OPPENHEIM: And you have your own business, and Rose, you're a hairstylist, both professional women who are getting into the biker thing. Do you find that, you know, since you're both very attractive young ladies, if I may say, that people come to these events treat you well, or is it different from that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, everybody does treat us well and with respect, you know? Nobody's really gone out of bounds or anything. It's been really nice. Everybody's -- there's just a bond between bikers. I mean, you wave, you see each other on the roads, you wave hi. It's just like a connection.

OPPENHEIM: All right. We would like both of you to get on your bikes right now, start them up, and let's hear the roar.

Go ahead. You, too, Rose. These are, again, the 100th anniversary edition of Fat Boys. Two new ones. Let's hear them nice and loud. And on that positive note, Kyra, I will say, good day. I'm having a good time.

PHILLIPS: Now, I want to know, Keith, are you going to get on the back of Rose's bike or Ginger's bike?

OPPENHEIM: Say that one more time.

PHILLIPS: Are you going to get on the back of Rose's bike or Ginger's bike?

OPPENHEIM: You know, I think that is really bad form here in Harley country. You can put anybody on the back except a guy behind a woman. You just don't see that around here.

PHILLIPS: Oh, you know what? I think the women would be more than happy. I think you need to drop that microphone, hop on, and one of these gals needs to take you out of that live shot.

OPPENHEIM: OK. Can I sit on the back of one of your bikes? There's a special request. OK. Good day. Here I go.

PHILLIPS: Here we go. That's right. Oh, that's what I'm talking about. Keith and Ginger, rebels with a cause. All right.

Harley Davidson stuff: Serious business

The famous motorcycle marque spreads its image in some surprising ways

August 28, 2003: 5:34 PM EDT

By Les Christie, CNN/Money Contributing Writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - For the motorcyclist, riding a Harley is a serious life choice. True-blue fans of the American icon, celebrating its 100th birthday this week, steep themselves in the Harley mystique, including all the trappings.

It goes beyond gloves, leather jackets, and helmets. Getting married to your best biking partner? Accessorize your wedding with cuff links, rings, ring pillow, and motorcycle cake topper, all adorned with the Harley logo.

Want to add spice to that Harley honeymoon? Pack your Harley saddlebags with a Harley bustier, garter belt, and thong.

And when that little biker comes along, pour your pennies into a Harley Davidson Hog Bank shaped like a fuel tank with ears and snout.

Harley dealerships sell all these products, more than 3,0000 items of clothing alone -- plus 1,200 seasonal clothing items -- directly to the public. The stores have transformed from greasy motorcycle shops into upscale emporiums, complete with fitting rooms.

Then there's Harley licensed merchandise, often a far cry from the company's well-known core competencies. Want to be the bad boy of the country club? A Harley-Davidson golf cart might do the trick. Has that weekly game of Yahtzee lost some zing? Try the Harley version. Got the Monday morning blues? Perk up with a cup of Biker Brew coffee.

You can get a breakaway collar for your cat, a Barbie or Ken doll for your child, and a Bobby, Little Biker Baby porcelain collectible for your mom.

Some of the goods fit the company image of macho risk-taking: shot glasses, cue balls, and Zippo cigarette lighters. But some of the licensed merchandise hardly conjures up a Harley connection; cologne, dolls and cell phones don't scream "motorcycle monomania."

For Harley, there's real dollar value in this merchandising effort. It sold $232 million worth of Harley-badged goodies in 2002, 41 percent more than just a year before. And although $36 million in royalties from licensing, up from $32 million in 2001, represents just a small percentage of Harley's $4 billion in total revenue, it carries extremely high profit margins.

More than anything, however, the goods represent successful brand marketing, something critical to Harley's future. Harley's motorcycle sales have soared; 290,000 motorcycles this year, compared with 202,000 in 2000, but the median age of Harley owners has reached 46, eight years older than the rest of the industry.

Associating its name with cool clothes, toys, and games enables the company to project and nurture its hard-won, youthful image, which will power its future sales.

Customers can even use a Harley Davidson Visa card to pay for purchases.

Retro-bikes gain ground

Names like Indian, Triumph and Royal Enfield are taking a page from Harley's classic playbook.

August 28, 2003: 5:37 PM EDT

By Les Christie, CNN/Money Contributing Writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - They're big, fast, and classically beautiful. Taking a page from Harley-Davidson, as well as their own predecessor's illustrious histories, three motorcycle makers --Indian Motorcycles, Triumph Motorcycles, and Vincent Motors -- are resurrecting, or attempting to resurrect, long-dead brand names with designs that echo the glory days of motorcycling.

A fourth entrant, Royal Enfield, makes a smaller bike that has never gone out of production overseas.

Part of the appeal of these classic heritage-type motorcycles is "to make a statement about one's individuality," said Eric Bass, who writes for the online motorcycle magazine, Motorcycle.com. "Buyers have a different mindset from someone buying a major brand."

For one thing, riders have to contend with bikes whose reliability tends to be lower and parts not easily available. "If you have a breakdown on the road," said Bass, "you may have to take up residence for a while." Many buyers of these classics, he noted, "enjoy fixing their bikes."

Indian chiefs

Indian was reborn in 1998 after a hiatus of 45 years. In its the old days, the Indian nameplate competed head to head with Harley in the heavy cruiser class. The modern Indian's designers looked directly to the past for inspiration.

"We use Indian DNA," said Lou Terhar, CEO of the new company. "We went through an extensive design process, brought in aficionados and dealers, to try to identify the factors that made an Indian an Indian." The company incorporates large cover fenders, front and rear, an Indian head on the front fender, and air covers replicating the original design, along with big, round barrels on the engine, to make the big (up to 1,633 cc) new bikes look like a blast from the past.

Some modern-day Indian buyers see the new bikes as a chance to realize an old dream. Perhaps when they were kids riding in the family car, they "caught a glimpse of that big lit up Indian head on the front, [and] it's been love ever since," Terhar theorized.

"We're building a major American Cruiser, aimed at a buyer who likes the retro look," said Terhar. "Customers buy it as a want, not as a need." Indian prices start at about $16,000 and go to $25,000.

Triumph

Triumph manufactures several contemporary looking motorcycles, including the newly launched Rocket III, which boasts a 2.3 liter motorcycle engine, the largest in a production bike, they say, and will be available starting in June 2004. But the company's best selling model in the United States, according to CEO of Triumph of America Mike Vaughan, is the Bonneville America, retro-designed from the 1969 Bonneville.

Vaughan says the new bike's "retro styling cues" include its teardrop-shaped tank with Triumph logo, instrument-array positioning, and faux tool-box hanger.

The Bonneville targets the baby boomer market, but "we're picking up younger and older customers as well," said Vaughan. The bikes sell for between $6,999 and $8,400.

Vincent

Vincent motorcycles never sold in the same numbers as Indian or Triumph (a new Vincent in the early 1950s cost about the same as a small house). But fans admired the bikes for their technologically advanced designs and powerful engines. A Vincent set a speed record of more than 150 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1948. Seven years later, however, the company folded.

In 1994 a San Diego businessman, Bernard Li, began working to bring the bike back. In October 2002 he unveiled five prototypes including the Black Lightning S, based on the 1955 Black Lightning.

Li said the Vincent will be more of a "performance bike." At 400 pounds, it's lighter than any Harley and is powered by a 130 horsepower engine. If all goes well Li will begin filling orders in 2005. The Black Lightning S, he said, will sell for about $20,000.

Royal Enfield

Royal Enfield motorcycles are more than just "retro-styled"; the company has never made a more contemporary design. The company is "basically recreating this prehistoric Enfield bike and selling them new," said Bass.

Originally a British bike, its manufacture was transferred to India in 1955. The company has never updated the bike's look. The two U.S. Classic models sold in the United States, in 350 cc and 500 cc designs, are fully compliant with federal safety standards and emission requirements, however.

Larry Sahagian, the general manager for Enfield Classic Motorworks, the bike's importer, says the bike's mechanical design is both simple and robust. "We've been building the same bike for nearly 50 years," he said, "and consistently improving. You can run the wheels off of them cruising at 55 or 60 miles per hour. They won't break down."

Royal Enfield began selling bikes in the United States in 1996 and now imports about 500 a year. Its customers are mostly 40 plus-year-old hobbyists adding to their collections of from one to 10 other motorcycles, according to Sahagian. "It's a fun product to use to relive the past," he said. Prices range from about $3,500 to $4,400.

Harley cruises into second century

Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Posted: 1405 GMT (10:05 PM HKT)

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Harley-Davidson, the iconic motorcycle maker whose bikes call to mind leather-clad easy riders cruising down the open road, has reached its centennial, surviving the Depression and near-bankruptcy to become an American success story. Along the way, the company has collected thousands of fans who love the freedom-of-the-road lifestyle and the bike's classic chrome-and-metal look, dependability and a distinctive engine rumble known to Harley riders as "potato, potato, potato.''

More than 100,000 enthusiests are expected in the Milwaukee area for the company's week-long 100th anniversary celebration.

Harley-Davidson is also celebrating a 46 percent share of the North American heavyweight motorcycle market, an impressive showing for the company that William Harley and Arthur Davidson started in a wooden shed.

"When they're buying a Harley, they're buying an image and a lifestyle first, and a motorcycle second,'' Tim Conder, an industry analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons brokerage firm, said of Harley buyers.

At least 250,000 visitors are expected to make the pilgrimage to Milwaukee in the next week for Harley-Davidson's 100th anniversary blowout. The bash will feature motorcycle stunts, music, bike exhibits, merchandise sales and plenty of partying _ along with the constant rumble from all the bikes.

"This place is not going to be quiet,'' said promotions director Brett Rushon.

Analysts say Harley has to do more to ensure its next 100 years are a success. Aging baby boomers form Harley-Davidson's customer base, and the number of those buyers is likely to decrease as they get older.

"Harley will rightly argue they have plenty of boomers left. But in the long term, the most critical issue of Harley is whether buyers will start looking at Harley as the old guy's bike,'' said Don Brown, an independent motorcycle analyst in Irvine, Calif.

Market share figures point out the company's potential weaknesses. Although Harley dominates the North American heavyweight market, it comes in second to Honda in the overall U.S. market, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council. Younger riders and those overseas prefer the faster Japanese sports bikes that cost less than the $15,000-plus price tags most Harleys carry. But for Harley fans, owning one of the bikes -- known affectionately as "hogs'' -- has been a transcendent experience.

Bleustein and 12 executives bought Harley in 1981, and began fixing its finances and quality.

"Getting your first Harley is like having your first love, sometimes more,'' said George Miller, a 46-year-old Harley rider who works at a Houston refinery.

The company and its hefty motorcycles have left indelible marks on American culture -- giving rise to the rebellious motorcycle culture immortalized in the movies "The Wild One'' in 1953 and "Easy Rider'' in 1969. That has helped feed a side business of merchandise, including leather jackets, that bear the famed black, white and orange Harley-Davidson logo.

The company worked to clean up its rough-and-tumble image in the 1980s, but CEO Jeffrey Bleustein said it still has drawing power.

"It certainly doesn't hurt if there's a little bit of naughty in the image,'' he said. ``We wouldn't want to be too sterile.''

Harley's first century wasn't always easy. The company overcame the advent of the automobile, the Depression and two World Wars to emerge in 1953 as America's only major motorcycle maker. But then came a flood of inexpensive imports mid-century and a merger with American Machine and Foundry Co. in 1969. Harley's quality soured, and AMF put the company up for sale in 1980.

Bleustein and 12 executives bought Harley in 1981, and began fixing its finances and quality.

At the company's urging, the government imposed five-year tariffs in 1983 on imported heavyweight motorcycles. That helped, but Harley squeaked by bankruptcy in 1985 after it finessed new financing.

"You consider in 1981, we were beg, borrowing and stealing every penny we could get to invest in this company, not knowing where our future might take us,'' said Willie G. Davidson, chief styling officer and grandson of a founder. "That's an amazing success story.''

To attract new customers, Harley two years ago introduced the sleek V-Rod, its first bike with a liquid-cooled engine, said Bob Simonson, an industry analyst with William Blair and Co.

Harley is now launching a second bike into the V-Rod's family and is redesigning its Sportster family of entry-level, lower-priced bikes in an appeal to younger riders and women.

The company also has a subsidiary, Buell Motorcycle, that makes sports bikes, but it only accounted for 4 percent of Harley's bike shipments last year, according to company figures.

"We are going to continue to give attention to what is our classical product line because it's classical,'' Bleustein said. "But at the same time we'll see a lot of other activities that are geared toward reaching out to other new customers.''

Assets: Harley-Davidson motorbikes rev up in 100th yr

Wed August 27, 2003 02:41 PM ET

By Richard Chang

NEW YORK, Aug 27 (Reuters) - As Harley-Davidson Inc. motorcycles roll into their 100th anniversary this week, owners and collectors are celebrating an American icon that has come to represent coolness and badness worldwide -- at a growing price tag. This image costs buyers of a new Harley-Davidson $8,000 to $25,000 -- far more than other brands -- and as much as $150,000 for rare, early models in Japan, a major market for Americana.

"Many motorbikes look like Harleys, but a Harley sounds so different," said Lin Todd, a former helicopter pilot who, like other Harley fans, revels in the "heavy-throated, muscular sound" that other makers try unsuccessfully to imitate.

Even among newer models, "Harleys hold their value better than any other brand," added Mark Andrew, who works for a trucking company. He estimated that his fifth Harley, for which he paid $15,000 in 1998 and accessorized, could sell for up to $22,000 -- unless he trades it in at book value at a dealership.

The loud roar of the engine -- which riders amplify by adjusting or removing the mufflers -- is just one aspect of the black leather, bad-boy image that Harley-Davidson HDI.N tried to shake for most of its life. The company -- founded in 1903 by William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson, and joined later by Davidson's brothers Walter and William -- finally embraced that image in recent decades as "bad" became marketably "cool" and rock n' roll became mainstream.

"It's one of those images associated with freedom, individuality," said Bill Jack, senior archivist at Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "Riders talk about motorcycling as a peaceful experience, a frontier activity. There's a tribal nature to it. Information and history are passed on orally."

That motorcycling aura has been popularized by movies such as Marlon Brando's "The Wild One" (1953), Steve McQueen's "The Great Escape" (1963), and recently, "Bad Boys."

But this image goes back to the 1880s, when inventors such as Gottlieb Daimler in Germany motorized a bicycle with a gas engine. By the early 1900s, hundreds of companies were making these new loud and fast machines with no brakes or clutches that posed a danger to pedestrians and horses on the road.

Harleys were made especially rugged and heavy for the clayey muck in Milwaukee in the winter. The daredevil image stuck when in 1936, Harley-Davidson focused on the sports market to survive the plentiful cheap automobiles rolling off Henry Ford's assembly line on to the roads.

Motorcycles from that period and earlier are the most valuable, because most were junked in a country that favored the new.

Models from 1905 to 1909 are now worth $80,000 to $150,000, according to Manabu Okada, owner of Semba, Japan's largest dealership (http:/www.semba.co.jp/). Taxes, freight and other charges push prices up in Japan, said the collector, whose grandfather started the business by buying up 200 military Harleys from the U.S. Army after World War Two. These models now sell for $13,000 to $18,000 on both sides of the Pacific.

In 1971, when cheap, reliable Japanese motorcycles ruled the market, broken-down Harleys from the 1930s and 1940s sold for just $75 each, said Herbert Wagner, author of "At the Creation: Myth, Reality, and the Origin of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, 1901-1909" (http:/www.atthecreation.com).

"You could get a runner for $300 to $400, he added.

Today, a restored 1936 Knucklehead -- named after the shape of its engine -- is worth $50,000 to $100,000, double the price in the mid-1980s. One completely restored model sold for $95,000 just six months ago in the United States, Okada said.

The Knucklehead, also called "the Blockhead" by Harley enthusiasts, was a milestone in design, with styled square blocks that housed the valves. It begat other innovative engines such as the Panhead (1948), Shovelhead (1966), Evolution (1983) and Twin Cam 88 (1999) that collectors pay a premium for in landmark models.

In 1984 Harley-Davidson went public, and antique motorcycles sold for record prices at a auction after Steve McQueen's death, setting the tone for the secondary Harley market up till now.

"What people want are unrestored original motorcycles, relatively unused," said Dale Walksler, who in 2000 sold his Harley-Davidson dealership and set up the Wheels Through Time Museum (http:/www.wheelsthroughtime.com) in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, with his personal collection.

High prices have spawned fakes. Last year, a totally fictitious "1908 Harley-Davidson racer" sold for $17,000 in an Internet auction. Concerned members of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America (http:/www.antiquemotorcycle.org) notified the buyer, who managed to get "most" of his money back, said Wagner, author of "Harley-Davidson 1930-1941: Revolutionary Motorcycles & Those Who Rode Them" (Schiffer, http:/www.schifferbooks.com).

"He later sold it with a disclaimer, for a 'mere' $4,000," he said. "But it's still as phony as a $3 dollar bill."

To celebrate its 100th Anniversary, Harley-Davidson has released "100 Years of Harley-Davidson" (Bulfinch Press), by Willie G. Davidson, grandson of company co-founder William A. Davidson.

August 23, 2003

An American icon turns 100

CHICAGO - In 1903, the same year Henry Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company and the Wright brothers first flew, William Harley and his friends Arthur and Walter Davidson launched the Harley-Davidson Motor Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

From the beginning, one of the bike's most distinguishing characteristics was the distinct cadence of its engine in idle -- an uneven, syncopated rhythm Harley describes as 'pop, pop, pause'.

Down the years, Harley engineers added other design features: a 45 degree V-twin motor was introduced in 1909, the 'Bar and Shield' logo in 1910, and the teardrop-shaped gas tank in the 1920s.

In the 1930's an 'eagle' design was placed on those tanks and the famous 'Knucklehead' engine was introduced.

During World War I Harley-Davidson manufactured nearly 20,000 motorcycles for the US government, and during World War II virtually all of the Harleys produced went towards the war effort.

By 1920, Harley-Davidson was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, with bikes sold by more than 2,000 dealers in 67 countries worldwide.

Following WWII the Harley's market share, as well as its myth, continued to grow, helped along by appearances in movies such as Easy Rider and as props for glamorous stars including Jayne Mansfield, Elvis Presley, and Peter Fonda.

But by 1981 the company had fallen on hard times and was on the verge of collapse because of waning quality and competition from a raft of Japanese motorcycles.

In 1983, the administration of then-president Ronald Reagan and the International Trade Commission approved tariffs up to 49 per cent on imported Japanese motorcycles 700 cc and larger for five years, giving the company much-needed breathing space.

The tariffs curbed sales of Japanese models in the United States and gave Harley time to upgrade its manufacturing operations and improve quality, and in 1987 the company said it no longer needed the tariff to be profitable.

Last year, the American icon shipped a record 263,000 motorcycles, capping a 17-year string of record growth.

Takin' a tour of Harleys and beer

Missouri home to nifty factory tours

Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Posted: 1944 GMT ( 3:44 AM HKT)

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- It ain't Disneyland. There are no water slides nearby. The ocean's white, sandy beaches are a couple of time zones away. Security is tight and safety glasses are required. No alcohol is served. And yet, for those folks who treat their bike like a member of the family, there's no roadside attraction that's more of a vacation must-see than a factory where metal and motors go in one loading dock, and ready-to-ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles come out another.

A man rides a Harley-Davidson near the company's Kansas City plant.

"We had to come," said New Jersey resident Tom Mann, an owner -- you could tell by his leather vest and Harley Owner's Group patches -- of his visit to Harley-Davidson's Kansas City plant. "I had to see where the bikes were made.

"My bike came from this place."

Like most Harley-Davidson riders -- or so says the company that's among the latest to make Milwaukee famous -- Mann is the ultimate brand loyalist. He even brought pictures of his heavily customized Super Glide Sport along, and his tour guide and other plant employees couldn't wait to see them.

Phil Swope, the Kansas City plant's security chief, helped developed the tour after the factory opened in 1998. He calls it a "cult." (He's a member, with a Road King on order.) That's probably a little strong -- passionate might be a better way to describe it.

"For some it's a companion on the road. For some it's family, even," said Lara Lee, director of Harley-Davidson Inc.'s museum and archives, who rides an Ultra Classic with sidecar. "So, to be able to see the birthplace of something with such great meaning to you is very compelling, very moving for a lot of people."

Many tours, companies available

For people like Mann -- who have a passion for product -- the Harley plant is one of several spots in the state where factory doors are open to visitors. For everyone else, they're not a bad way to kill a lazy summer afternoon when family and friends come calling.

Hallmark Cards Inc. in Kansas City has its Crown Center mall and visitors center, and more than 200,000 people visit Nestle Purina PetCare Co.'s Purina Farms outside St. Louis each year. And for those who think every good tourist stop does, in fact, require a beer, Anheuser-Busch Cos. in St. Louis has got you covered.

For both Harley-Davidson and Anheuser-Busch, offering tours isn't the latest idea from the marketing department. It's not even an old idea -- it's historic. The first inside look at Budweiser's famed beechwood aging process came in 1865, not long after the company was founded in 1852, said Sue O'Leary, manager of the company's tours and gift shops.

Clydesdales have been associated with Anheuser-Busch for decades.

Lee said documents found in Harley-Davidson's archives suggest tours of the company's original Milwaukee factory -- now home of the 100-year-old company's headquarters -- began as early as 1929. A brochure from 1937 lures prospective visitors -- "Harley-Davidson motorcycles lead adventurous lives from the very beginning of their existence," it reads. It promises a look at the "thump-thump of giant presses" and "glowing red-hot furnaces" that are part of the "magic transformation of raw steel into Harley-Davidson motorcycles."

There's no thump-thumping inside the company's Vehicle and Powertrain Operations plant in north Kansas City: the press that now stamps out fenders and gas tanks from sheets of steel does so with the loud hiss of hydraulics. There are no furnaces glowing, but there is a laser booth where a robot trims scrap from those pressed steel parts.

The press and the laser booth are stops on the plant tour, which begins with a short video about Harley-Davidson. The Kansas City facility, which Swope said receives between 25,000 and 30,000 visitors a year, is one of three the company opens to the public; the others are in York, Pa., and Milwaukee.

"We don't do anything special by way of activity -- it's people making motorcycles," Lee said. "I imagine that's what you would have seen in 1929 or 1937 or 1954: people making motorcycles."

'A real sense of what goes on'

The Kansas City plant assembles Harley-Davidson's Sportster and Dyna models, and builds Harley's newest bike and its engine, the V-Rod and liquid-cooled Revolution, from the frame up. While staying in-between the yellow lines and dodging the occasional fork truck, visitors to the plant see these processes up close, often close enough to chat with employees working the line.

"What we try to do is give people a real sense of what goes on inside the factory," Lee said. "Who are these people that make these machines? How much are people involved? How much is done by machinery. How does it all come together?"

The company's hometown is Milwaukee, and it will celebrate its 100th birthday with a four-day bash there August 28-31. Tens of thousands of motorcyclists are expected there to help the company mark its centennial.

The St. Louis brewery anchors the south end of the historic Soulard neighborhood. Visitors can get a look inside at bottling operations, sample free beer, stroll the landscaped grounds and see the horses at the Clydesdale stable.

"Other tours seem like they are all production. This had other things: the videos, the horses," said Jennifer Weinhandl, who was visiting the St. Louis brewery from Minnesota with her husband and six children.

But at Harley-Davidson, it's all about the bikes and their riders. Dozens stand watch like sentinels out front, and only after a closer look will a visitor see the sign admonishing "No touching." Those bikes all belong to proud employees.

IF YOU GO ...

• HARLEY-DAVIDSON: 11401 N. Congress, Kansas City, (877) 883-1450,
  www.harley-davidson.com
• ANHEUSER-BUSCH: 12th and Lynch streets, St. Louis, (314) 577-2626,
  www.anheuser-busch.com
• HALLMARK: 2450 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, (816) 274-3613,
  hallmarkvisitorscenter.com
• PURINA: 200 Checkerboard Drive, Gray Summit, (314) 982-3232,
  www.purina.com

Assets: Vintage Motorcycle Jacket Values Zoom Ahead

Sat August 16, 2003 09:06 AM ET

By Richard Chang

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Vintage motorcycle jackets, available 10 years ago for $200 or less, now sell for thousands of dollars, as leather has become a fashion statement and cheap imports highlight the quality of garments made in the mid-20th century.

Driven largely by movies that glamorize motorbike culture and a Japanese craving for American culture, prices of desirable brand-name jackets have easily increased tenfold in as many years. In Europe, the painstaking attention to detail by specialist makers has won over customers.

"In Japan, it's an idealization of U.S. motorbike culture. In Europe, it's obvious that our clothes are first-class, so people ask where they come from," said Dave Hanson, manager of Langlitz Leathers Inc. ( http://langlitz.com ).

Langlitz makes what has been called the "Rolls-Royce of motorcycle jackets" -- a feat it has accomplished since 1947 by keeping operations to a store that makes only six garments a day. This is despite demand that has led to more than 50 authorized dealers in Japan alone, and with no advertising at all.

While Langlitz makes stock for its inventory, many garments are customized for consumers who order online or travel halfway around the globe to its store in Portland, Oregon. Langlitz jackets usually cost $800 to $1,200, with no wholesale discount. But prices can double in Japan and Europe with import taxes and retail markups.

That's just for new jackets.

Used jackets in good condition once sold for about two-thirds of their original price. But two years ago Hanson paid $2,000 for an old Langlitz racing suit that in the 1950s would have cost $50 to $60.

The highest price quoted is probably $30,000, for a long horsehide jacket with a green cloth label Langlitz used to put on its garments from 1950-1956. Named "Red Dog" by Joe Kim, who helps coordinate Langlitz sales to Japan, the reddish-brown jacket has an obsolete Crown brand zipper and chain-pull zippers that the company has since stopped using.

"There are people who are willing to pay $20,000 or trade a vintage Harley motorcycle for (the jacket), but I say 'No,"' said Kim. The jacket is on display in a store in Japan, where it's insured.

Horsehide comes at a premium because the leather, common in the early half of the 20th century, has been replaced by cowhide, which is not as tough. Deer hide, though softer to the touch, is even tougher, as well as more rare and expensive. After all, motorcycle jackets were created as a second skin to protect riders in accidents.

Vintage prices are now so high that paramedics rushing to the scene of a motorcycle crash sometimes find victims who are more concerned about their jackets than themselves, Kim said.

With fashionistas accounting for a growing market, the few premium U.S. makers -- including Schott Brothers of New York and Vanson, with a factory in Fall River, Massachusetts -- are seeking ways to tap into the demand without sacrificing quality.

Schott ( http://www.schottnyc.com ) is selling limited edition replicas, in cowhide, of its 1928 Perfecto jacket, designed by company founder Irving Schott. He was the first to put a zipper in a jacket.

The pricetag is $450, versus thousands of dollars for a vintage version -- if you can find one.

"The classic motorcycle jacket is part of the soul and heritage of America. It represents everything that is freedom, bad boy James Dean, Marlon Brando. It has an American icon flavor," said Don King, vice president of sales at Schott.

Over the last few years, motorcycle jackets have won a young following, especially among blacks and Hispanics, and should become even more popular, King said, pointing to the influence of movies about big, fast bikes, such as "Fast and Furious" and "Bad Boyz."

Even as vintage prices have soared, buyers can find bargains in second-hand stores. New Langlitz jackets, on the other hand, can sell for a lot more on eBay than directly from the store.

Fringes reduce the resale value because most men, especially bikers -- who account for 90 percent of sales at Langlitz and other premium brands -- don't want them.

Color and size also count. "For every brown jacket, 100 guys want black," Hanson said. "The closer you are to normal (size), the more valuable."

And while some wearers think a badge-covered jacket may look cool, each pinhole can cost them $50 in resale value.

For a colorful history on the subject, check out Rin Tanaka's "Motorcycle Jackets: A Century of Leather Design" and "Motorcycle Jackets: Ultimate Biker's Fashions," (Schiffer, http://www.schifferbooks.com ).