Full Cycle: American icon Harley-Davidson rumbles to 100th birthday

Kirk Baird

Monday, Aug. 11, 2003 | 8:14 a.m.

Robert Daskas will never forget having his heart broken.

While at a Harley-Davidson rally in Palm Springs, Daskas parked his bike and ran upstairs to his hotel room, only to return to an empty parking space 30 minutes later.

"It's like somebody had kicked me in the stomach. I had spent all that time, energy and money into making it mine, customizing it to the way I wanted it," he said. "It became a labor of love. Although, certainly I could and did replace it, it wasn't the same."

They say Harley owners are loyal, but Daskas still fondly recalls that 1993 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail.

"When I first bought it, it looked like every other Heritage. But after two years and another $10,000, it looked the way I wanted it to look," Daskas said. "Everything that could be chromed was chromed; I had a different exhaust system, different handlebars, braided cables, a bigger gas tank and various performance upgrades."

What's the appeal of Harley-Davidson? Daskas referred to a corporate slogan he has seen on T-shirts and bumper-stickers: "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand."

"That sums it up. They don't understand how someone can spend so much money on a motorcycle," he said. "It's either in your blood or not. And if it is, you can justify spending all of that money."

Let's ride

In 1993 Harley-Davidson celebrated its 90th anniversary at corporate headquarters in Milwaukee with a "Family Reunion," including an estimated 100,000 riders in attendance.

Five years later 140,000 riders showed up for its 95th anniversary.

While no one is sure of the numbers just yet, for Harley-Davidson's centennial anniversary this year, there are likely to be even more participants.

It's all part of the "100th Anniversary Ride Home," as four cities Washington, D.C.; Baton Rouge, La.; Portland, Ore., and Las Vegas serve as launching points for a cross-country trek to the final destination, Milwaukee.

Prior to the ride Las Vegas will host a three-day calendar of events, beginning Saturday at Fremont Street Experience, including a tattoo contest, a biker baby contest and various concerts.

There are also two rides scheduled: a $5,000 poker run and a celebrity ride.

Registration for the rides is at Las Vegas Harley-Davidson, 2605 S. Eastern Ave. Call 431-8500 or go to lvhd.com for more information.

"Harley-Davidson has been around since the beginning of time ... it's the greatest machine going," said former "Grizzly Adams" star Dan Haggerty, a Harley owner since he was 14, in a recent telephone interview. "You feel like a 20th century pirate. I feel free."

Haggerty is one of several celebrities scheduled to appear at the centennial anniversary festivities in Las Vegas.

Other celebs include Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Gladys Knight, Evel Knievel, Gary Wood and Michael Gregory.

The "Ride Home" begins Aug. 19 with a day's trek from Las Vegas to Flagstaff, Ariz. The remainder of the route includes stops in Albuquerque, N.M.; Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Mo.; Springfield, Ill.; and then, on Aug. 27, in to Milwaukee -- for a total of 2,175 miles in less than 10 days.

The ride is open to any Harley rider and there is no precise launching point -- only a final destination.

Harley history

Harley-Davidson was founded in Milwaukee, a half block from where the corporate headquarters are located today, by two high school friends and neighbors: William Harley, then 21, and Arthur Davidson, 20.

Harley and Davidson built their first functional motorcycle -- a racer -- in 1903 in a small wooden shed with the words "Harley-Davidson Motor Company" scrawled on the door.

With the help of Davidson's brother, Walter, they built three models. One was sold to an old school friend, the other two were sold to C.H. Lang of Chicago, who became the first Harley-Davidson dealer.

By 1908 Harley-Davidson had ramped up production to 450 motorcycles. A year later and the number had nearly tripled to 1,100.

The bikes proved so popular that by the early '20s nearly 150 companies had tried their luck at manufacturing motorcycles.

But it was Harley-Davidson that led the pack, producing 27,000 motorcycles in 1920 alone.

"We were the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, both in volume and square footage of the factory," said Tom Bolfert, director of the Harley-Davidson corporate archives.

By the mid-'20s, however, Harley-Davidson faced its first real competition when Henry Ford created the auto assembly-line, which made cars considerably more affordable than in years before.

The surging popularity of the automobile, coupled with the Great Depression, all but wiped out the motorcycle industry, except for Harley-Davidson and its chief rival, Indian.

"Through the '20s and '30s, motorcycling was struggling," Bolfert said. "In 1933 the whole U.S. motorcycle industry sold about 6,000 bikes, of which Harley-Davidson sold 3,700. It was pretty dismal, everyone was struggling to stay alive."

But the industrial boom of World War II changed Harley-Davidson's fortunes.

During the war Harley-Davidson produced 90,000 bikes for the United States and its allies.

A small post-war depression slowed production of Harleys down again.

By the '60s, though, Harley-Davidson was again selling models by the thousands.

"The economy was good in the '60s," Bolfert said. "And there was a greater awareness of motorcycling. Harley started introducing smaller bikes ... to attract younger riders, and that helped as well."

In 1969 the counter-culture classic "Easy Rider" glorified the bikes as the ultimate vehicle for touring America.

Meanwhile, with the rising number of biker gangs, the image of the Harley rider was often synonymous with those living outside of the law.

"That's something Harley has always shied away from -- the anti-establishment image, the gangs, etc.," Bolfert said. "But 'Easy Rider' was different. The guys ... were modern-day cowboys having adventures on their mount. The fact they were riding motorcycles was secondary. These were two guys enjoying their life.

"That movie kind of humanized the rider. Previously, almost all of the movies depicted were gang members and hell-raisers."

Harley's ride

Harley-Davidson's popularity continued well into the '70s. In 1980, however, the motorcycle industry went south. A year later American Machine and Foundary (AMF), which had purchased Harley-Davidson in 1969, considered ridding itself of the motorcycle maker. At that point a group of senior executives from Harley-Davidson purchased Harley-Davidson Motor Co.

"So the company immediately set out to trying to fix the problems and turn the company around," Bolfert said. "There were some lean years in the '80s -- we approached bankruptcy at one point -- but we stayed alive and fought back. It's quite a success story."

Harley-Davidson is the No. 1 manufacturer of the heavyweight style of bikes -- as opposed to the smaller, sportier bikes -- in the United States, with a 45 percent share of the U.S. market, compared to No. 2 Honda with 23 percent.

Bolfert said Harley-Davidson has increased its production for the previous 20 years and this year expects to build 290,000 bikes, a record output for the company.

To better compete with the smaller bike market, though, Harley purchased a minority interest in Buell Motorcycle Co. in 1992, buying the company in whole six years later.

Buell actually operates in the shadow of its owner, in a plant 30 miles west of Milwaukee while essentially creating smaller Harleys.

"They make sports bikes with Harley engines," Bolfert said. "It's an entirely different kind of motorcycle that appeals to younger, more sport-minded riders."

But not to Tom Plehn.

A sergeant with Metro Police for 31 years, Plehn spends 40 hours a week on a police bike manufactured by Harley-Davidson.

He also owns three Harleys, including a 2003 Electra Glide Ultra.

"The thing I like the most about Harleys is that they make no excuse for being a big, mean machine," Plehn said. "A lot of the Japanese bikes, they're called motorcycles, but you can't find the motor because they're hidden. But the Harleys have the motor out front.

"I've ridden Kawasakis and Suzukis ... but nothing puts a smile on your face like Harley does."

Still, for Harley-Davidson to stay competitive, others insist that making smaller, sportier bikes is the key.

"What Harley is doing is preserving themselves into the next century," said Jeff Lewis, director of sales and operations of Harley-Davidson Las Vegas. "Look at Cadillac. You don't see young people driving Cadillacs (because) they didn't want to market themselves that way. You have to go after the youth market."

Lewis, who spent several years selling Japanese motorcycles before recently coming to Harley-Davidson, said the biggest advantage Harley has over its competition is brand loyalty.

"People who buy these bikes are passionate about them. You just don't see that in the Japanese bike industry," he said. "People buy Hondas because they've heard it's a good bike. People buy Harleys for the lifestyle and image."

Not what you think

According to Bolfert, in the 1970s the typical Harley rider was a blue-collar worker and, 99 times out of 100, a male.

But the rider -- along with the bike -- has evolved.

In 2003 the typical Harley rider earns an $80,000 salary. He is also better-educated than in years past, married and in his mid-40s. He comes from all walks of life. And, in 10 percent of the cases, the owner is a she.

"That coincides with the whole cultural change or development that has people wanting to display their independence and put a premium on recreation," said Tim Cashman, vice president and part-owner of Las Vegas Harley-Davidson. "It's a very broad spectrum."

Despite the change in its types of riders, the biker-gang image has been difficult to shake for Harley-Davidson.

The misconception is fueled by incidents such as the bloody gun and knife battle between motorcycle gangs at the annual Laughlin River Run in April of last year.

About 60 Hells Angles attacked nearly 40 members of a rival gang, the Mongols, on a casino floor in which three people were killed and 12 hospitalized.

Daskas said those are what other riders refer to as the "One Percents."

"Literally, they constitute one percent" of all bikers, he said. "You can attend any of the big rallies ... and certainly that element exist. But having attended Sturgis (North Darkota) a couple of times, Laughlin and rallies in Northern California, with the exception of what happened at Laughlin, I have never seen so much as a fistfight."

"Clearly what happened in Laughlin shows the outlaws exist. But, because Harleys have gotten so expensive, it's changed the dynamics of the bikers. To afford a Harley-Davidson you almost have to be a professional."

Or, have at least $6,000 of disposable income.

That's what a low-end Harley Sportster goes for, while a Screaming Eagle Road King, a limited-edition custom model, fetches $30,000.

But owning a Harley is beyond a price tag, insists Lewis. Especially when image is a consideration.

"We're all good, God-fearing, tax-paying individuals. But we all love to ride. And we all want to be bad-ass," he said. "You can be 10 feet or 4 feet tall and you're still the same size on a Harley. It adds to that mystique.

"You put on the leather and you put on the helmet and you're feeling that."

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