Hog Heaven Local Harley-Davidson Riders Join 220,000 Others At The Annual Black Hills Classic In Sturgis, S.D.
A small town in South Dakota is one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations this week, hosting a quarter of a million people to celebrate motorcycles in general and Harley-Davidsons in particular.
The origins of the Black Hills Classic in Sturgis, S.D., back in 1938 are somewhat obscure, but there’s nothing low-key about it today. More than 220,000 riders from throughout North America are expected to attend, including several groups from the Inland Northwest.
“Right now, our entire store is filled with out-of-towners on the way to Sturgis,” Jackie Silvey, general manager of Latus Motors, Spokane’s only authorized Harley-Davidson dealer, said last week. “We’ve talked to 50 to 100 people who are going there.”
Among them are 14 riders from Spokane who belong to a Harley club made up almost exclusively of professionals, managers and business owners. Four of the group’s members making the Sturgis run are women; three of them on their own Harleys.
“It’s a feeling of camaraderie, the open road,” says Tom Reynolds, 48, general manager of VicWest Steel and the group’s informal secretary. “It’s the ability to get out and travel through areas that you normally might not do by yourself. It’s guys that get together who never would otherwise.”
Reynolds and other members of his group set out for Sturgis last Saturday, riding through Idaho, Montana and Wyoming before reaching the Black Hills of South Dakota.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever taken such a long motorcycle trip,” says Steve Moore, 42, president of Auto-Rain Sprinklers in Spokane. “I don’t know what to expect.”
What he’ll find are drag races, hill climbs and other sporting events, plus social events and demonstrations of new models and accessories by Harley-Davidson and other manufacturers.
The Sturgis run is not an official Harley-Davidson rally (the company only began participating officially in 1989), but its products and customers dominate the event.
Harley-Davidson motorcycles were once closely identified with Hell’s Angels and other biker gangs, but the company has deliberately tried to shed that image. “We’re promoting motorcycling as a family sport,” says Tom Bolfert, director of events marketing for the Milwaukee-based company. Silvey agrees, saying the median age of her customers is 48 to 50.
The company also sponsors Harley Owners Groups (or HOGs, the traditional nickname for a big bike), with a collective 285,000 members.
Besides owning a Harley motorcycle, you can also own a Harley lifestyle - or at least the trappings of one. Besides new and used machines, Latus Motors sells genuine Harley black leather jackets ($400), along with Harley saddlebags, shirts, swimsuits and bikinis, overalls, mugs, stationery, postcards, belt buckles, jewelry, blankets, key chains and much more. You can buy cookie jars that resemble Harley gas tanks, Harley coffee ($5.99 for a 12-ounce can), and metal signs that proclaim “Harley Parking Only.”
The 92-year-old company enjoys a loyalty unmatched by virtually any other manufacturer of motor vehicles. Although Harley builds about 100,000 bikes each year, demand constantly exceeds supply and a year-old bike is worth more than a brand-new model, which can range in price from $14,000 to $17,000.
Enthusiasts say the Harley has features not found on any other motorcycle, especially the sound from its big V-twin engine.
“There’s not a motorcycle made that sounds like a Harley-Davidson,” says Moore. “Some of the Japanese motorcycles look like a Harley, but they don’t sound like it.”
“It’s almost primal,” agrees Bolfert. “It goes right to the essence of what a Harley is. It doesn’t sound like a sewing machine or an electric motor.”
Then there are the looks - heavy, rugged - and the “feel.” “You tend to sit more in a Harley than on it,” says Bolfert. “You’re very close to your motorcycle. You involve a lot of your body riding a motorcycle - both hands, both feet.” A Harley is big, solid and comfortable.
It’s also the last remaining American-made motorcycle, built by a company that almost folded in the 1980s before changing its ownership and dramatically improving quality.
And last, but not least, is the image … the Harley mystique.
“When you see two bikes going down the road, if one’s a Harley and the other’s a Honda, people are going to notice the Harley,” says Silvey.
“There’s a little bit of rebellion in all of us,” says Reynolds. “It’s the opportunity to be a free spirit when you know you really aren’t.”
For more information:
For Harley-Davidson products and information about local Harley clubs: Latus Motors, Spokane. 928-6811.
The HOG Page, a Harley-Davidson site on the Internet: http://www.hdstamford.com/events.html.
For information on the Harley club mentioned in this story, write to: P.O. Box 11495-99211, Spokane, WA 99211-1495.
For information about Harley-Davidson Motor Co., call (800) 443-2153.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color photos; Map of South Dakota