Harley anniversary for US bikers
Leather-clad Easy Riders are descending on Milwaukee in the US, as the iconic motor-cycle maker, Harley-Davidson, celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Harley's chrome bikes will converge on Milwaukee this August
Depending on your point of view, the world's biggest gathering of men in mid-life crisis is about to get underway in Milwaukee.
Or it's a 100th birthday party for one of the great icons of America.
Or it's a celebration of the death-defying revival of a company once doomed to, literally, the scrap-heap.
In fact, it's probably all of these things.
There's no doubt the centenary of Harley-Davidson in its home town in Wisconsin will be a pageant of black leather and grey hair.
There will be thousands upon thousands of bikers clad in the classic Easy Rider bandana with wrap-around shades.
Packing a paunch
The leather jackets will also hide a fair acreage of paunch because the age of the average Harley-Davidson owner is 46, eight years older than the average rider of a Japanese or German bike.
It will be predominantly male, though the wave upon wave of chrome roaring back to the celebrations, with that unique "potato, potato, potato" throb from the v-shaped engines, will be peppered by some female riders.
More women are becoming Harley enthusiasts
Increasingly, the bikes are becoming a vehicle of choice for young, professional women who like the tough image.
And the company does now sell bridal wear including, according to its website, a "women's leather bustier", a "women's bridal hat - lace trimmed" and a "silk bandana".
And image is important for Harley-Davidson.
Twenty years ago, the company was on the verge of extinction.
American nostalgia
It was founded in 1903 when 21-year-old William S. Harley joined his 20-year-old friend, Arthur Davidson, to make a racing bike in a 10 foot by 15 shed on which was scrawled "Harley-Davidson Motor Company".
By the early 1980s, it was about to go the way of many American manufacturing companies.
A failure to invest and innovate was pushing it into oblivion.
The company was founded in a shed by two friends
Quality was an issue.
It was saved by its strong brand loyalty plus good, old-fashioned protectionism against Japanese imports from President Ronald Reagan.
In 1981, 13 Harley executives bought the company they worked for.
One of them was the current chairman and chief executive, Jeffrey Bleustein, and he and his colleagues realised that brand loyalty was strong and could be played upon.
The bike was part of America so improving its quality would appeal to that James Dean/Easy Rider nostalgia.
They founded the Harley Owners Group, capitalising on the HOG nickname for the bike from the 20s.
And the free-market American president offered some very un-free-market help by slapping a tariff on imports of Japanese competitors.
The five-year breathing space the protection offered was enough for Harley to rev up and get back on the road.
Heavy cruising
Today, it is thriving. This centenary year has pumped up demand, though it was rising nicely before 2003.
The company has been shrewd by not taking on the Japanese sports and off-road bikes but keeping focussed on what makes Harley-Davidson distinctive.
Most of its models are heavy, cruising bikes, designed for highway driving.
They are the kind of bikes that appeal to Air Force generals, Wall Street bankers and Hollywood moguls as well as all those men - and increasingly women - with a nostalgia for a free-wheeling world far from a desk.
In Milwaukee this weekend, there will be a celebration of roaring defiance - by men who don't want to grow old and by a company that refused to die.
And who can doubt the worth of that?
Leather-clad Easy Riders are descending on Milwaukee in the US, as the iconic motor-cycle maker, Harley-Davidson, celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Harley's chrome bikes will converge on Milwaukee this August
Depending on your point of view, the world's biggest gathering of men in mid-life crisis is about to get underway in Milwaukee.
Or it's a 100th birthday party for one of the great icons of America.
Or it's a celebration of the death-defying revival of a company once doomed to, literally, the scrap-heap.
In fact, it's probably all of these things.
There's no doubt the centenary of Harley-Davidson in its home town in Wisconsin will be a pageant of black leather and grey hair.
There will be thousands upon thousands of bikers clad in the classic Easy Rider bandana with wrap-around shades.
Packing a paunch
The leather jackets will also hide a fair acreage of paunch because the age of the average Harley-Davidson owner is 46, eight years older than the average rider of a Japanese or German bike.
It will be predominantly male, though the wave upon wave of chrome roaring back to the celebrations, with that unique "potato, potato, potato" throb from the v-shaped engines, will be peppered by some female riders.
More women are becoming Harley enthusiasts
Increasingly, the bikes are becoming a vehicle of choice for young, professional women who like the tough image.
And the company does now sell bridal wear including, according to its website, a "women's leather bustier", a "women's bridal hat - lace trimmed" and a "silk bandana".
And image is important for Harley-Davidson.
Twenty years ago, the company was on the verge of extinction.
American nostalgia
It was founded in 1903 when 21-year-old William S. Harley joined his 20-year-old friend, Arthur Davidson, to make a racing bike in a 10 foot by 15 shed on which was scrawled "Harley-Davidson Motor Company".
By the early 1980s, it was about to go the way of many American manufacturing companies.
A failure to invest and innovate was pushing it into oblivion.
The company was founded in a shed by two friends
Quality was an issue.
It was saved by its strong brand loyalty plus good, old-fashioned protectionism against Japanese imports from President Ronald Reagan.
In 1981, 13 Harley executives bought the company they worked for.
One of them was the current chairman and chief executive, Jeffrey Bleustein, and he and his colleagues realised that brand loyalty was strong and could be played upon.
The bike was part of America so improving its quality would appeal to that James Dean/Easy Rider nostalgia.
They founded the Harley Owners Group, capitalising on the HOG nickname for the bike from the 20s.
And the free-market American president offered some very un-free-market help by slapping a tariff on imports of Japanese competitors.
The five-year breathing space the protection offered was enough for Harley to rev up and get back on the road.
Heavy cruising
Today, it is thriving. This centenary year has pumped up demand, though it was rising nicely before 2003.
The company has been shrewd by not taking on the Japanese sports and off-road bikes but keeping focussed on what makes Harley-Davidson distinctive.
Most of its models are heavy, cruising bikes, designed for highway driving.
They are the kind of bikes that appeal to Air Force generals, Wall Street bankers and Hollywood moguls as well as all those men - and increasingly women - with a nostalgia for a free-wheeling world far from a desk.
In Milwaukee this weekend, there will be a celebration of roaring defiance - by men who don't want to grow old and by a company that refused to die.
And who can doubt the worth of that?
