ULTIMATE AMERICANA

It may be impossible to comprehend now, but there once existed a time when Harley-Davidson was just another motorcycle. The marque was well-known right from the beginning for sure, and earned popularity by doing what most successful makers did; racing, taking risks, and by welcoming the priceless gift of publicity. Harley was ahead of the game when motorcycling’s market shifted from simple utility to lifestyle, from pure function to personalised status symbol. The Wisconsin manufacturer attracted more wild riders and would-be outlaws than its competitors. The latter scene was born in Hollywood, and the resulting public perception of ‘the kind of person who rides a Harley’ also signals where many buyers were lost. At least, those buyers who aren’t drawn to generating that kind of attention. That isn’t to say there is no value in looking just a little intimidating. Nobody likes a pushover.

It might be destiny; pointing a genuine Harley 1200 across the asphalt has taken me full circle; back to where I began. Like many Midwesterners who grew up in the 1960s, my father rode Harley, and my earliest