Harley Davidson celebrates their 105th anniversary by launching their own dedicated You Tube channel.

There are lots of videos there for everyone who loves these machines, including videos about new models, footage of the recent anniversary celebrations and individuals talking about their fondness for the marque.

Ingredients of a Harley Davidson Part1, includes Willie G Davidson and others talking about their new “Rocker C” model as well as the rest of their 2009 models.

Americans are as passionate about Harleys as they are about their country and mom’s apple pie, however this doesn’t quite translate across the pond unless you’re a fully signed up HOG member right down to your leather HD toenails!
Just check out some of the comments on You Tube and you’ll see what I mean.

Hardly Rideable?
Most Brits of my acquaintance even those with Harleys, and Pete has owned four over the years so I am speaking from experience, find it all a bit hard to stomach. They’re not really designed for our roads, (except Sportsters) tend to be overpriced even for the basic out of the showroom models and then require you to spend another couple of grand making it sound good and be rideable (i.e. no decent pillion seat as standard on some models).

But don’t get me wrong, by and large they look and sound great otherwise I doubt they would sell so well, but we do find that the image doesn’t quite live up to the reality.

A phrase I’ve often heard coined is “The bikes are OK it’s the people”. If you’re not sure what that means then get yourself down to the dealership one sunny weekend (it has to be sunny) and check out the people hanging around and in the main don’t expect to get a nod or a wave from them out on the road unless you’re also on a Hog.

As far as marketing goes Harley have got it spot on and they sell the image very well especially with their clothing and lifestyle ranges – available from a dealer near you. In fact they’ve done it so well that we have seen over the last couple of years that Triumph motorcycles have taken a leaf out of their book and now have their own extensive clothing range, thankfully we are yet to see the Triumph leather toilet seat!

If you’re into Harleys and you can stomach the OTT American style I’m sure you’ll find something to like, check it out at Harley Davidson On You Tube