I sewed a HOG patch onto my waistcoat last night and shortly afterwards, while browsing, happened upon this article.
It's a report on one Harley rider's experience attending a large, organised rally, the H-D centenary bash in Barcelona a few years back.
Nothing has changed though, since then. HOG is still the corporation's route into the pockets of Harley owners. From custom parts, branded spares and clothing to Harley breakdown assistance, the company offers everything the biker, who doesn't have the time or inclination to do anything for himself, needs. The opportunity for some hassle-free riding is there for the buying.
Harleys are not cheap to buy and with the cost of recent second hand bikes, with all their added chrome and baubles, often overtaking the price of a new bike, the owner of the bike with just a few miles on the clock is much more common than the one who gets his or her hands dirty maintaining an older iron horse.
So, once I started reading, the article got me thinking a bit about the "biker lifestyle" and about just who is pulling whose wire!
A few weeks ago I met a Harley rider who didn't have much good to say about HOG. In fact he thought of them as no more than a bunch of "wannabees". When you read the following excerpt from the article his sentiments are precisely echoed there.
"But for me, Harley Davidson crossed the line into parody with the establishment of HOG, the Harley Owners Group, back in '83. Now don't get me wrong, I have no beef with any individual HOG members and have some good friends who wear HOG patches, but lets get one thing straight. HOG is not a club. It exists solely and purely to capture a target market and sell them more product."
It's all very true and I must confess that I'm as guilty as anyone of indulging in the "rebel" dream.
I used to be that DILLIGAF biker. The one whose "ride free" tattoo meant just what it (still) says. But, can I really still claim the lifestyle? Has the rebel in me been tamed and have I just bought into the corporate nightmare rather than the dream of freedom?
Yes, I do enjoy riding a style of bike which suggests, but not quite screams, rebellion and lawlessness. Yes ,I do love the thought that I'm part of a group which sits a couple of steps away from being on the fringes of what "polite" society finds acceptable. I dress in black leather with all its connotations of the outlaw's finger, raised at everyone not on a bike.
But, at the same time I retain the safety net of salary and nine to five drudgery. The wind in my hair is reserved for weekends and long sunny summer evenings.
It has been a few years since I last stripped down a bike in the garage and took bits into the house to work on the more fiddly components of a carburettor and even longer since I rebuilt a bike into something which was individual and unique to me.
My scoot is standard H-D straight out of the Milwaukee factory and just as Harley want it to be. I even look at buying patented spares and worry about the standard of aftermarket bits and pieces. A far cry from the days when my bikes were a mix of marques and even had the odd home made spare-part, stuck on with superglue and copper wire. Nowadays, I doubt if I'd have the courage to pull my bike apart without really knowing how it was going to go together again.
So, I'm maybe just the rebel without a clue after all!
It's a report on one Harley rider's experience attending a large, organised rally, the H-D centenary bash in Barcelona a few years back.
Nothing has changed though, since then. HOG is still the corporation's route into the pockets of Harley owners. From custom parts, branded spares and clothing to Harley breakdown assistance, the company offers everything the biker, who doesn't have the time or inclination to do anything for himself, needs. The opportunity for some hassle-free riding is there for the buying.
Harleys are not cheap to buy and with the cost of recent second hand bikes, with all their added chrome and baubles, often overtaking the price of a new bike, the owner of the bike with just a few miles on the clock is much more common than the one who gets his or her hands dirty maintaining an older iron horse.
So, once I started reading, the article got me thinking a bit about the "biker lifestyle" and about just who is pulling whose wire!
A few weeks ago I met a Harley rider who didn't have much good to say about HOG. In fact he thought of them as no more than a bunch of "wannabees". When you read the following excerpt from the article his sentiments are precisely echoed there.
"But for me, Harley Davidson crossed the line into parody with the establishment of HOG, the Harley Owners Group, back in '83. Now don't get me wrong, I have no beef with any individual HOG members and have some good friends who wear HOG patches, but lets get one thing straight. HOG is not a club. It exists solely and purely to capture a target market and sell them more product."
It's all very true and I must confess that I'm as guilty as anyone of indulging in the "rebel" dream.
I used to be that DILLIGAF biker. The one whose "ride free" tattoo meant just what it (still) says. But, can I really still claim the lifestyle? Has the rebel in me been tamed and have I just bought into the corporate nightmare rather than the dream of freedom?
Yes, I do enjoy riding a style of bike which suggests, but not quite screams, rebellion and lawlessness. Yes ,I do love the thought that I'm part of a group which sits a couple of steps away from being on the fringes of what "polite" society finds acceptable. I dress in black leather with all its connotations of the outlaw's finger, raised at everyone not on a bike.
But, at the same time I retain the safety net of salary and nine to five drudgery. The wind in my hair is reserved for weekends and long sunny summer evenings.
It has been a few years since I last stripped down a bike in the garage and took bits into the house to work on the more fiddly components of a carburettor and even longer since I rebuilt a bike into something which was individual and unique to me.
My scoot is standard H-D straight out of the Milwaukee factory and just as Harley want it to be. I even look at buying patented spares and worry about the standard of aftermarket bits and pieces. A far cry from the days when my bikes were a mix of marques and even had the odd home made spare-part, stuck on with superglue and copper wire. Nowadays, I doubt if I'd have the courage to pull my bike apart without really knowing how it was going to go together again.
So, I'm maybe just the rebel without a clue after all!
No comments:
Post a Comment