Harley-Davidson shares “Street Experience”

HARLEY-DAVIDSON Manila recently held its first ever, off-site test ride event at the Filinvest Tent in Alabang, Muntinlupa. Dubbed “The Street Test Ride Event,” it gave to the public the opportunity to test-ride some of its latest bikes in the market, highlighting the awesome HarleyDavidson Street 500.

Launched in Manila as part of the Dark Custom motorcycle series in August of last year, the Street 500 is the smaller-displacement brother (500cc) of the earlierintroduced Street 750 and features the Revolution-X v-twin engine. Like its big brother, it is liquid-cooled and is the real deal, made of real steel – except it proportionately comes with a more affordable price tag: starting at P398,000 for the 2015 XG500 model, and P438,000 for the 2016 model.

“We want to expand the Harley-Davidson experience to those who want to get into the brand,” explained HarleyDavidson of Manila General Manager Jay Bautista to The STAR, of the rationale behind their holding the event.

The doors to their public test-ride opened at 10am last Saturday, and allowed interested customers to view and inspect some of their latest bikes on display, which included customized versions of the Street 500 and 750. More importantly, guests had the opportunity to sign up for a free test ride within a dedicated parking lot area.

Furthermore, as a treat for individuals who were still not so confident with their riding skills, a special ‘JumpStart station’ was available where they could mount and start the bike, and get a feel of what it’s like to ride the Street 500, without having to move out of place. This was made possible through a special contraption that used rollers on its floor, aladyno machine. It functioned like a motorbike’s treadmill and allowed for the rider to clutch and change gears, without having to worry about balance.

Harley-Davidson of Manila was also recently recognized as the Asia Emerging Markets (AEM) Dealer of the Year for 2016, during the AEM Dealer-Principal Meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand last March 26. They emerged as the winner among 35 dealerships from 13 countries under the AEM group. Such distinction was awarded based on the dealership’s performance in several aspects of its operations, including: business growth; providing an ideal customer experience; marketing and events; and its management and staff training.

Currently, HarleyDavidson of Manila has two locations to serve its customers: the first dealership that opened along EDSA Greenhills San Juan, and its latest store at the ShangriLa at the Fort complex in BGC, Taguig. While bikes, accessories and over-thecounter parts are available in the BGC branch, their service center is located in their EDSA Greenhills dealership.