Harley-Davidson loyalty rumbles on at Bikefest
LEESBURG — Parched from a three-hour Harley ride to the Leesburg Bikefest, a biker from Fort Pierce only wanted directions to the beer tent.
Restaurateur Lorenzo Romano, 54, who is known as “Weed” when he’s riding his 2016 Street Glide, is covered in Harley-Davidson — from his logo skull cap to his Harley label leather boots.
“It’s just who I am,” he said Friday accompanied by “his lady,” Lisa Abernathy, or as bikers know her, “Lil Bit.” “We’re Harley committed … I hate everything else.”
As thousands of motorcycles rumble into Central Florida this weekend for Leesburg’s 22nd annual threeday homage to bikes, beers and head-banging rock, Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson remains the most iconic name in the industry. But the roar from the Hogs’ legendarily loud exhaust pipes might sound several decibels lower this year.
Harley endured its fourth straight year of declining sales in 2017, a sign of its continuing struggle to attract new riders, especially millennials.
The motorcycle maker shipped 241,498 bikes to U.S. dealerships last year, the lowest number in six years. Harley’s motorcycle-related revenue fell 6.8 percent in 2017 to $4.92 billion and retail sales continued to suffer both in U.S. markets and around the globe.
Worse, some financial analysts have suggested the company could feel blowback this year from President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imported steel, which could up the price of the Americanmade bikes.
Harley’s troubles are not apparent at Bikefest, where up to 250,000 people are expected to rev into the city of 22,000 through the weekend for hot-body contests, stunt shows and concerts.
Legions of tattooed bikers aboard chrome Harleys affectionately called Hogs rumbled into empty fields surrounding the Gator Harley-Davidson dealership, where many bikers stopped before heading to Bikefest’s epicenter downtown.
Brand loyalty was strong. For instance, Abernathy, Weed’s lady, had a Harley chain around her neck and a Harley zip-up leather vest over a snug Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle tee. The vest has a patch on the back that reads, “We’ve just been passed by a girl.”
Despite the annual Harley invasion, John Malik Jr., 59, who runs the Gator dealership, admitted that the last several years haven’t been exactly Hog heaven.
“Since ’07 basically, we’ve been flat,” he said.
Local sales, which once ran as high as 140 bikes a month, fell to a low of 30 bikes a month, he said. Malik said sales have rebounded recently to about 80 a month.
“Everybody thinks it [the problem] is millennials. They’re difficult to deal with. They don’t buy anything,” he said.
Harley has said it hopes to add 2 million new riders in the U.S. over the coming decade. It plans to expand its appeal to women and minorities.
The Bikefest crowd Friday was predominantly white — or gray — and predominantly riding Harleys.
Friends Mike Mason, 65, and Tony Bolduc, 64, transplanted New Englanders, both sported gray beards that would have made ZZ Top proud as they climbed off Harleys.
“American-made name, thank you very much,” Bolduc said, explaining his attraction to Harley-Davidson bikes. “That’s about the size of it, really.”
Other makes of motorcycles were represented in parking areas around Leesburg’s downtown: Honda Gold Wings, Indian, some BMWs, Victory, Ducati.
Wearing a leather jacket that identified him as “Grumpy” and a member of the Untouchables riding club, Ken White waited patiently at a booth for a handlebar accessory to his Harley, which he rode from Georgia to Leesburg.
His own sons rode sports bikes, but he prefers his Hog.
“They’ve been in business a long time,” White said of Harley-Davidson. “You can count on them.”
Sluggish sales of an industry leader like Harley-Davidson are something for Joe Shipes to keep an eye on as Bikefest organizer, although marketing materials for Bikefest often use the phrase “No bike required.” Music is a big draw for the event, too, he said. “It doesn’t box us in to just motorcycles — but that’s our core audience.”
Shipes said anything that can affect attendance is a worry, but Harley’s fouryear slide is not something that causes him to have sleepless nights.
“I’m more worried about the weather,” he said.