Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary Celebration

Four days of Bruce Springsteen, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, museums, bands and beer.

By Bob Stokstad | Photos by the Author

September 2008

Photos: Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary Celebration >>

Call it a rally or a homecoming or whatever you'd like, but Harley-Davidson's anniversary celebration is a heady blend of bikers and bikes, bands and beer. For the 105th, some 125,000 bikers descended on Milwaukee fully intent on having a good time in the town that beer made famous. The parade of 7500 motorcycles on Saturday morning filled the sidewalks of Wisconsin Avenue and went into overtime when those who didn't win the lottery (for a slot in the parade) discovered they could hook onto the end and ride anyway. Street parties with bands loud enough to be heard for blocks were free for all, while Bruce Springsteen's sold-out Saturday night concert packed a grassy area the size of several football fields.

Milling through all this were the faithful who've made Harley-Davidson an American icon, wearing the apparel that accounts for a big chunk of the Motor Company's balance sheet. There is no single uniform, but a combination of bandana, Ray-Bans, black T-shirt under a pin-and-insignia-festooned black leather vest, jeans (black or blue—your choice), a big key chain, studded belt and heavy boots comes close.

A little booklet titled the The Celebration Guide was filled with tough choices. One example: At 6 on Friday night, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Gary Allan, War, D.B. Bryant and Tea Leaf Green were all playing at the Summerfest concert grounds, all within walking distance (and earshot) of each other. Farther away, at Lakefront, you could catch Three Days Grace or the Invaders. There were 70 different bands listed in the guide, and most of them played at several venues for four days of eardrum-numbing entertainment.

Islands of tranquility—exhibits and museums—provided rest for the rock-band weary. Although the new Harley-Davidson museum was sold out for all four days, tickets for it (as for Bruce Springsteen) were hawked on the sidewalk. Harley assembled a major exhibit on motorcycle design, including the prototypes for the '09 models. Midway between Summerfest and the gigantic concert stage at Lakefront is the Milwaukee Art Museum, a soaring architectural creation by architect Santiago Calatrava. Inside was an exhibit of Roy Finch's wacky custom choppers. These creations—all road-worthy motorcycles—are prime examples of the Art of the Motorcycle.

You have to give Harley riders credit—they know how to park. Within four blocks of any event there were thousands of bikes, all parallel, pointing in the same direction and aligned to millimeter precision. They're so close to each other that if one tipped over they'd all go down like dominoes.

Owners of Harley-Davidsons came from all corners of world to commune and party in Milwaukee. Some shipped their bikes (as did a couple I met from Australia), some rented. Regardless how they arrived, they all shared a strong camaraderie and intense devotion to Harley-Davidson. When Willie G. Davidson at the kick-off ceremony on Wednesday said, "Welcome home. And thanks for riding the best," everyone there understood, and agreed.