Non-Harleys find their place

By Steve Miller, Journal Staff Writer | Friday, August 13, 2004

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STURGIS - Sturgis has long meant the rumble and roar of Harley-Davidsons. Nowadays, it also means the throaty purr, the burble — and sometimes the growl and roar — of Hondas, Yamahas, BMWS and custom choppers.

In the 1970s and '80s, Japanese motorcycles and most other non-Harley-Davidsons were not all that welcome at the Sturgis rally.

Hard-core Harley riders sometimes hassled non-Harley riders, particularly if they rode bikes made outside of the United States.

"It was not uncommon to see a Yamaha on fire up in a tree," Sturgis Police Chief Jim Bush said of the earlier Sturgis rallies, particularly the scene at city park.

Now, Hondas, Yamahas, Kawasakis, Suzukis, Triumphs, BMWs and Ducatis are parked alongside Harleys on Main Street in Sturgis. A burgeoning number of custom-made choppers and trikes has also joined the non-Harley parade.

On one stretch of Main Street on Sunday night, there were 123 Harleys, 13 Hondas, four Yamahas, one Kawasaki, one (modern) Indian, one Buell, two custom choppers, one BMW and one Boss Hoss (a huge, V-8 powered bike).

The non-Harley riders, for the most part, are being tolerated, even accepted.

"You have to forgive these people," said longtime Harley rider Ron Belson of Rapid City, of the non-Harley riders. "At least they're here."

Ten years ago, there were relatively few bikes at Sturgis that weren't Harleys, said Mark "Hawgs" Holmes, of San Diego, who has come to the rally regularly since 1990.

"Now, I think there's a lot less discrimination," Holmes said, as he stood near his ‘94 Harley Road King on Main Street this week. "It doesn't matter what you ride as long as you're putting miles on a bike."

Holmes has owned six Harleys and three Yamahas.

John Kurtz, who rode his ‘91 Harley Heritage Softail with Liberty sidecar to Sturgis, said he has friends at home in Lecompton, Kan., who want to come to the rally but don't want to ride their Japanese bikes here.

"I tell them that ain't what it's about," Kurtz said. "It's about riding here. I don't care what you ride as long as you ride."

J.C. McCreary of Plant City, Fla., has been riding motorcycles since 1954, almost exclusively Harleys. "It used to be I wouldn't speak to nobody if they didn't ride a Harley," McCreary said Monday as he watched the parade of bikes on Main Street this week. Now, he said, a lot of his friends are buying Hondas and Yamahas. In fact, he brought his 2001 Victory to Sturgis.

Although Harley is still the bike of choice for most rally riders, a lot of riders, some of them just getting into motorcycling, are buying Japanese or other non-Harley cruisers that look like Harleys but usually cost much less.

Robert Ashe of Bartlesville, Okla., rode a 2003 Yamaha Road Star to the rally. The Yamaha Road Star, just like a Harley, is powered by a V-twin, air-cooled engine, with push rods activating the valves.

"One thing I almost don't like, a lot of people come up and say, is that a Harley?" Ashe said.

His friend, John Mack of Tulsa, Okla., also rode his 2003 Road Star to the rally. Mack bought his Road Star for $12,000 new. New Harleys can cost $17,000 to $20,000 or more, depending on the model.

"I think it's a better bike for the money," Mack said of his Road Star.

Chris Larson of Ramsey, Minn., rode a 2003 Honda VTX 1800 to Sturgis. The 1,800-cc engine is one of the larger stock V-twin engines offered by the major manufacturers.

Larson owns three other bikes but has never owned a Harley. "I always wanted to, but they're too expensive," Larson said.

Another sign of change at the rally was the metric (non-Harleys) custom bike show Sunday at the Thunder Road complex east of Sturgis.

Steve Needles of Minneapolis took second place in the cruiser division at the metric show with his Yamaha Road Star custom chopper.

He chopped the frame himself, added a custom gas tank and fenders, and bolted on Arlen Ness handlebars and Legends foot pegs.

Needles has owned several bikes but not a Harley, so far.

"My next one probably will be a Harley, but I'll customize it myself," he said.

John Lewis of Indianapolis rode to the rally on his Honda VTX 1800 and said no one has given him a bad time about it, although he's sure there are still some hard-core Harley fans who don't much appreciate the other brands.

In fact, Lewis rode the big Honda last year to Harley's 100th anniversary celebration in Milwaukee. "I was a little leery going up there," he said. "But I had the best time, met the nicest people. Everybody was friendly and complimented my bike."

Harleys have become much more dependable, Lewis said, because they have been forced to compete by the more maintenance-free Japanese and other bikes.

Mike "Nuttso" Schroeder of Bismarck, N.D., has been riding Harleys to the Sturgis rally since 1974. He rode to his first rally in 1957 at age 6 on the back of his father's Harley. Schroeder has a 1984 Harley Wide Glide and a ‘94 Harley Heritage Softail. His wife, Patti, has a ‘94 Harley Sportster.

Schroeder said he isn't bothered by all the non-Harleys at the rally. He said one factor in the increase in metric bikes here is that there are fewer hard-core bikers now who can or want to actually work on their own bikes.

In any case, Harley is still a major player in the cruiser market and still dominates the Sturgis rally, even though the rally was originated by an Indian motorcycle dealer, Pappy Hoel.

Harley-Davidson built 291,147 motorcycles in 2003, nearly 30,000 more than in 2002. It plans to produce 317,000 motorcycles this year and 400,000 for 2007. Motorcycle sales for the first six months of 2004 are up 16.5 percent over last year, according to Harley's Web site.

Although Harley touts the high quality and dependability of its motorcycles, much of its success has to do with intangibles such as heritage and mystique.

Some bikers say they like Harleys because they're made in the United States. Some say they're just more fun.

Mike Schroeder says he can't really put into words why he likes Harley-Davidson motorcycles. "It's just like Sturgis," he said. "If you have to explain it, you won't understand."

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com