I remembered getting this information from LaGrant Communications. They’re the Advertising Agency Harley-Davidson uses to reach the urban market. It had to have been about 2 years ago. I found it startling that out of 700 Harley dealerships nationwide only 7 were owned by African Americans. I do believe that number has dropped since then.
With grace and determination, William Johnson broke down barriers as both the first African American Harley-Davidson dealer, and as the first African American licensed to compete in national motorcycle racing events. Born in Baltimore in 1890, Johnson moved with his wife in about 1917 to Somers, N.Y. (about 60 miles north of New York City), and found work as a chauffeur and handyman. The couple later bought a house in town. William converted a small blacksmith shop on the property into a general repair garage. A reliable and skillful mechanic, Johnson did well for a time, but when the business declined, he decided to become a motorcycle dealer.
Though records don’t pinpoint the exact year, Johnson signed on with Harley-Davidson sometime in the 1920s, operating Johnson’s Harley-Davidson out of the converted blacksmith shop that would house the dealership for nearly 60 years. Jim Babchak, the author of a 2009 story about Johnson for American Iron magazine, first visited the dealership in 1969, when he was a teenager seeking parts for an old Panhead.
“Johnson’s Harley-Davidson had the intimate feel and smell of a small-town motorcycle dealership,” recalls Babchak. “Parts were hanging from the walls, bikes were stuffed into the showroom with little space to walk, and the parts books rested on a glass counter. The place was permeated with a glorious mixture of gas, oil, and exhaust fumes. If he wasn’t in back working on a bike, Mr. Johnson was there to greet all who entered.”
Hillclimb racing was beginning to boom in the 1920s, and a steep slope in Somers behind Ivandell Cemetery was an inviting venue. A deal was struck between the land owner and the American Motorcyclist Association to lease the site for a competition, on the condition that the local favorite, William Johnson, could compete. Like most of American society at the time, the AMA was segregated, but Johnson knew how to play the game – he simply told the AMA he was an American Indian, according to a story retold to Babchak by Pat Cramer, a Harley dealer in Brewster, N.Y. That was good enough for all involved until 1932, when Johnson was challenged by an official at an AMA National event that barred “colored” riders. Johnson proudly produced his AMA membership card, and then won the race. Johnson raced successfully well into his 40s at hillclimb events across New England.
Friendly and generous to a fault, Johnson maintained his small dealership through the cycles of the rural economy, the changing times, and the shifting population of the region.
“I enjoyed going to dealership because of Mr. Johnson’s embracing personality,” recounts Babchak, “and it was one of the few dealerships in my area that was not intimidating. It was open to all who rode, with no pretense or airs, and just a wonderful old rural dealership, steeped in history and regarded as a Somers landmark.”
Johnson continued to work in the shop, assisted by his son, Nelson, until he was well past 80 years old. He died in 1985, at the age of 95, and Johnson’s Harley-Davidson closed for good.
Adapted from “Harley’s First African American Dealer,” American Iron magazine, November 2009.
Let’s stop this war of all against all by bridging the gap; each one teaches one.
I don’t think we understand that we gain civil rights in return for accepting the obligation to respect and defend the rights of others. When civilians & the police see you riding a motorcycle with a vest all they see is a biker that belong to a motorcycle gang. They don’t see the color of your skin or know your sex. There will always be a strain of individuals who will find a reason to discriminate with the intent to isolate. Let’s stop being part of the problem and become part of the solution by coming together, ironing out our differences, educate each other and be okay with agreeing to disagree with respect.
It is evident that the terms in which we are operating under are failing in some areas. When failings are found we must renegotiate to change the terms, using methods such as bridging the gap between in-law (99%) bikers & outlaw (1%) bikers and let’s not forget about women riders who ride motorcycles just as hard as our male counterparts.
I have a question. Do you violate these roadblocks that keep us at odds even when they are against your self-interest for the betterment of our culture at large? I say yes because the only way we can reach the next level successfully is to have all bikers and motorcycle clubs practice inclusion and open mindedness.
I’m very happy to be a part of the bigger picture even though I’m not welcomed to join a Facebook group that is for men only. I respect the intent of the page because it’s trying to get the men on-board before women are welcomed. I believe in natural justice. Natural justice is a pledge of reciprocal benefit, to prevent one man from harming or being harmed by another through education in our motorcycle sub-culture. Bikers or motorcycle clubs who are incapable of making binding agreements with one another not to inflict nor suffer harm are without either justice or injustice; and likewise for those who either could not or would not form binding agreements not to inflict nor suffer harm must be dealt with.
Natural law is the enemy of absolute monarchy. I understand that there are some damn well betters in the motorcycle community and those damn well betters must be consistently taught by those of us who have the knowledge and wisdom. Yes that means being open to be taught by another race or sex.
Hugo Grotius goes so far as to say in his “On the Law of War and Peace” that even if we were to concede what we cannot concede without the utmost wickedness, that there is no God, these laws would still hold.” The best thing about his statement is that it allows us to force history’s hand by making the necessary adjustment in the motorcycle club world. Since it suggest that power can ultimately go back to the individuals if the society that they have set up forfeits the purpose for which it was originally established, which is to preserve themselves and practice brotherhood and yes sisterhood too.
I believe we are under our own jurisdiction. People have rights as human beings but there is an explanation of those rights because of what is possible for everyone to accept morally; everyone has to accept that people as individuals are entitled to try to preserve themselves. We should, therefore, avoid doing harm to or interfere with one another under the guise of being the most dominant motorcycle club in the state. Any breach of these rights should be punished.
There are much better ways to communicate with one another to keep the lines of communication open. Fear and intimidation isn’t the answer. We all need to respect one another. OG’s must show respect to the New G’s and the New G’s must respect the OG’s. I seek to solve our problems holistically through prevention and education. Have you ever thought about what the impact of our decisions and behaviors are on our present and future community and world?
Nobody’s better than anybody else, especially when it comes to growing the motorcycle community at large. We must meet bikers where they are from newbie to OG. We all can learn a thing or two from one another. Let’s keep an open mind; that may leave room for a worthwhile thought to be dropped in it.
There has been talk that there are some OMC’s with police in them. Well from what I’ve been taught that’s like oil & vinegar; they don’t mix; especially when the PoPo was in a prime officer position; like President and National Sergeant At Arms. That does makes you go hmmm… Even though I know the police are one of the biggest gangs out there today along with Politician’s…there is no room for them in an Outlaw Motorcycle Club…LOL
What’s stopping you from bridging the gap? To be continued…
These are the words and opinion of Goldie not my club affiliation…just me black female rider extraordinaire.
Harley-Davidson Incorporated, the iconic American motorcycle manufacturer is doomed. This is what was said on the Facebook Page of White Trash Networks; a forum for bikers. The original article was on a website called The Aging Rebel. You can read the article in its entirety by clicking the links.
Me, myself, I don’t think this will be the case for Harley-Davidson if they reorganize their marketing to attract the major consumers today; who are women, African Americans and the Urban market as a whole, adjust their credit guidelines, take in less inventory and lower prices on motorcycles and Harley parts and accessories; then they will become more attractive to us.
As I read the article it confirmed my feelings about why all -white outlaw bikers and motorcycle clubs don’t concern themselves with multiracial motorcycle clubs or black motorcycle clubs. They have felt for a long time that they were the only consumers of Harley-Davidson and with this being the case they feel Harley is doomed since they aren’t purchasing as they used too. Harley has for so long relied only on their buying power to sustain their company and now things have seriously changed.
Last week Harley announced that it lost $218.7 million between Labor Day and New Year’s Eve. Last year, when the economic meltdown had everybody in a panic, Harley made $77.8 million during the same three months. Sales were 40 percent lower this autumn than last year. Retail sales of “authentic Harley-Davidson” overpriced stuff fell 28 percent in the United States and 10 percent overseas. Twenty-eight Harley dealers closed in 2009. The company expects 15 more dealers to close in the next three months. Earlier this year the company dropped its Buell sport bike line and announced it was doing away with half the workers at its York, Pennsylvania plant.
Now Harley with all this in mind if you analyzed your business from the top to the bottom it is obvious to me; I don’t know about you but I see demographics that you’ve continuously overlooked; who are at the top of the list of America’s largest consumers today; women of all races, African Americans, Latinos and Asians.
Harley boss Keith Wandell told investors last week, “As we look at the year in front of us, we expect 2010 to continue to be challenging.” This week Wandell very publically demonstrated his confidence in Harley’s robust future by buying a thousand shares of his company’s stock, which probably cost him something like one half of one percent of his annual salary. I guess that was a solid demonstration to him to show that he is buying into the company and others would see his faith in H-D becoming profitable again.
Harley has always been identified as the Outlaw’s first choice in motorcycles. Back in the 1990s Brock Yates, the screenwriter who gave the world Cannonball Run, very memorably named Harley-Davidson motorcycles the Outlaw Machine. It was a brilliant and incisive turn of phrase that described both the motorcycle and the real subject of Yates’ book which was actually “the long ride of the Harley-Davidson into the mainstream.”
I am trying to write a new book for Harley, actually it’s not a book it’s a group of African American Women Riders who will be riding all H-D bikes from Atlanta to Los Angeles; which will be called the Harley-Davidson “Urban Street Team”.
I haven’t heard of any war surplus Harleys being made available for purchase here lately. During WWII the article states those bikes were dirt cheap, easy to work on, went anywhere, ran pretty good and they were American. Just as the former vets did after the WWII more vets will be coming home from the Middle East interested in joining clubs with the same rebellious spirit of “freedom and doing things my way” and who will be the most cost effective choice in motorcycles? Not Harley-Davidson. Unfortunately for Harley they will have to adjust their prices and credit policies to be the number one choice. Jap bikes are still more cost effective and Harley should no longer allow them to acquire their share of the market anymore.
The rule for the first patch holders in outlaw motorcycle clubs was that prospects had to own a bike “manufactured by one of the allies in World War II.” Beezers, manufactured by British Small Arms, Trumpets and Indians were all okay. The Pagans MC started as a Triumph club. Harleys were the cheapest. After the hated Japanese started selling cheap bikes in the United States in the 1960s the rule eventually became you had to ride an “American motorcycle.” It was common in the sixties to hear, “I would rather see my brother dead than on a Jap bike.” After Indian Motorcycle company went out of business that more or less meant you had to own a Harley.
There’s a term used in business called subcultural commodification. Harley hasn’t approached this concept to reach its current overlooked market. Their initial approach should be to adapt their marketing focus toward what will attract or encourage long thoughtful visits from us as opposed to quick consumption of the lower valued items such as t-shirts. The atmosphere of the dealerships should be one that will entice the prospective customer to want to stay a while.
The question Harley-Davidson must ask itself is what exactly is biker subculture and who does it serve? Why are bikers always talking about having a certain lifestyle? What role does a biker play in the selling of merchandise in our dealerships? Is it tied to particular places, or is it placeless, a style and lifestyle engaged in the homogenizing of places? Humm…questions that need to be researched and answered.
One of the things that fell apart after Vietnam was Harley-Davidson’s business. All those war surplus bikes got used up. The new bikes were no longer cheap or particularly good. Only the outlaw mystique endured and when Harley came back to life in the 1980s it was because the company was selling the idea of the outlaw as much as it was selling motorcycles. Harleys became the Outlaw Machine because that is what Harley-Davidson wanted you to think.
With this in mind about the condition of Harley-Davidson’s business falling apart after Vietnam due to surplus army Harley-Davidson bikes not being available as they were after WWII; Harley should take a look at what they did to revive their business back then. They used magic and credit to come back last time. The mystic of being an Outlaw motorcycle company will not be enough today. New magic and new relaxed credit policies must be created.
Since they now consider Gangsta Rap a close cousin to the biker lifestyle it would behoove H-D to research the demographics of the people who are comprised within this culture and go after them. This doesn’t mean just the entertainers; it means marketing to those who listen to their music and the nationalities of the rappers.
I’ll give you an example in California most people know that the largest population is Mexican and there is a vast majority of them who aren’t legal citizens of the US; so Bank of America made it easy for them to get accounts without having the necessary papers to open an account. So guess what happened, their customer base increased exponentially. They relaxed their terms to get more of the share in the market of their competitors.
Hey Harley, research your competitors and learn what to do and what not to do in times of market share trouble. I guess you’re wondering how I know so much, well I am a creative geek who just so happens to also be a business analyst and I too belong to the market Harley-Davidson has overlooked; black female motorcyclist.
Those days when at the drop of a hat you can instantly create an identity based on a subculture is waning. Harley you can no longer build solely on the backs of one culture you must reach out to all of us. This is now the twenty first century. Being able to make changes on the fly and I contribute this to the growing industry of interactive advertising and marketing.
The magic this article speaks of isn’t the only magic H-D needs. Harley must be creative in their approach to the urban and female market. I want to help as best I can and I do hope they are listening.
The Easy Rider Generation has aged and this is why Harley has had a massive drop in sales. There is a prequel to this movie called, “The Ride Back“. Harley if you take heed to the name of the prequel you too can take the ride back toward a stronger business. This will happen only if you listen to what your forgotten market is saying.
I wrote in a previous article that H-D’s key Baby Boomer customer base, which are white males; are no longer beating down their doors to purchase motorcycles. Their new alternative to roaring down the road is on an electric golf cart and to not sound a bit sadistic an electric wheel chair; shifting those gears to the next hole at the golf course or the next bingo game at the Senior Living facility.
The best answer I have for Harley-Davidson is take heed from those of us who have our ear to the streets and know firsthand how to attract the market you so purposely overlooked over the years. I will always be a die hard Black Female Harley Rider.
Well yesterday at our club meeting my Vice Prez was a little flustered because I am a die hard cruiser gal. He rides a Suzuki and didn’t want to go on the ride to Cali because it was Harley based.
So I want to let him know that Suzuki doesn’t have an all out campaign interest in black bikers or latino bikers, well to sum it up in marketing terms, urban bikers.
The last consorted effort Suzuki made to attract urban bikers was in 2008 and the website was called Busa Beats.
Suzuki relied previously on enthusiast magazines to do their marketing and because of extreme competition in the sport bike market they had to make a change in how they acquired more urban bikers to purchase their bikes. They had to become more aggressive in marketing by pushing into core markets, which in essence is the Urban Biker Market, at that time it accounted for nearly one-third of its sales.
In particular, the effort strived to reach African Americans and Latinos, which account for about 40 percent of Hayabusa buyers, according to Robert Elliott, advertising manager at Suzuki.
While African-American and Hispanic consumers tend to use the Web less overall, Elliott said it didn’t apply in making media choices for this campaign, which will spend half of its undisclosed budget on digital initiatives.
The misconception was African -American and Hispanic consumers don’t use the internet as much as white consumers. That truly isn’t the case . You have to reach them on sites of interest to them.
