HARLEY-RIDERS ROCK BUDAPEST !
Harley-Davidson is claiming an attendance of " over 100,000 participants from more than 50 countries " for the European leg of its 120th anniversary celebrations in Budapest , Hungary , staged June 22 to 25 - some three weeks before the Milwaukee ' Homecoming '. Slated as what observers are saying was a long four-day festival of all things ' Bar ' n Shield ', Horst Roesler reports that festival fatigue had set in by the time the final afternoon came round . " For the visitors , the 4-day event at Budapest would have been an enjoyable and well-organized event with music and stunt entertainment and a good parade - albeit without any particular single ' Highlight ' to define the event as unique , aside from weather that lurched repeatedly from biblical grade thunderstorms to blistering heat .
Words and pics by Horst Roesler , www . motographer . de
" The modern sports stadium environment Budapest ' s Puskás Aréna Park around Hungary ' s largest soccer stadium provided superb facilities as there never was a shortage of toilets or other facilities , and the facility afforded comfort on a hot weekend in the airconditioned show hall . The " Custom " component of the event was divided into three sections , the indoor Custom Gallery as part of the indoor hall exhibition , Friday ' s Ride-In Bike Show and the Industry display booths with a high-quality display of great modified and customized Harleys from all over Europe . Hosting the press attendance - some 230 + asked for credentials for the event - went smoothly in terms of getting the credentials , even though confirmations came late , but getting information or photographic access to key main stage events proved to be more difficult than at other and previous H-D events . Visitors complained of long lines , unnecessarily long lines in my view , and Harley ' s appointed organizing subcontractor committed that most heinous of event ' schoolboy / girl errors ' by running out of merchandise at the Rally Packs and Merch retail points . By the final day the public and visiting Harley riders had almost completely vanished from the event site , starting to pack at 3 pm and the custom bike show disappearing by 4-5 pm . Which is understandable at an event in a far eastern part of Europe . However , Harley report that the faithful were offered a choice of more than 50 bands on five stages on four evenings - including international acts such as Airbourne and Wolfmother from Australia , Larkin Poe from the USA , The Picture Books from Germany , British rock band The Darkness and Glenn Hughes performing classic Deep Purple as the top act on Sunday . VIPs included Jochen Zeitz , Chairman and CEO of Harley-Davidson , and Karen
and Bill Davidson , great-granddaughter and great-grandson of William A . Davidson , one of the company ' s four founders . To the applause of appreciative spectators , more than 7,000 motorcycles rode in the parade through downtown Budapest . There was , of course , a large exhibition of the new Harley-Davidson models and several classic Milwaukee bikes , including some of the Motor Company ' s most important creations . As part of this expo , the new CVO Road Glide and CVO Street Glide models were shown for the first time in Europe . More than 70 Harley-Davidson bikes were test-ridden on the streets of the Hungarian capital and in the surrounding area . Special options included two-hour Pan America on- and off-road rides and free tours of up to 300 kilometers in length , led by experienced regional road captains , who took them to some of the most scenic spots in northern Hungary . A
58 AFTERMARKET MOTO DESIGN - AUGUST 2023 www . AMDchampionship . com