Get the revs up to join the Harley party; Owners celebrate 25th anniversary MOTOR CYCLES HARLEY DAVIDSON

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), April 4, 2008

Byline: By HARRIET RIDLEY

IF YOU'RE a fan of Harley Davidson, then get your glad rags on. The Milwaukee manufacturer is not only celebrating its 105th anniversary, it's also the 25th anniversary of HOG - the Harley Owners Group.

It has a million members worldwide and more than 100,000 in Europe.

H-D is planning to celebrate in style.

The 2008 fun kicks off on May 22 at Grimaud, in the south of France, for a three-day event at the Cote D'Azur resort of Golfe de St Tropez. Things have obviously come a long way from the rebellious, and mostly skint, Harley-Dav-idson riders of old.

More than 10,000 Harley fans attended the 2007 staging of this annual event, and many more are expected this year to soak up the atmosphere, listen to music from the beach stage and visit the nightclubs and restaurants.

Next on the Harley agenda is a new event, Ireland Bike Weekend at Killarney from June 6 to 8. The rally features music, a 'Harley-tastic' atmosphere and the famous 'craic' Ireland has to offer.

The Harley-Davidson show then moves to Europe, first stop Germany.

Hamburg will host around 50,000 bikers and around 700,000 visitors for the annual Hamburg Harley Days festival from June 20 to 22. The rally was originally planned as a one-off to celebrate 100 years of H-D in 2003, but proved so popular it's now one of the biggest annual events in the Harley calendar.

Next stop is Minehead in south west England, when 5,000 H-D enthusiasts are expected to descend. It's for the UK's own 105th Harley-Davidson Anniversary Celebration scheduled from July 4 to 6. No doubt this will become an annual fixture too.

Also new on the calendar is the first Barcelona Harley Days event between July 10 and 13. This is the official 105th anniversary celebration for Europe, and there are plans to turn it into an annual fixture as the Catalan capital is a firm favourite among HOGs.

Another new event is the Scandinavian Bike Week which is set to roar through Roskilde in Denmark between August 14 and 16. It's designed as a gathering for the impressive numbers of Harley riders in northern Europe with some 25,000 motorcyclists expected to attend.

For the 11th successive year, Faaker See in Austria will play host to Europe's biggest open - and free - biker festival, European Bike Week. From September 2 riders from all over Europe and beyond will be turning the province of Carinthia into a celebration of the H-D way of life. There'll be events and activities to suit everyone set amid some of the world's most breathtaking scenery and biking roads.

The celebrations come to a climax from September 25 to 27 in the beautiful setting of Lake Garda in northern Italy with the 17th annual European HOG Rally, the official European celebration of 25 years of the Harley Owners Group. This stunning location last hosted a major HOG event in 1996 and proved a big hit.

H-D says visitors will experience a carnival atmosphere at each event with each one having its own flavour. As for entertainment expect custom bike and stunt shows, live music, demo rides on the latest Harley-Davidson and Buell motorcycles and of course, the company of thousands of fellow Harley riders.

Nigel Villiers, director of the Harley Owners Group, said: "2008 is going to be an important year for Harley-Davidson. We will be marking the occasion with our most exciting line-up of events yet.

"On top of our calendar of celebrations we're providing 'reasons to ride', with escorted tours to exotic destinations, a 'Ride Home' for European riders to Milwaukee for the 105th Anniversary celebrations, and a host of smaller events throughout the riding season."

For more details of the 2008 events, log on to the events calendars on www.harley-davidson.com and www.hog.com.

CAPTION(S):

EASY RIDER - Harriet Ridley enjoys a spin on a Harley Davidson