Uncle Bunt inducted into the US Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame
Those who have come to Harleys late in life, after years aboard a variety of British and Japanese bikes through the last couple of decades, will know the name of one of the UK's foremost customisers. John Reed was responsible for much of the ground-breaking custom engineering initially through his shop - the original Uncle Bunt - and then as a world-respected designer, and inspired generations of bikers, which culminated in an explosion of interest in custom bikes, spurred on by the Kent Custom Bike Show and the launch of Back Street Heroes magazine.

He broke into the US with a Supercharged Triumph-powered lowrider and ultimately moved to the ’States to set up and run the R&D department for CCI for six months, in California, in the mid-eighties, applying for permanent residency after 2 years. This year, alongside Erik Buell, John was admitted into the ranks of the great and good in recognition of his contribution to motorcycling. Take a bow Mr Reed.

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New Harley-Davidson centre for the South East
Mid-May launch for state-of-the-art showroom in south-east London

Harley-Davidson, the world's oldest and most famous motorcycle company, is coming to the south-east. Warr's Harley-Davidson, which currently has two stores on the legendary King's Road in London, is gearing up to retail the full range of Harley-Davidson and Buell (Harley's sister performance brand) motorcycles from a new designer showroom at 16-20 Mottingham Road, London SE9 (between Bromley and Bexley).

It won't just be a motorcycle dealership. The new centre will include a fashionable boutique selling Harley-Davidson MotorClothes and fashion accessories, and there will be a full service and repair facility as well as an outlet for Harley-Davidson Authorised Rentals.

Behind the new venture is a company with an unmatched history and track record in Europe. Warr's Harley-Davidson started retailing Harley-Davidson motorcycles in 1924, making it the oldest and most successful dealership in the UK and Europe - and older than most US dealerships. It remains a family-run business, with ex-racer and third generation Harley dealer John Warr the present managing director.

"When my grandfather first became an official Harley-Davidson dealer, the flagship bike was the 'Silent Grey Fellow' costing £85," says John Warr. "So virtually every Harley-Davidson in the company's 99 year history has passed through our doors since."

"Opening a store in south-east London was a natural move for us to develop the business," continues John. "The area is easily accessible from the suburbs of London, Surrey, Kent and Sussex and major routes such as the M25, A20 and the South Circular are all close by, giving us a catchment area of millions, and making it a prime location for a prestige motorcycle centre."

John also points out that the new store will be more than a sales centre for Harley-Davidson: "Harley-Davidson prides itself on its 'close-to-customer' approach to business and it will be no different here in south-east London. Warr's is well known for its old fashioned customer service standards and will be transplanting a piece of our history and
Harley know-how into the south-east from the King's Road. We want to serve a whole new audience of Harley and Buell customers who will find coming to the new store an easy and convenient way to get into the Harley-Davidson experience."

Harley-Davidson motorcycles range from £4,995 for a Sportster 883 to £15,495 for the Ultra Classic Electra Glide. The range also features the recently launched Harley-Davidson V-Rod, which has had rave reviews from the media since its launch in July 2001, and has won numerous awards, including Bike of the Year. Another new addition to the Buell range is the Firebolt XB9R which was launched to the press a fortnight ago and has already been described by The Daily Telegraph as "dynamically outstanding."

To find out more, contact Warr's Harley-Davidson on 0207 736 2934 or visit www.warrs.com. For information on Harley-Davidson visit www.harley-davidson.co.uk or call the Harley-Davidson Response Centre on 0870 842 7539.

(unedited Harley-Davidson press release)

Just Harleys begins search for most powerful motorcycle in the North East
Just Harleys Dyno-Jet Challenge,
13th - 14th April 2002

Forget what the brochures say. It's power and torque at the wheel, not the engine, that matters in the real world. And that is why Just Harleys, the Newcastle-based Harley-Davidson and Buell dealership, has thrown down the gauntlet to motorcyclists across the north-east by announcing the country's first two-wheeled, Dyno-Jet Challenge over the weekend of 13th and 14th April.

The event will use a dyno-jet (or rolling road dynamometer) machine to take accurate readings of maximum power output and maximum torque - all at the wheel (where the real action happens) and all in a controlled, safe environment. The most powerful motorcycle will be declared the winner. But because the purpose of the event is to have fun, there will be a whole host of other prizes on offer including: most torquey bike; least powerful bike; steepest torque curve; fastest scooter; and many more depending on what type of machines are entered. The competition is free to enter and the only criteria is that entries must be ridden to Just Harleys to take part, as it's a competition for road-going bikes only.

"The idea is for as many people as possible to come along, with whatever two-wheeled machine they desire, and have a great time at their local Harley-Davidson dealership," says general manager John Stares. "The prize giving will be just for fun and we've put forward two powerful bikes to challenge people who think Harleys and Buells aren't serious contenders when it comes to performance. Our S1 and the new V-Rod will prove them wrong, but if they ride away with a few prizes, so much the better."

Every type of motorcycle is welcome (as long as it's road legal): it doesn't have to be a Harley-Davidson or a Buell, but owners of fast and powerful motorcycles should beware. Just Harleys will be entering two of its own machines - a standard Harley-Davidson V-Rod and the dealership's own, specially prepared, Buell S1 Lightning. The V-Rod is the most powerful cruiser motorcycle on the market with 115 bhp, an estimated top speed of over 140 mph, and 74 lb/ft of torque. It's expected to be tough competition for sports bike entries, let alone any other cruisers that may try to challenge it.

Just Harleys' Buell S1 Lightning has already been officially declared the fastest Buell outside America, delivering 148 bhp and 141 lb/ft of torque - power which has helped the bike achieve success in the Straightliners drag racing series over the last few years.

Anyone interested in entering Just Harleys' Dyno-Jet Challenge should call 0191 232 7174, visit www.justharleys.co.uk or simply come along to the Dinsdale Place dealership on April 13th or 14th with their chosen machine.

(unedited Harley-Davidson press release)

Harley targetted by US/EU Steel wars
Anyone following the news in the UK surrounding the political problems of the present government and its sponsors will be aware of the impending trade wars between the US and EU over steel imports. What a lot of us never contemplated is that it would affect imprts of Harley-Davidsons to Europe, but it looks like it will.

Why? Because Wisconsin (Milwaukee) and Pennsylvania (York) are key marginals in the forthcoming elections to the House of Representatives in the autumn, currently in the control of the republican party. Politics, and nothing more. An attempt by one government to hit another government where it hurts: in the ballots.

There's no point in anyone moralising: this is the sort of stuff our leaders get up to in our name, and there will be a number of British and European workers who will be affected by the 30% import tariffs imposed by the American government on foreign steel, but there will also be American steelworkers who'll applaud their government's actions to protect their livelihoods in the face of cheap imports. Slapping tariffs on cheap steel products from across the globe will not make the problem go away and the EU is planning a similar action to prevent the European market being swamped by the surplus.

Meantime, while the US steel tariffs were applied at the end of March, it is reckoned that it'll take more than 12 months for the retaliatory measures to be put in place - and the hope is that the pressure will force a climbdown. In any event, Bush has said the tariffs will be reviewed in eighteen months to see if they are having the desired result - a return to profitability in the US steel industry.

Europe is said - by the US press - to be keen to not pick a fight with software giants, aircraft manufacturers or other goods from the US that are required to help keep the EU competitive.

Bush lost Wisconsin in the presidential race - despite touring a Harley-Davidson plant - and he is, to some extent, following in the footsteps of Ronnie Raygun who slapped import tariffs on Japanese motorcycles about two decades ago to protect the embryonic, newly independent Harley-Davidson Motor Company after the management buy-back from AMF, but this time it could be at Harley-Davidson's expense.

Harley are not commenting but a depressed domestic market and a concerned labour market means that new bikes are staying on the showroom floor for longer in states where the recession is cutting deepest, so the 19,600 motorcycles shipped to the EU last year must represent a nice little earner. Nice birthday present!

Still, it's a long way from a singing fat lady and it could still all amount to nothing. The EU and other steel producers are demanding compensation from the US for lost imports, as well as lodging formal complaints from the World Trade Organisation - although Bush isn't known for heeding international agreements and bodies when they conflict with his domestic position - and there is still the spectre of his original election, which could hold sway on the fall election.

But enough of politics. If you want a Harley at todays prices, get one today before they are subject to levies over which we have no control. Still, if it gets to that, there's a number of unsold Harleys in the US waiting for new owners.

Andy

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Rumour mill grinds on ...
When one or more people are gathered together it won't take long before one alludes to something that is believed to be common knowledge to the other. When it's two people, it doesn't get out of hand, but when it's Daytona ...

When I heard that Buell might be in so much trouble that Harley were considering selling the company, I was saddened. It isn't established fact, but plain and simple rumour and I hope that it not the case, but it does get your mind working.

I could potentially understand it because even as a lover of Buells, I wonder whether the people who are selling them actually understand what they're selling. Are they Harleys? Are they Sportsbikes? Are they both or neither?

Well, they're not Harleys. They are not classic Harleys in shape, size or description, and it's not a case of technology because the V-Rod is. Would a Harley buyer buy one? Some, yes, but not as many as you'd expect because they just ain't pretty enough.

Are they Sportsbikes then? Well, yes and no. Sports: yes. Supersports: no. There isn't a bracket or pigeonhole you can put them in except perhaps Streetfighter, and that isn't really a known category. It doesn't mean they're on their own: check out the European V-twin unfaired bikes like the Raptor, the Monster and the like. Would a Sports rider buy one? Most are interested in the concept, but from a distance because while the technology is respected and known, the long-stroke push-rod powerplant causes concern born of ignorance.

So, could the Firebolt be the last attempt by Harley to turn it round?

What if they sold it?

One certainty is that Erik Buell would not be unemployed for long - if at all. Harley accredit him with elements of their motor development and would be keen to retain his services, but it would be at least as much because the opposition out there would be happy to embrace him, his experience and his lateral mind. The third option is even more attactive in some respects, but not necessarily in an American-V context: an independent Buell Motorcycles providing an American answer to Bimota. Removed from contractual obligation to the Motor Company, the barrier to Buell's acceptance in the mainstream sportsbike world would be removed at a stroke: its engine. They would be far quicker to contemplate a reworked version of the Firebolt chassis designed to take the TL1000 motor, or a Firestorm lump. Or how about an R1 or GSXR1000 using the mass centralisation, low centre of gravity and low unsprung weight principles that he has made his own. I'm not sure how the Italians would take to a Buell framed Aprilia or Ducati, but it would be a fascinating exercise in technology.

It is an interesting possibility, but one that I hope we never realise, because it would possibly spell the end of the Buell / Harley collaboration and I would mourn the passing of American-V powered Buells as much as I do the end of the tube frame line.

Andy