Harley-Davidson 'used' bikers before 'woke' controversy, former outlaw rider claims
Bad-boy riders say they stood by motorcycle maker through thick and thin, now feel abandoned
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bikers who say they gave the Harley-Davidson brand its "bad---" image over the years, and even claim a role in helping to "build" its success, say they feel kicked to the curb amid the American motorcycle maker's global expansion.
Recent concerns about the brand's latest "woke" tendencies also appear to have quickened the discontent among some.
"Harley used the motorcycle clubs and used the loyalty of a lot of bikers for decades to build the brand," James "Hollywood" Macecari, a former "one-percenter" – or outlaw – club member, told Fox News Digital this week in an interview.
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Macecari, a motorcycling media mogul, is founder of Insane Throttle, a biker content platform, host of the "Motorcycle Madhouse" podcast and author of four books on his life of crime as a Harley-riding outlaw gang member.
The bike maker, he believes, had already committed an offense worse than woke. Harley-Davidson, he said, was disloyal to many bikers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former outlaw biker James "Hollywood" Macecari, a motorcycling media mogul, said bikers stuck with Harley through hard times. (James "Hollywood" Macecari)
They were often bad boys and the worst were dangerous criminals. They were also very good Harley customers.
He said they kept the Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker alive when it was on the brink of failure, inking their devotion to the gritty, American-made bikes in their own flesh.
"Harley got loyalty from the bikers."
"The bikers stuck with Harley through the AMF (American Machine and Foundry) years in the 1970s when the bikes were junk and nobody else wanted them," said Macecari.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"C’mon. What brand gets tattooed all over people like Harley? You know? Harley got loyalty and billions in free advertising from the bikers."
Fox News Digital reached out multiple times to Harley-Davidson for comment but did not receive a response.
Harley gained an almost mythic aura of American-made muscle, power and independence over the years.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A red, white and blue Harley-Davidson motorcycle is shown in Chicago, Illinois. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Harley prices soared in the 1990s, when accountants, doctors and lawyers proved they were willing to pay a premium to don the armor of a Harley rider.
"The relationship with bikers worked for Harley for decades," said Macecari.
"Then all of a sudden, if I walked into a Harley-Davidson dealership with my patch, they snubbed their noses, even though I probably made more money than half the owners."
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Many within the Harley-Davidson community, however, refute the narrative that the company has rejected its roots in an effort to appease political trends.
"Harley has not gone woke," a longtime dealership employee in Texas told Fox News Digital this week.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They’re not hiring transgender influencers to ride down the road on Harleys. None of these training programs [that led to the ‘woke’ accusations] were mandatory," he also said.
Actress and model Cindy Crawford sits on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on the set of a Pepsi commercial in 1992 in Los Angeles, California. Longtime biker club riders who stood by the brand when it was unpopular in the 1970s say its image began to change in the 1990s. (Roxanne McCann)
The Harley-Davidson devotee does agree the brand has changed and that street-hardened bikers are no longer its core market.
"The brand’s evolving. It’s always been evolving. A Harley now is a luxury item. You’re not going to finance a Harley with a 0%-interest loan because the banks now consider it a luxury item."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For "a lot of these guys … their bike is all they have."
Still, the sting of disloyalty runs deep, according to an author who has chronicled outlaw biker culture.
"A lot of these guys are dirt poor, they crash on couches, or they’re homeless and their bike is all they have," Dave Wedge, co-author of the 2022 book "Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang," told Fox News Digital.
Jeffrey "Mr. Meatloaf" Scales of Brooklyn, New York, is a celebrity in the customized motorcycle world. His flashy, colorful bikes, built on Harley-Davidson frames, already run contrary to the brand's rough-and-tumble image. But still, he says, the brand's evolving image creates "a stigma on the street." (Jeffrey "Mr, Meatloaf" Scales)
"There’s a reason if you touch a gang member’s bike, you’re in trouble [and might even] get killed," said Wedge. "These bikes are their family, in some cases their only family. It’s an extension of themselves."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added, "With the Pagans specifically … that bike was always a Harley."
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Bikers are "anything but woke," he also said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}So the notion that Harley has adopted a platform that conflicts with their worldview appears to be a final act of betrayal for them.
"These bikes are their family, in some cases their only family. It's an extension of themselves."
"The American dream has never been about backing those that back you. It's always been about backing those that make you money," John E. Bunch II, one of the nation's most high-profile club leaders, told Fox News Digital.
American biker club culture helped turn Harley-Davidson into a global brand. (Paul Zinken/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Known as Black Dragon in the biker community, Bunch is the former national president of Black Sabbath Motorcycle Club Nation and the host of "Black Dragon Biker TV" on YouTube.
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"So as long as you make Harley-Davidson money, Harley-Davidson will be loyal to you," said Bunch.
"And when they felt as though you're not capable of making them money anymore, like any other company, they're going where they can make the money."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Harley-Davidson has grown globally while the old motorcycle clubs have shrunk domestically.
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"Harley-Davidson today is a worldwide brand and the motorcycle clubs are dying. The reality is that Harley is not making motorcycles for motorcycle clubs," he also said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Those loyal old bikers are also just old.
"Easy Rider' was 55 years ago," said Bunch. "If you're part of the ‘Easy Rider’ generation, you're mother--- old. You're heading out, bro. You're a dinosaur."
Actors Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Luke Askew, on the back of Fonda's motorcycle, in a publicity photo issued for the 1969 hit movie, "Easy Rider." (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Still, he said, "none of that changes the fact that Harley was disloyal to the people who made them what they are."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Said Macecari, "Harley can crash and burn now for all I care."
Harley-Davidson was founded in Milwaukee in 1903 by William Harley and partners and brothers Arthur, Walter and William Davidson.
Harley and the Davidson boys grew up as neighbors and friends. Harley and Arthur Davidson were both bicycle enthusiasts and mechanics, as Fox News Digital previously reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}James "Hollywood" Macecari was a member of an outlaw biker gang before becoming an author and podcaster. (James "Hollywood" Macecari; Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
They began tinkering with small internal combustion engines. They put motors on bicycles - their first Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
Harley-Davidson, its own museum notes, sold just three motorcycles in 1905. In 2023, it produced 163,000 bikes — making it one of the world's largest motorcycle companies.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Harley-Davidson, Inc. is the parent company of Harley-Davidson Motor Company and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Its vision, according to the company, is "building our legend and leading our industry through innovation, evolution and emotion. Our mission: More than building machines, we stand for the timeless pursuit of adventure. Freedom for the soul."
Harley-Davidson also has a controlling interest in LiveWire Group, Inc., the first publicly traded all-electric motorcycle company in the U.S., the company notes.