HARLEY-DAVIDSON NEWS

This month, Harley-Davidson is celebrating thousands of women who have cast aside their doubts, grabbed life by the handlebars and found empowerment through the sport of motorcycling during the fourth annual Women Riders Month. Women Riders Month is designed to celebrate the increasing number of women who ride motorcycles, as well as empower other women to live out their own motorcycle dreams. “Learning to ride a motorcycle is one of the most exhilarating and empowering experiences in life,” said Claudia Garber, Director of Women’s Marketing Outreach at Harley-Davidson Motor Company. “Women Riders Month celebrates women who’ve already found empowerment on the open road – but it also allows us to support the thousands of other women whose motorcycle dreams are still parked in the garage.”

Throughout the month of May, Harley-Davidson, the top-selling motorcycle brand among women in the U.S. and the industry leader in supporting women riders, will host a series of programs designed to empower women riders and non-riders alike, including:

•International Female Ride Day: Today, women from around the world are hitting the open road during the 6th Annual International Female Ride Day on May 4th. The event, founded and organized by Vicki Gray of MOTORESS in Toronto, Canada, invites women riders around the world to “just ride,” a concept that is passionately supported by Harley-Davidson.

•Buzz Wall: Every female rider has a story to tell. During Women Riders Month, the Motor Company encourages women to find their inspiration and share their stories with the world on the Buzz Wall (www.harley-davidson.com/voices). The Buzz Wall is an online billboard that showcases the inspirational stories of women who ride as well as videos, information and links to help women get started. Women can share their stories and photos by tweeting with the Twitter hashtag #harleywomen, or they can upload them to the Women Riding Stories section on Harley-Davidson’s website.

•Garage Party Events: Garage Parties are social events designed for women and hosted by participating Harley-Davidson dealerships across the nation. Events take place after hours and offer hands-on tips and seminars on key areas of motorcycling basics, all in a fun, laid-back setting. To find a Garage Party near you, visit www.harley-davidson.com\womenriders

•Women Riders Web Site: Women can visit the updated Women Riders section of the Harley-Davidson Web site at www.harley-davidson.com/womenriders, which features information on how to get into the sport including the Roadmap to Riding tool, information on Rider’s Edge Academy of Motorcycling training course, a calendar of Garage Parties in cities around the country and much, much more.

Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise.

After nearly 50 years as head of styling, Willie G. Davidson is retiring from Harley-Davidson April 30, 2012.

Willie G., Senior Vice President and Chief Styling Officer, is widely recognized as a legend in the world of motorcycling and motorcycle design. He will continue his involvement with the company as an ambassador at motorcycle rallies and events, and through special design projects as Chief Styling Officer Emeritus.

“Throughout my life, I have been truly fortunate to have the opportunity to marry my passion for design with my love for this amazing brand that runs so deeply in my veins,” Willie G. said. “What’s most rewarding has been to see the impact our motorcycles have on the lives of our customers. Everything we do in styling is based on the notion that form follows function, but both report to emotion.”

Over the course of his career, Willie G., 78, built a design team at Harley-Davidson that established the company’s unrivaled leadership in custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles. Today, the styling department is led by 19-year company veteran Ray Drea, Vice President and Director of Styling, who has worked collaboratively with Willie G. in the development of numerous milestone vehicles.

“It has been my privilege to work alongside many incredibly talented people at this company and I have great confidence the future of Harley-Davidson’s design leadership will continue to grow in its pre-eminence,” Willie G. said. “I look forward to spending time with riders at rallies and to my involvement in special design projects.”

“Few individuals have the kind of impact on an organization, a brand and a lifestyle that Willie G. has had,” said Keith Wandell, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. “Everyone with a love for motorcycles owes a great deal to his vision and talent, and all of us have been blessed by his presence. His legacy will continue to grow, thanks to the talent he has nurtured in the Harley-Davidson styling studio.”

Willie G. has long served as ambassador of Harley-Davidson at rallies around the world – meeting riders, talking to customers, lending his famous signature to jackets, and setting an example of being close to the customer that has become one of the hallmarks of the company.

Grandson of one of the company’s founders, William A. Davidson, and son of William H. Davidson, its second president, Willie G. joined the company as its first head of styling in 1963. With responsibility for the look of all Harley-Davidson motorcycles, landmark motorcycles to emerge from Willie G’s styling studio team include the Super Glide, which established the factory custom category in 1971, Low Rider, Heritage Softail Classic, Fat Boy, V-Rod and Street Glide. He is one of 13 Harley-Davidson executives who purchased the company from AMF, Inc. in 1981.

The Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines racing team unveiled its restyled V-Rod drag motorcycles ahead of the first Pro Stock Motorcycle round of the 2012 NHRA Full Drag Racing series.

Reigning champion Ed Krawiec and Andrew Hines will compete for the Harley-Davidson team on new V-Rod drag bikes, restyled to more closely resembled the Night Rod Special production model. This marks the first restyling of Harley-Davidson’s NHRA competition bikes since the V-Rod entered the competition in 2002, and comes as The Motor Company celebrates the V-Rod’s 10th anniversary.“The goal was to make the drag racing motorcycles look more like the current production Night Rod Special motorcycle,” says Kris Schoonover, Harley-Davidson racing manager. “The biggest change is in the shape of the rear fender, although the front fender is a little longer and is now more similar to the part on the production motorcycle.”

Krawiec’s V-Rod is painted in a black on silver scheme while Hines’ race bike has the colors reversed. Both paint schemes were designed by Paul Martin, Harley-Davidson manager of styling and graphics from the Willie G. Davidson Production Development Center. Krawiec and Hines’ leathers were designed by Karen Davidson, Willie G. Davidson’s daughter and creative director of Harley-Davidson MotorClothes.

The Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines team has had a lot of success in the NHRA series, winning five titles in ten years. Krawiec has two titles while Hines has three to his name.

The 2012 NHRA Full Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Motorcycle class features 16 rounds starting with the March 8-11 round in Gainesville, Fla.

A stripped-down Softail with narrow styling with less chrome and retro details. Pare down a Harley-Davidson® Softail® motorcycle to its essential elements and you have the Slim. From its trimmed front fender to its narrow rear end, the Slim is a a back-to-basics motorcycle. You can call it stripped or old school. What’s left is the elemental Softail profile that recalls classic custom bobbers of the 1950s.

“It’s time to make the engine the focal point of the motorcycle,” says Harley-Davidson Senior Designer Casey Ketterhagen, “so we put a Softail on a diet to get the proportions back in check. Scale down the rear with a narrow tire and chopped fender and the heart of the bike, the motor, once again becomes the focus. We left a gap between the nose of the seat and tank so the rider can see the top of the motor. I like to be able to look down and see what’s moving me.”

To keep the rear of the motorcycle simple and clean, the Slim has combination stop/turn/tail lights and a side-mounted license plate. The rear fender struts are left uncovered, exposing the forged steel and fasteners. A thin formed-leather strap covers the fuel tank seam. The powertrain is finished with polished covers instead of chrome, and the black cylinders are left unhighlighted. The FL front fender is trimmed to expose more of the tire.

“I’d personally like to strip the bike down even further,” says Ketterhagen, “but this is as far as we can go on a production model. The Slim is intended to be a direct interpretation of home-built customs of the 1940s and 50s, and we used a number of components that evoke that era, beginning with a Hollywood handlebar.”

The Hollywood bar, identified by its wide bend and cross brace, was originally an accessory for Harley-Davidson® models with a Springer fork. The name may have been coined because owners of that era who used the cross-brace to mount lights and bags had “gone Hollywood” with excessive accessorization. For the Slim, the cross-braced bar and louvered headlight nacelle are finished in gloss black. Other period styling cues include a gloss black “cat’s eye” tank console with a retro speedometer face, half-moon rider footboards, a round air cleaner cover, and gloss black wheel rims and hubs. The cover of the solo seat is stitched in a tuck-and-roll pattern. “The seat really gives you the feeling of sitting in the bike, rather than on it,” says Ketterhagen. “The bars are nice and low, too, so when you’re riding you have an unobstructed view forward, which reinforces the idea that this is a very elemental motorcycle, a real back-to-basics ride.”

A counter-balanced Twin Cam 103B™ engine is rigid-mounted within the frame, creating a solid connection between rider and the machine. The Softail® chassis mimics the clean lines of a vintage hardtail frame, but utilizes rear suspension control provided by coil-over shock absorbers mounted horizontally and out of sight within the frame rails. With the combination of a 23.8-inch seat height and rider footboards, the Slim comfortably fits a wide range of riders and offers light side-stand lift-off. A pull-back riser from Harley-Davidson® Genuine Motor Accessories can be installed to move the handlebar back two inches without changing control cables and lines.

Key features of the 2012 Harley-Davidson Softail® Slim™ include:

• Rigid-mounted, air-cooled, 1690 cc Twin Cam 103B™ counter-balanced engine with Automatic Compression Release (ACR) rated at 98.7ft. lbs. peak torque at 3000 rpm.

• Powertrain is finished in Black powdercoat with polished covers.

• 6-Speed Cruise Drive® Transmission.

• Chrome, over/under shotgun exhaust with slash-cut mufflers.

• Gloss Black round air cleaner cover.

• Classic 5.0-gallon Fat Bob® fuel tank.

• Black “cat’s eye” console holds electronic speedometer with retro-style face.

• Dunlop® 16-inch (MT90B16) front and rear (MU85B16) tires.

• Black, Steel Laced wheels.

• Hollywood handlebar with cross-brace.

• Gloss black headlamp with chrome trim ring.

• Gloss black nacelle with punched louvers.

• Half-moon footboards with retro-style foot control pads.

• Chopped rear fender exposes rear tire.

• Trimmed FL front fender.

• Side-mounted license plate bracket.

• Combination stop/tail/turn tail lights.

• Solo seat with black tuck-and-roll vinyl cover.

• Forged rear fender supports are finished in Gloss Black powdercoat.

• Gloss black “horseshoe” oil tank.

• Paint color choices include Vivid Black, Black Denim, and Ember Red Sunglo.

• Security Package Option (factory-installed option) includes: Harley-Davidson® Smart Security System with proximity-based, hands-free security fob and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)

MILWAUKEE (January 20, 2012) A special customized 2012 Street Glide® motorcycle will be the featured prize of the Harley-Davidson 2012 Daytona Bike Week Motorcycle Raffle to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Created just for this event by the Harley-Davidson Genuine Motor Accessories® department, the Street Glide has been decked out with a Tango Limited Series Custom Paint Set, Blade Custom Wheels, a Wind Splitter Windshield, a Boom! Audio Premium Speaker Kit, a Bat Wing Ape Handlebar, a Chrome Front End Kit, a Rallyrunner® Seat, a Screamin' Eagle® Ventilator Air Cleaner Kit, Screamin' Eagle Nightstick Mufflers and many more accessories. The combined retail value of accessories installed on the bike is more than $14,000. The total customized motorcycle has a fair market value of approximately $35,600 US MSRP.

Raffle tickets to win the bike will be available at the MDA booth at the Harley-Davidson exhibit at Riverfront Park on Beach Street in Daytona Beach, Fla. Raffle tickets are $5 per ticket or five tickets for $20. Ticket sales start Saturday, March 10, and end at 2 p.m. March 17, when the drawing will take place. The winner does need not be present to win. All proceeds will benefit MDA.

Since 1980, Harley-Davidson's family of dealers, customers, employees, suppliers and H.O.G. (Harley Owners Group) chapters has raised more than $81 million for the MDA. From the donations these rides and other special events raise, they support MDA worldwide research efforts, comprehensive medical care for children and adults with neuromuscular diseases, the MDA summer camp program for youngsters and more.

Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson's Web site at www.harley-davidson.com.

Harley-Davidson offers more Big Twin performance for 2012 as its Twin Cam 103™ powertrain is standard equipment on Softail® and Touring motorcycle models and most Dyna® motorcycle models. Harley-Davidson will offer two new models for 2012. The V-Rod® 10th Anniversary Edition celebrates a decade of power-cruiser performance, while the new Dyna® Switchback is a convertible custom-touring motorcycle with detachable hard saddlebags and windshield. In addition, the Night Rod® Special has significant updates for 2012 with refreshed bodywork and optimized rider ergonomics. Harley-Davidson Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO)™ rolls out the gleaming new CVO™ Road Glide® Custom, a limited-production, high-performance touring masterpiece.

Harley-Davidson believes every motorcycle it sells can be a custom of one. Harley-Davidson H-D1™ is a comprehensive offering of customization tools for the Harley-Davidson® motorcycle owner. H-D1 tools include Harley-Davidson® Genuine Motor Accessories listings in print and on-line catalogs, Fit Shop and consultation services at Harley-Davidson dealerships, and factory customization and Bike Builder tools on harley-davidson.com. H-D1 offers almost unlimited opportunities to optimize fit, function, style and performance and turn a Harley into a motorcycle that is truly personalized to its owner.

Harley-Davidson heads into 2012 with 32 models, each born of experience that spans generations and a passion for riding that will never diminish.

Highlights of the 2012 Harley-Davidson line include: The Twin Cam 103™ engine powers all 2012 Dyna®, Softail® and Touring models with the exception of the Dyna Street Bob® and Dyna Super Glide® Custom. This engine produces up to 100 ft lbs. peak torque, an increase of approximately 6 percent over the Twin Cam 96™ engine it replaces as standard power for many of these models. The Twin Cam 103 is equipped with automatic compression release. It features identifying badges on the derby cover, timer cover and air cleaner trim ring.

A Security Package that pairs Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Smart Security System with proximity-based, hands-free security fob is available for all 2012 V-Rod®, Dyna®, Softail®, Touring and CVO™ models. The Security Package is standard equipment on CVO™ models and on the Road Glide® Ultra, the Electra Glide® Ultra Limited, and the Road King® Classic. The Security Package is a factory-installed option for all other models.

The Night Rod® Special is updated with new tapered tail section, lighter-weight wheels, an inverted front fork and improved ergonomics. Harley-Davidson celebrates a decade of power cruising with the V-Rod® 10th Anniversary Edition motorcycle, finished in Brilliant Silver Pearl bodywork that evokes the anodized aluminum bodywork of the original V-Rod model that introduced the liquid-cooled Revolution V-Twin engine in 2002. All V-Rod models will carry V-Rod 10th Anniversary badges.

The new Dyna® Switchback combines hard saddlebags and a windshield with the eager handling and Twin Cam 103 performance of the Dyna chassis. It’s a custom-touring bike ready for a long weekend trip, until the detachable bags and windshield are removed. Then in seconds the Switchback becomes a custom street cruiser with a gleaming headlamp nacelle, five-spoke cast-aluminum wheels and a mini-ape handlebar. This convertible concept makes the versatile Switchback two motorcycles in one. All Harley-Davidson® Softail® models get the performance boost of the Twin Cam 103 engine for 2012.

The Fat Boy® and Fat Boy® Lo have a new reduced-reach handlebar for more-comfortable ergonomics. A lower, narrower seat shape places the Fat Boy rider in a new “in the bike” position. The Softail® Deluxe and Heritage Softail® Classic will be available with a new optional “tubeless” Chrome Aluminum Profile Laced wheel option for ease of tire replacement and repair.

The Twin Cam 103™ powertrain gives all Harley-Davidson® Touring models assertive power for passing. On Touring models, the Twin Cam 103 is equipped with an oil cooler. All Touring models except the Ultra Limited will offer a new “tubeless” Chrome Aluminum Profile Laced wheel option.

The Harley-Davidson Sportster® line appeals to a broad range of riders with six 2012 models ranging from the race-inspired XR1200X™ to the accessible SuperLow® to Dark Custom roadsters like the Iron 883™, Nightster® and Forty-Eight®. The Sportster® 1200 Custom can be personalized for fit, function and style with H-D1™ factory customization, a process that allows customers to use the Bike Builder tool on harley-davidson.com to build the motorcycle from a selection of options that are installed as the bike is assembled by Harley-Davidson Motor Company or are installed by a dealer after the motorcycle is delivered. New 1200 Custom color options have been added to Bike Builder for 2012.

The new CVO™ Road Glide® Custom is one of four limited-production 2012 models from Harley-Davidson Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO)™, each turned out with bold paint, gleaming chrome, and the most-powerful V-Twin engines offered in production Harley-Davidson motorcycles. CVO Road Glide Custom is a hot-rod bagger with a frame-mounted fairing topped with a smoked Wind Splitter windshield, a high-output, amplified Harman/Kardon® Advanced Audio system, and a color-matched, low-profile fuel tank console.

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