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IT'S been a part of American folklore since the first model hogged the road. It's been glorified on film and in song.

Now the Harley-Davidson motorbike is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and enthusiasts around the world are in "Hog heaven".

In scenes repeated across the US this week, hundreds of thousands of Harley riders headed for Milwaukee – the ride of the century to the party of the century.

No vehicle touches the consciousness as much as H-D, and this weekend the company's birthplace, a city of one million, has almost doubled in size.

Enthusiasts from around the world, including around 1000 from Australian, have ridden from the four corners of the US.

The company describes each road as a "vein leading to the heart", beating to the pulse of the Harley Owners' Group.

The legend began in 1903 when 21-year-old William S. Harley and 20-year-old Arthur Davidson made available to the public their first production motorcycle – a single-cylinder engine on a chassis not much bigger than a bicycle – from a "factory" that was little more than a wooden shed.

To put this achievement into perspective, in 1903 many US homes didn't have power or sewerage, roads were dirt, Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley were touring their Wild West show in Europe, the Wright brothers were about to make the world's first powered flight and Henry Ford was building his first car.

One hundred years later, H-D's traditionally styled V-twins are showing the world how to make serious money out of motorcycle production.

The company, which survived the Depression and narrowly escaped bankruptcy in 1985, has enjoyed record sales for 10 years.

In 1998, it sold motorcycles worth $US1.5 billion. Last year that figure increased to $US3.1 billion.

Add parts and accessories worth $US629 million and general merchandise of $US232 million, and the total is almost $US4 billion.

Confounding its critics, H-D powers on. This year it did not release a stand-alone 2003 commemorative model. It simply applied a special paint scheme and logo to all its model range.

Today and tomorrow the shores of Lake Michigan will host the world's biggest biker bash with concerts, parties and a temporary shopping mall of memorabilia and products.

another link: http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=1423253

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Thousands of spectators line a seven mile route though downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin August 30, 2003. 10,000 bikers rode to celebrate the Harley-Davidson Company's 100th anniversary.


Bikers wave as they ride in the official Harley-Davidson parade through downtown Milwaukee Saturday, Aug. 30, 2003. Harley-Davidson enthusiasts are in the Milwaukee area for the company's week-long 100th anniversary celebration.


Harley Davidson motorcycle riders cruise down Water Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Harley enthusiasts began arriving in Milwaukee today for a four-day celebration of the manufacturer's 100th anniversary. Over 250 thousand people are expected for the event.




Bear, a nine year old Chow Chow breed dog, arrives with his master Mike Kelley at Hal's Harley, a Harley-Davidson dealership in New Berlin, Wisconsin, August 29, 2003. Bear and Kelley are from Anchorage, Alaska have ridden together for seven years and 4,000 miles, and are attending the 100th anniversary of the legendary U.S. motorcycle.


Riders fill the road as the sun sets outside the Washington County Fair Park Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2003, in West Bend, Wis.

ArkiStan

I heard many of the attendees walked away in disgust as the event revealed the "surprise-guest artist," Elton John. LMAO~