When Harley-Davidson went through a period of critical rebranding back in the 1980’s, part of their strategy involved building upon their customer base and fortifying it into a community of enthusiasts. The company had just exited from their business deal with AMF, which was a deal that had plagued the reputation of the Harley-Davidson brand due to the low-quality production and cost-cutting measures implemented by AMF during the 1970’s. The sense of pride that came along with owning a Harley-Davidson had been subdued, and even though its strongest supporters remained loyal to the brand, there was no sense of lifestyle or camaraderie towards the brand like we know it to exist today.
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The premise of H.O.G.
With the company’s newfound freedom from AMF, and knowing there was a hole that the company would need to dig its reputation out of, the leadership at Harley-Davidson sought out to do a couple of things: improve the quality of their motorcycles, and cultivate a connection with their most loyal customers and build relationships within the community. This led to the creation of the Harley Owners Group (HOG), and its subsequent chapters within each dealership. The premise of HOG chapters quickly gained traction, and in the decades that followed, the number of chapter members soared as sales increased for the company. The growing support and networking opportunities led to numerous organized group rides, fundraising efforts, and community events.
What are the benefits to be H.O.G. membership?
Joining a HOG chapter has its perks: free access to the Harley-Davidson Museum located in Milwaukee, a subscription to H-D’s lifestyle magazine The Enthusiast, even a roadside assistance option. Perhaps the biggest reason for joining a HOG chapter is having access to a network of organized rides, and a sense of community and camaraderie with other riders. The lasting results of Harley-Davidson’s endeavor to cultivate its community have resulted in a worldwide network of Harley-Davidson riders and supporters that take pride in ownership, support the local community and HOG chapter, and genuinely convey their pride, positivity, and enthusiasm to others.
Harley Davidson Forums
In addition to the various HOG chapters, there are several online forums that Harley-Davidson owners have a significant presence in. The engagement can happen in the form of asking advice or technical questions, answering questions posed by other owners on the forum, or just sharing their bike with others, making it an excellent virtual option to maintain a sense of community for those that aren’t able to network in person. These forums range in size and content, but all members share the enthusiasm of riding and are helpful and friendly with questions, and responsive to discussion posts.
Below are some details on several Harley-Davidson forums that are currently active, including their size and member activity, as well as some unique features about each one.
Hdforums.com [Harley Davidson Forums]
This is one of the largest Harley-Davidson forums on the internet (if not the largest) with 1.3 million threads, and 415,000 members contributing over 20 million posts. There are separate forum areas for regional events and rides, classifieds, sponsored companies, mechanical and technical discussions, and sections for each Harley-Davidson model, in addition to the new members area and a general chat section. This forum is very active, with users posting frequently throughout each day.
v-twinforum.com [V-Twin Forum]
Cruising in with 2.7 million posts and 130,600 members, the V-Twin Forum has been active for over twenty years. There are areas for each Harley-Davidson model, technical questions, general topics, regional discussions, and a vendor section; there is also a preview area where users can preview some of the latest posts. This site also has an extensive FAQ area for helping newer users on a wide variety of questions and topics. One nice feature is an option for “Grow Your Business,” allowing you to create a platform to help promote your business with an active audience, and engage with the forum members.
Hdtimeline.com [HDTimeline]
This is also a larger forum with over 54,000 posted topics, and over 89,000 members contributing 521,000 posts. The forum contains common areas such as regional forums, a marketplace/classifieds area, general discussions, and threads for each of the Harley-Davidson models. Some unique features of the HDTimeline forum have to do with thread organization; for example, there is a Self-Help area that contains a number of discussions around repairs and various mechanical topics that users can navigate to depending on what system they are researching, instead of lumping all technical or mechanical threads under a “Mechanical” header and requiring the user to search for previous posts on the topic.
Harleyridersforum.com [Harley Riders Forum]
This forum has about 2400 registered members, with just over 2000 threads and 14,000 posts over its lifetime. The typical forum topics are listed, including tech forums and a general introduction/FAQ section, but there are a few unique topics on these forums including “Rate Your Dealer on Customer Service,” a recipe thread titled “Let’s Get Cookin,” and a dedicated history forum. Threads on motorcycle eras and models are sorted by motor and go all the way back to the first bikes built in 1903, including the first V-twin. (There are no posts yet for that era, so if you’ve got a classic 1909 V-Twin, you could be the first!)
Harley-forum.com [Harley forum]
With 1700 registered members, this is a more tight-knit forum with just over 1800 lifetime posts and 500 threads at the time of this writing. There is a Premium Members Section with manuals available (repair manuals, wiring diagrams, and others), in addition to a general section and welcome center, followed by a dedicated area for each model; this section is sorted by Softail, VRSC, Dyna Glide, Sportster, Touring, and Classic. The most active area, however, is the Biker’s Lounge in the Community section where users can post about “anything that comes to your mind.”
Finally
The amount of activity and engagement seen with HOG chapters and online forums is a testament for the outcome of the rebranding that occurred. It resurrected the sense of pride in owning a Harley-Davidson, turned a community that was passionate around motorcycling into a full-fledged lifestyle, and led to the numerous opportunities that exist today for the Harley-Davidson community to connect with one another. There was no predicting that the Harley-Davidson community would exist in a virtual realm when this rebranding took place, but the forums are a virtual example of this loyalty and engagement and show how powerful the sense of community can be.