At the beginning of this year, a distinctive new shop front joined the line-up of motorcycle dealers in Barrys Point Road in Takapuna. Father and son Harley-Davidson Auckland franchise owners Ray and Greg Pratt had decided the time was right for a store to serve this part of Auckland. Greg manages the store and with his wife, sister and mother all also involved in the business in some way, it is, like Harley-Davidson itself, very much a family affair.
It’s a family business with grunt. The throb and roar of powerful Harley -Davidsons punctuates our conversation as bikes head down to the service department below the retail store, and the variety of bikes on show at street level is a testament to the range of machines available to aspiring Harley-Davidson owners. And then there’s the merchandise, spare parts, and the option to rent bikes.
Most rentals are long-term: to groups who arrive from overseas to tour the country by their preferred means of transport. Others take a weekend rental, so they can ride with a family member who owns a Harley.
As for merchandise, “Harley offers everything from t-shirts to doormats; leather jackets to glasses, money tins and jewellery,” says Greg. “It’s a lifestyle.”
The add-ons follow the purchase commitment. Owners want the bike first and foremost – who hasn’t aspired to riding a machine with the power and status of a large Harley-Davidson? “They buy the bike and get engulfed in the culture,” he says. “It’s part of being part of the club. It’s a social brand to be involved in.”
You don’t work (or own the franchise) at Harley-Davidson without being passionate about the bikes yourself. Greg has a V-rod, a performance oriented cruiser that Harley promotes as sending “massive horsepower and low-end torque directly to your adrenal gland when you unleash the engine”. Other members of the family all have other models. And of the team at the Takapuna store, only one is not a Harley rider. “He’s getting converted,” notes Greg.
Harley riders come in all ages and life stages. The stereotype of the aging baby boomer reliving their youth no longer holds – entirely. Harley, Greg says, has worked hard on exposing their bikes to more and more people.
It seems to be working. The fastest growing customer group is women, who are no longer riding behind their partners but are getting their own bikes. They tend to buy lighter bikes (is a Harley-Davidson ever really light?) and Greg says his slightly-built mother easily handles her machine. And younger people are joining HOGs (Harley Owners Groups) in ever-increasing numbers. With baby boomers not giving up riding (though maybe changing bikes as they get older), the profile of a Harley rider is increasingly more about lifestyle and passion than age or lifestage.
There are more than 400 active members of the Auckland HOG, and the numbers joining in the regular rides advertised on the website range from two (“in atrocious weather”) to as many as 150 or more. The charity rides for Harley-Davidson’s chosen charity, Muscular Dystrophy Association New Zealand, bring our riders en masse.
For most people, owning a Harley Davidson is an “extra”, Greg admits; it’s not their sole means of transport. “You tell yourself it’s a need… but owning one is a luxury.”
For Greg, it’s also a way of life. Not that he gets much time to ride for pleasure these days, with six-day-a-week work commitments. But when he gets the opportunity, he’s off. He and Ray (who Greg describes as “Creator and Godfather” of the two Auckland stores) recently used a Harley event in Queenstown as a reason to get on their bikes and cover almost the length of the country and back again.
So just what makes Harley-Davidson owners so passionate about their motorbikes? “The history and the nostalgia,” responds Greg,” the story behind the product. The whole history has been created from a family of pure motorcycle enthusiasts.
“The soul of the company is in motorcycles. They don’t make jet skis, cars or heat pumps. Everything we do is based around motorcycles and their riders.”
Greg knows he’s living the dream, working with Harley-Davidsons and their owners. Now that he’s made the move to the Shore, there’d be no better way to catch the Harley-Davidson bug than call in and chat to Greg or any of his team.
North Auckland Harley-Davidson, 64 Barrys Point Road Takapuna 09 3576500 www.nahd.co.nz Facebook @nahd.co.nz
Open 8.30am-5.30pm Monday – Friday, 9am-2pm Saturday
