Longtime outlaw bikers say they have no plans to abandon Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, even though the company is shifting some production overseas because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies.

“I’ve been riding them all of my life, even when they were s- bikes in the ’60s and ’70s,” said Lorne Campbell, a former GTA member of the Satan’s Choice and Hells Angels Motorcycle Clubs.

“Harley riders are loyal — even when (the bikes) leaked oil,” Campbell said. “They’re the best, now.”

Harley-Davidson announced this week it would move production of motorcycles bound for Europe overseas, blaming European Union tariffs it said would add an estimated $2,200 cost to the average bike. That move prompted Trump — whose tariffs prompted EU retaliation — to accuse Harley of searching for an excuse for moves it had already planned.

Rick Ciarnello, a Hells Angels spokesperson in B.C., gave no indication his club would be turning away from the iconic motorcycles because it will be transferring some production to Europe.

“Harley-Davidson is making a statement to the Trump Administration,” Ciarnello said in an email. “I don’t think their decision will impact our club in any way. Harley-Davidson motorcycles will still be available, no matter where the parts are made or assembled.”

It’s a long-standing rule that North American outlaw bikers such as the Hells Angels and Outlaws must ride American-made motorcycles — which limits them to Harley-Davidsons and a few smaller brands, like Indian and Victory.

Read more:

Can the quintessential American brand Harley-Davidson ride out Trump’s tweet storms?

Trump says Harley move abroad would be ‘beginning of the end’

Trump’s tariffs will be more painful for Canada than the U.S., economist says

“Right now, it’s all Harley-Davidson,” said Campbell, who rides an Ultra Classic 2003 Centennial model.

Campbell said unwavering loyalty to the Harley-Davidson brand is the norm in the outlaw biker world.

Harley riders are so loyal that former Satan’s Choice president Bernie Guindon of Oshawa named his son Harley Davidson.

Bikers like to note that the Harley-Davidson brand has been proudly American since it was started up by two brothers in a wooden shed in Milwaukee in 1903.

Many early outlaw bikers were introduced to motorcycles while serving in the military.

Most of the 20,000 motorcycles used by the U.S. military in the First World War were Harley-Davidsons. The U.S. military used some 90,000 Harley-Davidsons during the Second World War.

Early outlaw biker clubs like the Hells Angels contained a high percentage of former servicemen, whose first experience on a Harley was in wartime.

George Christie, former longtime president of the Hells Angels charter in Ventura, Calif., dismissed Trump in a blog post as a “soft, privileged, trust-fund mutt who deferred from the draft multiple times” even before the problems with Harley-Davidson.

“I understand chain of command and I understand that there has to be a semblance of order,” Christie said in a telephone interview. “He seems to like chaos.”

“I did a lot of peace negotiations,” said Christie, a former Armed Forces reservist who worked for the U.S. Department of Defense. “I negotiated with the Bandidos. I negotiated with the Outlaws … (Trump’s) not a guy I would have wanted to take into a room to negotiate with. He’s too volatile.”

Lawmaker, Milwaukee-area residents have mixed reactions to Harley-Davidson decision to some motorcycle production overseas in response to tariffs. (The Associated Press)

During the 2016 election Trump praised “the bikers” for being “so good to me, fantastic people who truly love our country.” Just two weeks ago, he told Fox News: “I have the bikers, I have the construction workers, I have them all.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

After Harley-Davidson announced its production move this week, Trump tweeted Tuesday the company faces a troubled future: “A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never! Their employees and customers are already very angry at them. If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end — they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!”

Shares of Harley-Davidson fell as much as 2 per cent after Trump’s tweet, before rallying to near even by the middle of the day.

Around the middle of the last century, the company’s American-outlaw image made for a stark contrast to rival Honda, whose motorcycles were portrayed in ads as a clean, nice alternative. In 1959, the Japanese manufacturer only sold 1,700 bikes in the U.S. By 1970, after Harley-Davidson had become the highway’s bad boy, Honda was selling 500,000. Other overseas competitors also began piling into the stateside market.

Harley-Davidson executed a skilful identity change in the 1970s that would eventually help refurbish its image in bold red, white and blue strokes, highlighted by a special edition bike to coincide with the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial.

Then, in 1983, the administration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan imposed five years of limited tariffs on Japanese bikes. The assist helped Harley-Davidson’s management retool the company.

By 1987, they were ready to again take on the Japanese competition alone. The company was the only American motorcycle brand left standing.

Reagan even cheered the company’s resurgence, speaking at their plant in York, Pennsylvania, on May 6, 1987, after the tariffs were dismantled.

“As you’ve shown again, America is someplace special,” Reagan told the crowd of workers, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time. “We’re on the road to unprecedented prosperity in this country — and we’ll get there on a Harley!”

But Harley-Davidson’s recent years have been difficult, leaving the company vulnerable to the global chaos Trump’s trade policy may spark. As BikeBandit.com has reported, motorcycle riders are getting grayer: in 2016, the median age for American motorcyclists is 47. In 1990, it was 32. In January, the company’s postings showed worldwide retail had fallen 6.7 per cent in 2016, with U.S. sales dropping 8.5 per cent.

Christie, who rides a customized 1998 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic, said he thinks the motorcycle maker is making a smart business move and will retain the affection of hard-core bikers.

He said he isn’t impressed with how Trump managed to avoid the draft because of a medical condition, while many bikers enlisted.

“What did he have? Shin splints?” Christie asked.

Campbell also said he isn’t impressed with Trump, despite his fond comments for bikers.

“I’m not a politician so I can’t really comment other than I think there’s better people,” Campbell said. “He has already stated that he doesn’t read. How do you become knowledgeable if you don’t read?”

Christie said he fears that Trump’s tirades are costing the U.S. prestige internationally.

“We set the standard for the world,” Christie said. “That seems to have slipped away from us.”

With files from Star wire services.

Read more about: