Here’s just a taste of the action:
HISTORIC HARLEY-DAVIDSON 120TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Harley-Davidson celebrated its 120th Anniversary in style with a huge international festival of motorcycles, music and wide ranging entertainment in Hungary’s national stadium campus in Budapest
•More than 100,000 participants attended the ticketed event across the four days of the festival, from more than 50 countries.
•50+ bands played across five stages over four nights, including major international acts playing to huge crowds.
•VIPs included Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of Harley-Davidson, Karen Davidson and Bill Davidson attended, 4th generation direct descendants of William A Davidson, one of the founding fathers of the company.
•Parade featuring more than 7,000 motorcycles rode through central Budapest applauded by huge crowds of local spectators.
The Harley-Davidson® 120th Anniversary Festival has just taken place over four days, from June 22-25, at the iconic Puskás Aréna Park in Budapest – Hungary’s national football ground and also a major event venue. The festival took over the park with a wide range of attractions and activities, including an indoor showcase of Harley-Davidson motorcycles old and new, celebrating some of the iconic brand’s greatest creations. Headlining this Harley-Davidson Expo was an exclusive European first viewing of the all-new 2023 CVO motorcycles, the CVO Road Glide and CVO Street Glide, globally revealed just two weeks before the festival began.
Motorcyclists were also given the opportunity to test ride more than 70 Harley-Davidson motorcycles on the streets of Budapest – and beyond. Also offered was a tailored two-hour Pan America on-road and off-road demo experience designed to fully test the capabilities of the adventure touring motorcycle.
Riders and fans of Harley-Davidson made their way to Budapest from across the globe, travelling across Europe but also from the USA, Australia, South Africa and Singapore, visitors were also treated to free tours of up to 300km hosted by local experts, taking them far beyond Budapest to some of northern Hungary’s most scenic locations, allowing them to make the most of their visit.
One of the highlights for both visitors and locals was an extensive entertainment schedule which included more than 50 bands across five stages, including international acts such as Airbourne and Wolfmother from Australia, Larkin Poe from USA, fan favourite The Picture Books from Germany, UK rock band The Darkness, and Glenn Hughes Performing Classic Deep Purple bringing the show to a close on Sunday night. A clear Hungarian flavour was also added to the entertainment lineup with favourite, iconic bands such as EDDA Muvek and Pokolgép also headlining.
VIPs in attendance included Jochen Zeitz, Chairman, President and CEO of Harley-Davidson, overseeing a prize draw alongside Karen Davidson and Bill Davidson, 4th generation grandchildren of company co-founder William A. Davidson, where a limited edition 120th Anniversary Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic was awarded to a UK winner.
As well as a wide variety of creative custom motorcycles on show in various locations around the festival, Friday saw a customer ride-in Custom Bike Show, supported by Metzeler tyres, and featuring more than 80 bikes brought especially to Budapest to compete, from eight different countries. The ultimate winner was Marco Sonnino from Italy.
The company was also delighted to announce the location for next year’s 30th edition H.O.G. Rally, a free event open to all riders which will take place in Senigallia, Italy from June 6-9, 2024. The outstanding location is less than two hours from Bologna and features iconic renaissance architecture, a stunning coastline and is surrounded by rolling hills and winding roads, making it a perfect location to plan a tour to in 2024.
Kolja Rebstock, Regional Vice-President for Europe, Middle East and Africa said: “This was a truly incredible festival which epitomised Harley-Davidson as a truly magnetic brand and lifestyle that reaches far beyond motorcycles. On behalf of Harley-Davidson EMEA, I would like to thank the event organisers ‘SportMarketing Agency Kft’, the city of Budapest and of course the people of Hungary for embracing the festival’s combination of motorcycle, music and entertainment by making riders from all over the world welcome. We will return to Austria for our next large scale event on 5-10th September to welcome riders in celebrating 25 years of European Bike Week.”
“DUNLOP APE HANGER CHALLENGE”…how long can u hang???
EXPO
“Fauno”
Builder: PDF Motociclette – ITALY
1927 HD JD extremely powerful racing engine rebuilt to 8 valves
(original only 4 valves)
Frame & Chassis: Original HD JD modified by PDF Motociclette – 100% Hardtail
Paint Job/Art: PDF Motociclette
Technical Highlights – Completely handcrafted motorcycle with unique engine technology; built as a tribe to the historic specials that raced in hill climbing.
“Snow Drag”
Builder: H-D Banska Bystrica – SLOVAKIA
1202 cm3 – HD Evolution Sportster
Frame & Chassis: Sportster Roadster XL1200 CX MY2016
Paint Job/Art: Wrap
Technical Highlights: The first officially built HD in the snow. The motorcycle was built without interfering with the motorcycle frame. Getting back on the wheels takes about 4 hours. For the conversion, it was necessary to make a belt attachment and transfer the drive from the right side to the left side.
R-N Racing
120th Anniversary Street Glide
“History”
Bike Builder: VK Custom Works – Slovenia
Engine: HD Flathead 750cc air intake and exhaust system custom made by VK
Frame & Chassis: Custom made by VK Custom Works
Paint Job/Art: VK Custom Works
Technical Highlights: 335 cm long bike! 80% of this bike handmade in VK Custom Works workshop.
“Aluracer”
Bike Builder: Gigamachine Choppers – Hungary
Build Completed: 2014
Duration of Build: 6 months
Best Results: -AMD World Championship, 6th Place
Best results con’t
-Hungarian Motor Builder Championship (EMAT) 1st Place
-Customs of Slovakia – 1st Place
Saturday, June 24th H-D Street Parade –Thousands of motorcycles cruised along the Danube River, and through the streets of Budapest:
…and the winner was >>>Gerdas from the United Kingdom – who rode home on the 2023 Anniversary Edition Heritage Softail!!!
#HARLEY and PUSKAS Stadium – Budapest
WOLFMOTHER rocked out the house after Gerdas won the Heritage Softail! The band started jamming in 2004 in Sydney Australia, and includes Andrew Stockdale, Bobby Poulton, and Hamish Rosser.
Andrew Stockdale – Lead Singer /Guitar– Wolfmother
‘70s Customs
Grand Finale
Somewhere along the road, the heritage trip to
Hungary is now being checked off of the ‘ol bucket list!
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