BORIS

miss those old Harley dealers from time-totime . I ’ m not sure many of you do , since most of you weren ’ t riding Harleys in the late 80s , so your concept of a Harley dealer is rather modern . And this is no bad thing . For you . You ’ re probably retired , and you ’ ve bought a Harley because you ’ ve always wanted one , and you were given membership in a “ club ”, scored a bunch of H-D garments to go with the bike , and the whole dealer experience was very holistic , positive , and cheerful . That ain ’ t the way it used to be . Which is a shame . Because the way it used to be meant only the people who really wanted to ride Harleys ended up doing so . And since most of those people also wanted to join or were in outlaw clubs , the buying experience and after-sales service reflected this . Which was only right and proper . Because buying a Shovelhead in 1984 was serious business . It helped if you were mentally unstable . And I certainly was , so it was like Kismet for me . There were no fancy , shiny , mood-lit Harley dealerships back then . Most of the Harley dealers – and there were maybe two or three in all of NZ – were run by outlaw motorcycle clubs . With all that that entailed . You went into one of these shops and it was just as likely you ’ d get punched in the face for being a sass-mouthed dickhead , as you would maybe buy a hideously expensive and horribly unreliable Harley to cart long-legged strippers around , fight with the police , and ride around drunk on cheap liquor . Unlike the ersatz “ lifestyle ” current Harley buyers think they ’ re purchasing today , in 1984 you were buying into the real deal – and if that meant the tattooed monster behind the counter could not be arsed going to look for a clutch-cable you needed , then you came back when he was . Back then , it really was a Fit In or Eff Off , kinda deal . Not like the cute FIFO badge thingie the Hoggers wear today . And you fit in , or you did indeed eff off , or were effed off with a broken jaw . It was fantastic . Visceral , wicked , and full of sin , those old school Harley shops were truly places your parents wished you ’ d never visit to hang with people your parents also warned you about . But once you ’ d become a regular , and if you owned a Shovelhead , or a Panhead , or even one of those lunacy-inducing iron-head Sportsters , you would be a very frequent visitor , then things changed . You and the beast behind the counter would

84 KIWI RIDER