Youth Must Be Revved

Let Mom and Dad keep the hog. Harley wants its V-Rod to be the emblem of the next generation

Close to half a million bikers will pour into Sturgis, S. Dak, this week for the annual motorcycle rally, revving their hogs to a deafening pitch and baring their Harley-Davidson tattoos for all to see. But no matter how much leather they don, most will have a hard time looking tough. There will probably be far more aging white-collar baby boomers trying to recapture their imaginary rebellious youth than Hell's Angels flaunting it. The average age of a Harley devotee is now 45, up from 37 a decade ago; 20% are over 55.

That is why the nearly century-old American...

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