Bakersfield Harley-Davidson Blog

On November 19th, 2008, at 6:00 PM Bakersfield Harley-Davidson will be opening our doors for ladies only!  Its our annual Ladies Night event and it is shaping up to be our best Ladies Night ever.

This year, there will be games, prizes and an Italian soda and espresso bar. We will be having a gigantic one night sale with new winter fashions being unveiled for the first time.

So mark your calendars for November 19th at 6:00pm and we can’t wait to see you here. Sorry guys, ladies only!

Some things in life come and go, but the Harley-Davidson Motor Company has been around for a few years (105 to be exact!). To millions of Americans and people around the world, Harley-Davidson is more than just a corporation; it represents the can-do spirit of independence and freedom that touches the American Soul.

This Sunday, November 4th, Bakersfield Harley-Davidson hosted the Harley-Davidson Traveling Museum. For those who do not know, the Traveling Museum is literally an 18 wheeler packed with classic Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, vintage clothing and rare memorabilia. These items are hand-picked from the Motor Company’s permanent Museum in Milwaukee, representing the highest quality vintage motorcycles anywhere in the world.

This year there were a wide assortment of classic Harleys to drool over including a 1919 example.  We had a great time putting it on and we hope you were able to attend.  Check out the pictures following the link…

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The first annual Luau on the Lot event was tons of fun.  If you didn’t get a chance to attend I will recap it a little here and I’ve included over 100 pictures to view. If you were able to make it, we hope you had a great time.  The feedback I’m getting back this week so far has been really positive. 

For us here at the shop, the day begins at the crack of dawn, with some of us getting here as early as 6:00 am to set things up and make sure all goes smoothly.  Debbie and her crew did a great job in decorating the showroom and creating that tropical feeling.  By 8:00 am a small crowd was starting to gather in front, the store was completely decked out in the Hawaiian theme and we were ready to get underway.

When the Saturday morning regulars strolled in for the obligatory coffee and donuts they were in for a shocker- leis were placed around their necks and fresh tropical fruits were served!  (Are we in the right place?)  By 9:00 am we knew it was going to be a good one; the store was busy and we were rocking and rolling.

The registrations for the drawings started at 9:00 am with special thanks to Carol, Vikki, Robin and Jan for manning the registrations all day!  We could not have pulled this off it weren’t for you.  We had some great giveaways all day long culminating in the grand prize giveaway of a trip for two to Maui. Congratulations to Donna Logandice for winning the grand prize; a vacation package including airfare and hotel.  Aloha Donna, start packing your bags!

Around 1:00 lunch was served and we got a chance to break in our new barbeque grill.  Pork, rice and fruits were served in keeping with the Hawaiian theme.  Thanks to Reggie, Eric, George, Don and Jan for helping with the cooking and serving.  Everything tasted great.

This was followed by Hawaiian dancing.  It was a real family affair as John and Kealoha of Island Style Productions provided the entertainment.  John was the DJ and did a great job of keeping the house rocking.  Kealoha is a dance instructor and her team was definitely a highlight of the day.

One final area that often gets overlooked is the cleanup.  By 5:00 pm everyone at the shop is exhausted but there is still more work that needs to be done.  Thanks to Dale and Bert in particular for sticking around and helping us out.

Also, thanks to Doc, Bud, Boomer with their help with security.  (honestly, would you try any funny business knowing that a group named “Doc”, “Bud” and “Boomer” would be all over you!)

If I forgot to mention anyone (and I am sure I did) for their help in pulling this off, I apologize.

Thanks for reading this and click on the following link to enjoy the pictures…

On Saturday August 18th Bakersfield Harley-Davidson is inviting you to our Luau on the Lot!

Come join us for a full day of festivities and you can enter to win a trip for two to Maui which will include air fare and hotel.

We will have live entertainment, Hawaiian style Barbeque, a gigantic sale throughout the store and drawings for many other prizes.

Thank you Bakersfield for helping to make our first year at our new location such a success and we always appreciate your business.

Visit us for more details and there is no purchase necessary to win. It is going to be a great time and we hope to see you here!

Here at Bakersfield Harley-Davidson, we get a lot of new customers purchasing Harley-Davidson motorcycles for the very first time.  Maybe they’ve owned other bikes; maybe this Harley is their first.  Either way, I always try to take a little extra time during the delivery process to explain a little about the Harley Owners Group and specifically our fantastic local chapter here in Bakersfield.  It is hard to convey the value of this group to people new to the Harley-Davidson family but I do make the attempt and it usually goes something like this.

For over a century, owning a Harley-Davidson motorcycle has meant more than just owning a motorcycle, it has been an experience, a passion and camaraderie between good friends mixed with a strong sense of adventure and freedom.  What other product out there brings so many people from diverse backgrounds together and creates such a tight bond between them?  If you know of any, I would like to hear from you because I can’t think of one. (more…)

Its always great to take home your brand new Harley-Davidson motorcycle, but to me the most interesting part is in customizing your bike and making it ‘your own’.

With literally thousands of parts available for your Harley, think of the countless combinations of customizations you could create.

One such customer that has jumped in with both feet is Steve Stevens.  A few months ago Steve bought a electric bright orange 2007 Road Glide from us and has wasted no time in getting his customizing started.  When he rode his bike in, it just so happened that we had another stock one just like it on the showroom and I thought it would be a great idea to begin featuring customers and there custom bikes.

So without furthur ado here are a dozen or so pictures of Steve’s bike before and after:

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When the first customers starting strolling through the doors of Bakersfield Harley-Davidson this morning they were still laughing at some of the scenes in Wild Hogs.  I cannot tell you how many people came up to us and thanked us for putting on such a great event.  But the real people that need to be thanked is everyone that participated.  Without your enthusiasm the event would not have been as great as it was.

The Wild Hogs Movie Night was honestly one of the best times I have had in a long time.  Good ride in good weather with great people to see a darn funny movie.

The motorclothes department did an incredible job of decorating the showroom in a movie theme complete with Milk Duds, Jujy Fruits, Snowcaps and popcorn.  It really set the mood for the evening.
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On Friday March 2nd Bakersfield Harley-Davidson has reserved an entire theater for an opening night showing of the new movie Wild Hogs.

In case you haven’t heard about it, Wild Hogs is the new comedy movie about four guys who plan a road trip on their new Harleys. It stars Martin Lawrence, John Travolta, Tim Allen and William H. Macy.

You can see a preview for it at Wildhogsmovie.com.

We will be meeting at Bakersfield Harley-Davidson for a preshow party set for 5:00 pm and will be riding over to the theater shortly thereafter. 

We have a limited amount of tickets which are on sale now and are available for immediate purchase for the great price of $7 per person.   So come in today to purchase your ticket from Kim in the accounting office.

You can meet at the theater if you wish but tickets must be picked up at the dealership prior to the event.  We will not be selling tickets at the theater.

Check back next week for updates, contact Kim in the office @ 661-325-3644 or email us @wildhogs@bakersfieldhd.com for more information.  I will update this posting as the times get firmed up.

Update:  The response has been unbelievable.  We have sold out the entire movie theater.  For everyone that was lucky enough to get tickets, meet at Bakersfield Harley-Davidson on Friday, March 2nd at 5:00 pm for the pre-party.

Special thanks to Debbie, Carol, Bob and everyone else that contributed to the ticket sales.

 The All New 2007 Harley-Davidson Nightsterâ„¢ has arrived.  In case you haven’t heard, the new Sportster 1200N is basically a Sportster with an attitude.

Chopped Fenders, Matte finish engine Blacked out rims, Side mounted license frame and fork gators complete the look.

For a complete rundown on this awesome new bike click here or better yet come by and see it in person. 

On December 14th the Harley-Davidson Traveling Museum arrived at Bakersfield Harley-Davidson, accompanied by it’s driver/curator, Mike Quinn.  The Traveling Museum is, as the name implies, a mobile  collection hand picked from H-D’s fabulous Archive collection based in Milwaukee.

The Museum is not a static collection.  Each year the company hand selects new displays according to an ever changing theme that emphasizes an aspect of the Company’s rich history.  For 2006 the collection emphasizes the Company’s racing heritage and included a board-track Peashooter from the early part of the 20th century, a CR dirt track racer from the 1950s, a VR-1000 racing bike (forerunner of the modern V-Rod series of liquid cooled Harley-Davidson motorcycles), among many other displays.

Other display cases contained trophys and racing memorabilia spanning the Company’s lengthy and successful racing history.

Even though the musem was in town mid-week over 800 enthusiasts filed through the Museum to enjoy this year’s collection.  We all look forward to another visit next year, and another opportunity to enjoy more offerings from the Harley-Davidson Archive Collection.

Special thanks to Don Oldaker and Dave Fisher for helping to put together this article.  Pictures to follow.

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