The Harley-Davidson has always attracted celebrities. Marlon Brando has one; so does Arnold Schwarzenegger. Peter Fonda rides one - remember Easy Rider with Denis Hopper? Even Elvis Presley had a red-and-white KH model.
In Hong Kong a number of prominent people ride Harleys, including Ian Skeggs, boss of Inchcape Motors, Holger Gossmann who is more at home selling Rolls-Royce and Bentley luxury models, and legislator David Chu Yu-lin.
Harley-Davidson was established in 1903 when brothers Walter, William and Arthur Davidson, and their friend William S Harley, all from Milwaukee, produced their first motorcycle, a single cylinder, three horsepower, belt-drive machine. It was built in the Davidsons' garden shed, while Janet Davidson, their aunt, painted on the legendary black-and-red logo.
The following year, the fledgling company produced just three machines, with the austere grey paint-work and a silencer for the engine - something of a rarity in those days - earning the bike the epithet: 'Silent Grey Fellow'.
Two years on and a Davidson uncle, James McLay, financed the construction of a new manufacturing facility and increased production to a staggering total - in those days - of 50 a year.
As production increased year by year, Bill Harley designed several innovations for the company, including a fully floating seat, kick-start and an internal expanding rear brake.
By 1919, output totalled 22,000 machines a year, but by 1921 this had dropped dramatically to just 10,000, following a period of almost entirely military production during the Great War.