Celebrities and Harley Davidsons

Riding a Harley is a thrill to the common man, and an everyday bit of life if you are a biker. To a celebrity, biking can be a feeling that they are akin to other blacktop cowboys riding their iron horses. When folks speak of famous Harley riders, names such as Jay Leno, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Paul Newman come to mind.

There is a group of unlikely Harley riders in the leather-clad mob of scooter enthusiasts as well. One of the richest men in the world, Malcolm Forbes, was a biker. He owned and rode 70 motorcycles. Forbes bestowed a Harley upon his friend Elizabeth Taylor for her birthday in 1987; the story goes that the bike’s color and fitting moniker “Purple Passion” was to match Taylor’s eye color. Celebrities from the music world including icons Willie Nelson, David Crosby, Tina Turner, Kid Rock, Jackson Browne, Jon Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and host of other celebrities all have a Harley fetish.

Two movies starting with Marlon Brando as outlaw biker “Johnny” in the 1953 movie “The Wild One” then the famous 1969 road flick “Easy Rider” with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper still inspires folks to follow the lyrics from Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild” from the Easy Rider soundtrack. "Get your motor runnin', Head out on the highway, Lookin' for adventure, and whatever comes our way, Yeah Darlin' go make it happen!" Willie Davidson resurrected the Harley as being the true American motorcycle. Many celebrities embrace that patriotic thought by riding their favorite American Harley hog.