The Best Idea Yet – Ep. 46: 🏍️ Harley-Davidson: Tattoo’d on 700,000 Biceps

Podcast: The Best Idea Yet
Hosts: Nick Martell & Jack Crivici Kramer
Date: August 26, 2025
Subject: The untold story of Harley-Davidson, the product, culture, and bold bets behind one of America’s most tattooed brands.

Episode Overview

This episode explores Harley-Davidson’s evolution from a turn-of-the-century garage project to the global symbol of rebellion, freedom, and biker culture. Hosts Nick and Jack trace the company’s founding, its community-building genius, its brushes with extinction, and its ability to sell not just bikes—but identity. The show brims with storytelling, business insights, wild facts, and the enduring question: How does a brand become worthy of 700,000 tattoos?

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Brand Tattooed on 700,000 Biceps

• Harley-Davidson is "one of the most tattooed logos in history," with an estimated 700,000 tattoos worldwide [01:23].
• The hosts open by riffing on the idea of which brand they'd tattoo on themselves, revealing Nick (jokingly) sports their podcast show logo as a tattoo [00:53].

2. The Founding: Inspiration from the Fringes

• Vaudeville Spark: Founders William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson were inspired by a vaudeville show featuring a motorized tricycle ("while everyone else saw a punchline...these guys saw the future of freedom and the open road" [05:18], [06:03]).
• First Build: Using a recycled tomato can as a carburetor, they built and iterated, soon bringing in the mechanically gifted Walter Davidson [07:37].
• Reality Check: Their first engine “barely ran” and couldn’t make it up hills, pushing them to improve ("We should triple the motor size" – Walter Davidson [08:52]).

3. From Backyard to Factory (1903-1908)

• Built just 3 bikes in 1903; by 1908, making 450/yr [10:43]-[11:00].
• Milestones: First dealership and birth of the Harley-Davidson community, forming the first motorcycle clubs ("the heart of the company's success" [11:47]).

4. Harley’s Edge: Performance & Community

• Racing: Harley’s “Wrecking Crew” dominated the notorious “Murderdrone” racing tracks, winning fans and improving the bikes ("Research and Development...and Marketing" [17:08]).
• Introduction of the iconic V-Twin engine (the deep, throaty sound of Harley) [17:50].

5. From Military to Main Street

• Harley supplied 20,000+ bikes to the U.S. Army in WWI, earning over $150M in today’s money [20:05].
• Gave the Army free mechanic training—turning soldiers into lifelong, loyal Harley fans ("Harley is also indoctrinating that first generation of hardcore Harley fans" [20:55]).
• Created "The Enthusiast" magazine for soldiers, building community and lore [21:10].

6. The Rise of a Lifestyle

• By 1920, Harley was selling 30,000 bikes a year worldwide [21:44].
• Shifted focus to aesthetics with the iconic teardrop gas tank, blending fashion and function [22:17].

7. Chopper Culture and Counterculture

• WWII experience: Veterans returned home, customized bikes—birth of the "chopper" [25:10].
• Outlaw image grows: Hollister Riot (1947) jumpstarts “bad biker” mythos; Hell’s Angels formed ("the world's most powerful decentralized fraternity in history" [27:21]).
• Mainstreamed in movies (“The Wild One,” “Easy Rider”)—rebellion and cool, but sales suffered as parents got scared off [28:18].

8. Competition and Crisis: The AMF Years (1969-1981)

• Honda's entry: Smaller, cheaper, reliable bikes change the U.S. market ("Harley is getting outsold 10 to 1 by Honda" [32:42]).
• Harley bought by AMF, suffers quality issues and loss of reputation ("Quality falls into the gutter..." [33:04]).

9. The Willie G. Davidson Reboot

• Willie G., grandson of a founder, returns, pushes embracing custom/chopper style at the factory ("work for Levi’s, may as well work for Harley" [34:15]).
• 1981: Willie G. and execs stage an $80M leveraged buyout to reclaim Harley from AMF [34:58].
• Harley doubles down on identity, launches the Harley Owners Group (HOG); leans into "American by birth, rebel by choice" [36:19].

10. Boom and Bust: Midlife Crisis Marketing

• "Harley Davidson was saved by midlife crisis marketing while the brand was going through its own midlife crisis" [36:55].
• Baby boomers boost sales in the 90s, long waiting lists for new bikes ("By 1996...18 month wait list..." [37:28]).
• Harley even tries to trademark the engine sound ("potato, potato, potato" [37:51]).

11. Modern Brand Play and New Challenges

• Harley’s rider base is aging; sales fell in half of past ten years [38:08].
• Harley focused on boomers, "ignored millennials," and faces uncertainty with young buyers.
• However, Harley’s merch division is thriving—$270M in apparel and gear sold in 2022 [39:03]; "the margins on merch...are better than on bikes" [39:27].
• Hosts highlight Harley’s "gray beard strategy"—wait for new generations to turn into their parents ("Once you hit the age of 45, something just clicks..." [40:12]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On brand devotion:

• "Riders are as loyal to the Screaming Eagle logo as they are to their own mothers."
  —Nick Martell [02:26]

On disruption:

• "Basically, the horse is getting disrupted."
  —Nick Martell, explaining the early 1900s [07:14]

On the chopper movement:

• "Don't fear the fringe. Embrace it."
  —Jack Crivici Kramer [40:53]

On Harley’s authentic value proposition:

• "What we sell is the ability for a 43-year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of him. That is so honest it hurts."
  —Quoted by Jack, from a former Harley exec [38:17]

On Harley's sound:

• "They actually tried to trademark their engine sound."
  —Nick Martell [37:28]

Timeline of Key Segments

• 00:10-01:23: Brand tattoos banter; Harley-Davidson’s tattoo claim
• 05:18-07:14: Origin story—vaudeville inspiration, early DIY engineering
• 10:43-12:28: First sales, dealership, community formation
• 15:34-18:05: Racing and "Murderdrone," rise of the V-Twin
• 20:05-22:37: World Wars, community-building via military and media
• 25:10-27:21: Birth of the ‘chopper’, counterculture, and biker clubs
• 31:07-33:04: Honda's effect, AMF buyout and Harley’s decline
• 34:58-36:43: Willie G., buyback, Harley Owners Group (HOG)
• 36:54-37:28: The 'midlife crisis' marketing strategy and boomer boom
• 38:08-40:12: Modern struggles, merch as profit center, “gray beard strategy”
• 40:53-41:44: Key takeaways: Embrace the fringe; invest in education
• 42:45-44:07: "Best facts yet": Hog nickname origin, Harley side gigs, perfume flop

Business & Cultural Insights

• Community over Product: Early club formation and service member training established lifelong loyalty.
• Motorcycles as Identity: Harley’s DNA is as much about rebellion and self-expression as machines.
• Brand Resilience: Through crisis and competition, Harley reinvented itself by embracing and channeling biker subcultures.
• Marketing Mastery: Harley expertly turned image (boomers’ midlife crisis) into booming sales.
• Merch Profits: As bike sales slow, the brand’s value and merchandising ascend.

Fun Facts & Final Surprises

• The term "Hog" dates to Harley’s early racing team, where a piglet mascot would get a victory lap after wins [43:04].
• Harley has tried (unsuccessfully) to branch out—selling snowmobiles, golf carts, wine, and even perfume.
• On perfumes: "Turns out people who are happy to have the Harley logo as a permanent tattoo, they're not dabbing Oda Harley behind their ears." —Jack [44:07]

Takeaways

Jack:

• "Don't fear the fringe. Embrace it."
  Harley’s revival came from embracing biker customization and building factory customs.

Nick:

• "Education is the best investment you can make from both sides."
  By training GIs on its bikes, Harley created skilled loyalists and better performing machines.

This episode captures how Harley-Davidson’s edge lay not just in engineering, but in its fearless embrace of the fringe, translating community, rebellion, and midlife longing into one of the most iconic—and inked—brands in business history.