Sailor Jerry’s Custom Harley Bikes Are Set to Roll…into Your Garage?

By David Ciminelli - August 30, 2017

Two titans of Americana are celebrating the freedom to ride by giving away 22 badass bikes customized by top artists from across the U.S.

You’ve already seen the 2018 Harley-Davidson motorcycles , and you’ve no doubt formed your own opinion about them. Like the rest of the country, you either love the new Harleys, or you don’t. Well, if you’re one of the folks who hasn’t yet warmed to the new models, there’s no need to fret because as H-D Forums writer Bryan Wood mentions in a new post, the new Harleys are likely to eventually grow on you once they get a chance to hit the pavement. Until then, however, there is another awesome way you can tap into the exciting energy of Harley-Davidson and at the same time revel in the rebel spirit of legendary tattoo artist Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins by walking away with one of 22 custom-painted bikes from a unique collection produced by Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum in collaboration with H-D.

Thanks to the ingenious pairing of Harley and Sailor Jerry, a number of top-notch American visual artists from NYC to L.A. have come together to help celebrate this teaming of titans as participants in the “American Legends’ Summer Bike Giveaway.” The popular creators include New Jersey native and “The Race of Gentlemen” founder Mel Stultz, Dallas’ Oliver Peck, NYC artist L’Amour Supreme, and SoCal automotive designer Michael “BuckWild” Ramirez. Also on board is popular Brooklyn-based tattooist Jonathan “JonBoy” Valena, who the New York Times calls “a Sailor Jerry for the young Hollywood and fashion crowd.”

“We definitely wanted to get artists from all over the country,” says Sailor Jerry Brand Ambassador Ashley Marsh (pictured above), who recently stopped by H-D Forums‘ homebase in L.A. to talk about the custom bikes. “So, this way, we could not only get multiple states excited but we could also include each artist’s demographic and their followers. The first one, BuckWild, was a no-brainer. He has done so much work for us over the years and just knocks it out of the park every single time. Then after that, we were like, where do we go from here? We probably started with 100 people and narrowed it down from there.”

Each of the selected artists has put his or her colorful creative stamp on nearly two dozen equally amazing Harley-Davidson motorcycles, including Forty-Eights, Iron 883s, and Roadsters. Upping the ante of awesomeness, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum also tapped a few of Harley-Davidson’s creative crew from the Milwaukee Company’s famous Styling Team to participate in this multi-year partnership.

‘ I love that Harley’s new brand experience is all about freedom because that’s why people ride. It’s also why people get tattoos. It’s all about expression of self…And it may not necessarily be coloring within the lines.’

Although Sailor Jerry has been generating a buzz in the biker community for years with its Harley motorcycle sweepstakes, the official Sailor Jerry/Harley-Davidson collaboration launched last May with a sort of traveling exhibit to popular motorcycle rallies across the country, like Sturgis and Born Free, where the artful motorcycles drew diverse crowds that had three things in common: sleek Harleys, strong booze, and cool pop art. There was also a side lesson in badass pop-art history, too.

While it’s the bold, colorful artwork that makes the Sailor Jerry Harley-Davidson motorcycles stand out, it was NYC-based artist Megan Massacre‘s decidedly biker-chick edginess, courtesy of a gorgeous pink paint job and floral imagery, that has really garnered quite a bit of attention.

“That bike had a huge outcry of people saying, ‘I don’t want to just win a bike, I want to win that bike!” says Marsh (pictured with Megan Massacre, right). “When we approached Megan to do these bikes, we did not tell her to make a pink bike. That was her thing. She was like, ‘I want the bike to feel [like] me.’ When I saw her bike, I got excited about it and I’m glad she did it.

“Over the last couple of years that we’ve been doing these sweepstakes, we’ve had a lot of great bikes that I would say are unisex, but nothing specifically female,” continues Marsh. “So many people want it, which is fantastic. I’m looking forward to seeing who gets it. Anyone can win Megan’s bike. It could be a dude from Indiana or a 22-year-old girl from California. We don’t know. It will be very interesting.”

Another stellar display that deserves a salute is Miami muralist Alexander Mijares‘ intricately designed and voraciously vibrant artwork that adorns virtually every available space of a 2017 Harley-Davidson Iron 883.

“Both Megan and Alex’s approaches were very interesting,” says Marsh. “Alex literally planned nothing and just looked at the bike and started painting, and it went from start to finish all in his hand, whereas Megan is extremely meticulous. She went to the dealership with a stencil and a pencil and traced every tin herself. She did everything on a stencil, in pencil, as a tattoo artist. Then she went into AutoCad and designed it all on her iPad. So, they were both very different approaches with very different outcomes, which is really part of the beauty of it all.

“We gave creative freedom to an extent,” adds Marsh, a longtime biker who often attends the promotional events on her own Harley. “At the end of the day, it needed to say Harley-Davidson on it, and it needed to feel Norman Collins. Obviously, every artist is different and nobody wants to stifle art, but at the same time, it needed to feel on brand for everybody involved. It needs to feel like your art. It needs to feel like Harley-Davidson. It needs to feel like Sailor Jerry.”

In addition to celebrating the work and spirit of Norman Collins, the Harley/Sailor Jerry collaboration is also a salute to American freedom, and just as Labor Day is rolling in, those 22 Harleys are going to get rolling under 22 lucky bikers real soon. Once the giveaway deadline ends on September 4, those motorcycles will be going to H-D fans who are looking to take home a piece of Harley history for free. (There is a still a chance for you to take one of these beauties home by entering the “American Legends’ Summer Bike Giveaway” here.)

“Both of our brands are all about freedom,” adds Marsh. “And I especially love that Harley’s new brand experience is all about freedom, too, because that’s why people ride. It’s also why people get tattoos. It’s all about expression of self. So, it’s the same person [that Sailor Jerry and Harley-Davidson are trying to reach]. They’re people who do what they want to do because they like doing it and it makes them happy, and it may not necessarily be coloring within the lines. They’re people who do things their way, just like Norman Collins did. He was a stubborn man who did whatever the hell he wanted. And that’s a Harley rider, and that’s a Sailor Jerry drinker. So, in that respect, they’re the same people.

“We don’t want to make anything that’s so cool and so elite that anybody feels that they’re not welcome,” she adds. “Everybody is welcome. It’s rum, and rum’s fun. They’re motorcycles, and they’re fun, they’re for everybody.”