Easy Ryder: Harley’s North Dakota Biker Town Gamble Pays Off Big
Harley-Davidson proves if you teach them, they will ride…
Earlier this year, Harley-Davidson presented the town of Ryder, North Dakota with an incredible opportunity: To teach all of the town’s residents to ride, free of charge. Amazing, right? Okay, the town of Ryder does have a population of 84, but the offer was too good to pass up. Only four months after this program began, about 70% of the residents in Ryder can now call themselves riders.
Ryder was chosen by Harley-Davidson not just because of their name, but in an effort to reach out to a group of people that otherwise might not think of themselves as bikers. Needless to say, offering free lessons to every licensed driver 16 and over proved very appealing, and successful. Most have gotten their license to ride, and according to Mayor Jody Reinisch about 15-20% of the residents have already bought their own Harley, reports The Jamestown Sun.
Bill Davidson, vice president of the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee said, “I think the Harley-Davidson element has brought them a sense of freedom, a sense of experience and a new feeling of ‘Wow, we are part of something that’s really great,'”. The experiment exceeded expectations and Harley hopes to launch a similar program in another town.
In addition to the lessons, Harley-Davidson also put their mark on the town, literally, by painting fire hydrants and the looming water tower with the signature orange and black logo. And this otherwise quiet town is enjoying a rise in tourism as fellow bikers trek to Ryder to take in the sights and welcome them to the community. As a thank you to Harley, Ryder has renamed their town to “Riders” for the 2017 motorcycle riding season. Ride on, Ryders.
Related: Harley-Davidson Aims to Create World’s First Motorcycle Town
