The Harley-Davidson of India Legend on Tour Bus

Harley-Davidson India

Motorcycles are big business in the Indian sub-continent, due to congestion in the cities as well as the poorly maintained (or nonexistent) roads in rural areas. In fact, the largest manufacturer of bikes in the world isn't Honda or Harley, but the Indian company Hero MotoCorp, which sold nearly 7 million bikes in 2016, most of them in India. Since 2010 Harley has had an official dealership there and has been assembling bikes for local consumption since 2011. The Street 500 and 750 were developed specifically for the Indian market in mind and were produced and sold there before ever appearing on our shores. Harleys are the most popular big bike in India (larger than 601cc) where they have 60% of the market, but that is 60% of the 2% of bikes in that class. Still, with 50x more bikes sold in India than in the USA market, you can understand why they fight so hard for their small slice of this huge pie. 80% of vehicles sold last year in India were motorcycles, scooters, or the like.

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The Legend on Tour Bus

Harley-Davidson India has 24 dealerships in 21 cities in India, but it is a country nearly 5 times bigger than Texas, with more than 1.3 billion people living in it. In order to reach possible customers, the Indian division commissioned a special mobile showroom/tour bus, and dubbed it "Legend on Tour". The work was carried out by a local expert in designing and construction luxury vehicles, DC Design. The bus they made will make your RV look like a worn out Winnebago.

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Bringing the Party

Inside the bus are eight (or more) bikes, parts, accessories, gear, and motor-clothes; everything you need to sell a bike and give demos. According to local sources, Harley India is driving through a large portion of the "Tier II and Tier III cities", places where they have no dealership currently. Just like at your local US dealer on a demo day, they invite local enthusiasts to come take a spin on the latest bikes. Also, like in the US, they are aiming to sell local riders on the idea of joining a brotherhood of bikers with a H.O.G. chapter and social events.

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Legend on Tour H.O.G. Debut 2016

In 2016, the Legend on Tour bus debuted at the H.O.G. India Rally, the 4th of their annual nationwide events, which saw more than 3,000 Harley riders attend. The H.O.G. event in India has become so popular that many now just refer to it as Indian Bike Week, and the club has begun having smaller regional events as well. With India embracing Harley-Davidson, and the amount of English being spoken there, could it be on track to become a new destination for American riders looking for some adventure?

>>Join the conversation about the India Legend Tour Bus right here in the Harley-Davidson Forum!

2017 Tour on Now

Are you going to be in India (you never know, this is the internet)? The 2017 tour kicked off just a few weeks ago at Bareilly at Faham Lawns, Pilibhit Bypass Road, Near Faiq Enclave, on 16-17 August. Stops are planned in many medium-sized cities including Haridwar, Rudrapur, and Haldwani over two weeks, before proceeding to other parts of the country. There may be a Harley vs. Indian war taking place on American racetracks and in the Marketplace, but the Indians in India seem to have nothing but love for Harley's bikes.

>>Join the conversation about the India Legend Tour Bus right here in the Harley-Davidson Forum!

For help with service of your bike, check out the how to section of HDForums.com