2013 marks the 110th anniversary of the partnership between Bill Harley and the three Davidson brothers, set up in 1903 in what we would now call a wendy house in the back yard of the Harley family home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
To paraphrase the cigarette advert, they've come a long way since then and here, to celebrate that milestone, is the 2013 model range, including nine limited-edition commemorative models, each bearing a numbered plaque, special paintwork and solid bronze tank badges.
HARD CANDY CUSTOM
The Motor Company is also re-introducing 1970's-style metal-flake paint, as on the 2012 Seventy-Two, to a wider range of models under the Hard Candy Custom banner, including the Softail Deluxe, the Forty-Eight and the extensively revised Street Bob.
STREET BOB
The Street Bob gets a tougher profile for 2013 with new blacked-out triple clamps and powertrain, and a chopped rear fender with side-mounted license plate and stop/turn/tail lights.
It comes with a solo seat and mini-ape handlebars mounted on new risers that make it easier to customise. New paint options include Hard Candy Custom metalflake and a scalloped two-tone option.
CUSTOM VEHICLE OPERATIONS
The 2013 CVO series of limited-production custom machines features the new CVO Breakout, a Softail-based model that takes production motorcycle finishes to a new level with two paint schemes that feature hand-polished steel sections on the fuel tank and mudguards.
The CVO Road King offers the first factory-installed Road King audio system, and a new detachable vented windshield.
The top-of-the-range touring CVO Ultra Classic Electra Glide now has chrome-and-rubber heated grips, rider and passenger footboard inserts, brake lever pad, shifter and highway pegs and windshield trim. The suspended, dual-control heated, two-up seat and adjustable passenger backrest have a new perforated leather insert.
A new chromed billet-style extended reach heel shifter creates more boot room on the left-side footboard and the high-performance Harman/Kardon audio system now includes pannier-mounted speakers.
Four new colour combinations are available, including the 110th anniversary scheme.
The distinctive shark-nosed CVO Road Glide Bagger becomes the first production Harley-Davidson with an LED headlight, while its Harman/Kardon audio system has been upgraded with a second 200-watt amplifier and a pair of speakers with bridged tweeters in the saddlebag lids in addition to the fairing-mount speakers and 50mm dash-mount tweeters.
The audio system has an FM/AM radio/CD player, an 8GB Apple iPod Nano in the right-side saddlebag, and a new, more-sensitive hidden AM/FM antenna inside the fairing.
There's also a smoked windscreen with a ghosted Harley-Davidson graphic, a chrome billet-style extended reach heel shifter, a low-profile, two-piece seat with diamond pattern leather inserts. Three new colour combinations will be available for 2013, including the 110th anniversary scheme.
MODEL LINE-UP
The SPORTSTER line-up includes five standard models plus a 1200 Custom Anniversary Edition - all with new colours and graphics.
The traditional 'hard tail' lines of the SOFTAIL platform are offered on six models, including the Softail Slim, a back-to-basics 1950's-style bobber that was introduced in mid-2012. The 2013 Fat Boy now has mirror-chrome aluminium bullet-hole disc wheels as standard.
The Softail line also includes a Heritage Softail Classic Anniversary Edition and a Fat Boy Special Anniversary Edition.
Five TOURING models, from the slammed-and-trimmed Street Glide to the fully equipped Electra Glide Ultra Limited, are ready with fresh colour and graphics options, and there's also a Road King Anniversary Edition - in very limited numbers.
The DYNA line includes the re-styled Street Bob and four more models, plus a Super Glide® Custom Anniversary Edition.
The V-ROD power cruisers features new colours for the Night Rod Special and V-Rod Muscle.