HARLEY-DAVIDSON® DEALERS TO COMPETE FOR TOP CUSTOM HONOURS IN ‘BATTLE OF THE KINGS’ CONTEST

OXFORD (February 3, 2015) – Harley-Davidson dealers across Europe are set to compete for the title of top custom bike builder in a winner-takes-all contest based on customizing the latest addition to the Harley range – the Street™ 750.

The ‘Battle of the Kings’ contest, which takes place between now and June 2015, will involve staff from authorized dealerships across Europe,competing to apply their customization skills to the blank canvas of the Street 750, the newest model in the Harley-Davidson line-up.The contest is a two-stage process, with the first stage being a national competition to establish the ‘Custom King’ in each country, culminating in a head-to-head contest between the national champions, and the presentation of the prestigious award, at the ‘Wheels & Waves’ custom lifestyle event in Biarritz, France in June 2015

The new Street 750 represents the ideal start point to demonstrate the customization skills of the dealer network on a bike that is already making a major impact among the younger generation.

‘The Street is a perfect motorcycle for customization and is already being personalized by owners who see it as the perfect base to add their own elements to the mix,’ said Mike Johnstone, Marketing Director for Harley-Davidson EMEA.

‘With the dealer network behind this competition we are sure to see some fantastic examples of the customizers art. In every Harley dealership our skilled technicians are the undisputed ‘custom kings’ – the go-to people for all things custom. No other brand has such a history of customization to draw on, such a network of customization experts and such a range of parts and accessories specifically designed to achieve this,’ said Johnstone.

Designed to allow individual expression through easy customization, the Street 750 is the latest addition to the Dark Custom range of models in the Harley-Davidson line-up. Based around a new liquid-cooled v-twin engine it is the most agile, the lightest Harley-Davidson available yet compromises on none of the Harley brand attributes of individuality, rebellion and freedom.Dark Custom is the underground, contemporary face of Harley-Davidson; stripped-back minimal and styled with an authentic retro-inspired slant, Dark Custom bikes feature matt or blacked-out finishes, vintage cues and accessible pricing to attract new entrants to the brand.

The first Street 750 custom entries to the competition are currently being constructed and will be ready to show online as they are completed. The first stage will be anon-line public voting system via the Dark Custom website www.h-d.com/customkings to decide national winners; these winning bikes and their dealership creators will then go on to compete head-to-head at one of the most influential new-wave custom shows in Europe, ‘Wheels & Waves in Biarritz June 11-14 2015. A jury of peers will be selecting the greatest Street custom from the dealer entries and awarding the prestigious ‘Custom King’ trophy to the lucky winner at the award ceremony in June.

For more information on the Battle of the Kings contest: www.h-d.com/customkings