PICTURE the scene: a summer’s day on the road up to the Cairngorm funicular railway, sunshine and a light breeze and the meditative calm that a day in the Highlands can bring. Then, in the distance you hear a noise – the distant but distinctive thump-thump-thump of hundreds of V-twin engines as a fleet of Harley-Davidsons heads up the mountain before exploding in a riot of colour and noise. This is a club that has only one membership qualification, and it has nothing to do with money, social status, or how you shake hands. You simply have to be a Harley owner.

The first of the iconic breed was produced by William S Harley and Arthur Davidson in Milwaukee in 1903. Since then the company has suffered its fair share of corporate woes, but has been on track for the last quarter of a century and more. Last year dealers sold 267,999 bikes worldwide, generating $4.39 billion (£2.8bn).

Harley owners are a sociable bunch and there are Harley Owners Groups (HOGs) all over the world, including the Clyde Valley and Dunedin chapters in the west and east of Scotland, which have more than 500 members between them. Dunedin is responsible for the biggest HOG event in Europe – Thunder in the Glens – which has become so successful they have trademarked the name.

Thousands of enthusiasts from around the world will descend on Aviemore between August 28 and 30 for three days of displays and exhibitions, socialising and entertainment, along with several ride-outs, including to nearby Grantown-on-Spey, Culloden Battlefield and the Moray Motor Museum.


George McGuire, the Thunder in the Glens (TITG) rally co-ordinator, said it started in its present form in 1997 as a way of bringing visitors to Scotland. “There was a guy in the club called George Watson who was very pro-Scotland and he wanted to give bikers a reason to come here,” he said.

“At the time there was only one rally in Scotland and it was a closed [members only] event – and his vision was to attract people from all over the world. And that was how it started.”

He added: “We have around 2,500 people who register now every year, but on top of that we will have another couple of thousand who don’t register but just come into Aviemore for the weekend entertainment. This year a number of the bars will have live entertainment outside so many people – at least a couple of thousand – come up for that. On top of that thousands of tourists come to see the event.”

Dunedin Chapter director Stuart Caplan said TITG was extended to make it more worthwhile for foreign visitors.

He said: “It started off as a three-day event but it now runs for closer to a week by the time we set the venue up, sorting out fencing, showers, security cameras and all that sort of thing. Europeans come along now, so they arrive earlier to make the trip worthwhile rather than just for three days.”

McGuire said Scotland was unique and they wanted to give their visitors something they would remember. “We have tartan, the hills, the heather and the lochs so we thought, let’s use that.

“Our goal is not to make it bigger but to make it better. We’ve gone from that first rally having 600 people to in excess of 3000 last year. The biggest change we’ve made is putting on a show on the Sunday night which saw attendance jump to 2000 – the same level as the Saturday night.”

All the events at TITG fit with the Harley-Davidson ethos of inclusive family entertainment in a safe environment.

“I’ve been to quite a few rallies over the years and it’s one of the safest environments there is,” said Dunedin HOG’s assistant director Alex Glen. “It’s just like-minded people who want to have a good time – it is measured, but enjoyable.”


THE number of children and grandchildren at the event is growing every year, and chapter host Willie Newall summed it up when he said: “You never see anybody falling about drunk. There’s no trouble, no aggressive drunks. It’s not the kind of thing where there are strippers or pole dancers – that doesn’t fit in with the Harley-Davidson family ethos.”

TITG is thought to generate millions of pounds on Speyside, in which Dunedin and Macdonald’s Aviemore Resort are effectively partners.

Chris Wayne-Wills, chief executive of the leisure group, told The National it was a fantastic event. “We get Harley guys coming over from America to experience the size and scale of the event.

“It’s a big event and everyone benefits from it. We work very hard to tailor-make the experience for the guests so they go away with a really positive feeling about coming to Aviemore.”

Against this backdrop, McGuire feels there is still a negative perception about bikers and their antics, and he is keen to dispel that.

He said: “TITG is a not-for-profit event. Any money we have at the end of it has to be given away – it’s the way Harley works. Most of the £100,000 we raised last year, like for raffling a bike, raises cash for charities. And money from local raffles all goes back to local charities.

“We choose one big beneficiary each year – last year it was the Scottish Charity Air Ambulance. Locally, we go to business associations and ask where there’s a good cause for the year – what cause would £500 or £1000 make a difference to? So it goes to things like playgroups, disabled children, hospices and the museum in Grantown-on-Spey. We bought mountain bikes for the police one year – but none of that ever gets reported. It’s only if someone does something bad or if someone dies they get in the media.

“I say to people if you really want to know what we’re all about and what we’re like, watch the movie Wild Hogs – it’s quite embarrassing.” That film tells the story of a group of middle-aged American men who go on a motorbike road trip across the US. And, to be honest, the Dunedin principals look more like Hell’s Grand-dads than Hell’s Angels.

“We’re all responsible people,” said Caplan. “The rally starts on a Friday and the majority of people will get there that day. On the Friday night a lot of guys will be drinking – they’re meet people they haven’t seen for a couple of years. [But] if they’re going home on the Sunday they won’t drink on the Saturday night. And likewise if it’s the Monday they’re going home, they won’t drink on the Sunday.”

The big spectacles of the weekend are the ride-outs, which are this year expected to include more than 3000 machines. McGuire said: “It hit home to me a couple of years ago when it was pointed out that when the first bike is reaching Grantown-on-Spey, the last bike is leaving Aviemore. The street is jam-packed with people, visitors from all over, people waving at the bikes. A lot of kids in Aviemore have grown up with bikes, they’ve seen it every year and they love it.”

He added: “Plus it keeps people in employment. We get businesses telling us that because of this weekend they can say to their staff, ‘You have a job for the winter now’.”