HOW IT ALL STARTED
Harley-Davidson established the Harley Owners Group in 1983 in response to a growing desire by Harley riders for an organised way to share their passion and show their pride.
By 1985, there were 49 local chapters around the United States, with a total membership of 60,000. Today, over 1,200,000 members make H.O.G. the largest factory sponsored motorcycle organization in the world.
We never had a thought that there would be H.O.G. chapters at every Harley dealer in the world. We never even dreamed of H.O.G. chapters.
Chapters came about a year later as a result of our members asking for a structure that helped them get even more engaged with H.O.G.
Steve Piehl
the first director of H.O.G.
Chapter history
1983
In the beginning was the rally...
In the beginning was the rally, which became H.O.G.’s stock in trade. H.O.G. was formed in 1983, and its first event was a three-day Magic Mountain Tour, as 250 members took a ride around Greeley, Breckenridge and Colorado Springs. H.O.G.’s first two national rallies were held in Reno, Nevada, and Nashville, Tennessee, in 1984. The following year’s rally was at Branson, Missouri, and in 1986 Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, hosted the event.
1986
Three regional rallies were added
In 1986, H.O.G. expanded their rally quotient with three regional rallies to go along with the national rally at Pigeon Forge. Regional rallies were held in Nashville, Michigan; Breckenridge, Colorado; and San Juan Capistrano, California. Regional and national rallies dominated National H.O.G.’s event calendar for many years. The calendar was supplemented by “pin stops” and receptions at race tracks, Harley-Davidson dealerships and major motorcycle rallies such as Aspencade in Colorado, Americade in New York, Sturgis in South Dakota, and Daytona in Florida.
1988
State Rallies
The concept of state rallies was born. State H.O.G. rallies formed another link in H.O.G.’s commitment to maintain contact with its members. New York and Indiana inaugurated the state rallies in 1988, and every state in the union followed. State rallies diffused attendance from national rallies, but it concentrated organizing efforts on one or two local host chapters. In time, state rally committees were formed and trained by H.O.G., which helped alleviate the yearlong load of organizing a rally and spread the responsibility to many hands. As state rallies became more popular, regional rallies disappeared.
1989
Europe's first H.O.G. Chapter
In 1989, Europe’s first H.O.G. chapter, Rolling Hills H.O.G., was formed in England. The first European H.O.G. Rally was held in 1991, in Cheltenham, England, with 3,500 attendees. Since then, Europe has staged H.O.G. rallies annually in exotic locations such as St-Tropez, Rome, Barcelona, Killarney, and in most European capitals.
1991
Chesapeake H.O.G. Chapter #4355 was established
1996
The rest of the world
The first Japanese H.O.G. Rally bloomed in 1996. That same year, a H.O.G. chapter was established in Lebanon. In 2000, Brazil was the site of the first South American Regional H.O.G. Rally. In 2009, the “1st Mainland China Rally” originated; there have been four subsequent China rallies. H.O.G. has spread to the Middle East, to South Africa, to a military base in Sicily, to Australia, New Zealand and most of the Far East. There is a H.O.G. magazine, in several languages, that has published four issues.