“The Harley Revolution” in Lebanon

“The Harley Revolution” in Lebanon : A New Lifestyle

Freedom, power, manhood, searching for adventure, and contact with nature; These are the feelings of many meanings that could express the world of amateur Harley Davidson Bicycle driving in Lebanon.

For those young men and women, driving motorcycles is both fun and passion for a kind of special and different hobby. Its lifestyle changes those who seek freedom out of the daily routine. It is also an invitation to a life filled with joy , happiness and tranquility.

The word Harley may not mean anything to some, while others are confused between amateur cycling enthusiasts and regular ones. It also seems the word ” Harley” is a semi- strange term and incomprehensible to other segments of people . We met young women and men to investigate the presence of such a hobby.

Mr. Marwan Tarraf(face)

Talking to the president of their club , Mr. Marwan Tarraf, I knew that it started in 1903 , originally in the United States, by its founder Harley- Davidson Motorcycles and it was named after him. In Lebanon, it is difficult to determine the exact date of the arrival of “Harley Davidson”, but we can say that Mr. Rafli El-Khoury was the first and exclusive agent to import and sell Harley in Lebanon seventy years ago. The police were the first to use such motorcycles in Lebanon, but because of poor economic conditions and security and the bad imagery that was prevalent in the past of the Harley-Davidson users and riders , the Lebanon branch of this prestigious company closed.

Even after the closure of the company, the hobby remained in Lebanon for a long time without care or regulation, but that ended when Mr. Marwan returned from the States to Lebanon several years ago, to help the revival of this hobby, by organizing and gathering its fans in a private club. He founded the Lebanese Club for Cycling and Tourism, where he served as president.

There are more than 500 motorcycles in Lebanon, but not all of them are actually used on the roads. According to sources, there are 320 Lebanese members of Harley club, 27 of them are women aged between 30 and 65 years. They come from different social strata , and most of them hold senior jobs and positions , and their professions vary from medicine to engineering, education, and trade. The participants in most of the club activities could be 100 and up to 120 cyclist, going out on weekly trips to different parts of Lebanon, as well as races and rallies held in various Arab and Western countries .

Ghina, writer(left) with Ms. Rana Aqily