IT’S not a motorbike; it’s a lifestyle.
And it is the more affluent who own Harley-Davidsons due to the price and status accompanying the brand.
Guilliaume Kruger, the owner of Harley-Davidson Windhoek, says: “We are a bunch of caring guys and girls.”
You will find Harley owners on the roads often – either to raise funds, hand out toys to the less fortunate or just going for fun rides to a breakfast at another town, he says.
Kruger spoke to Top Revs over the weekend during the official opening of his new showroom and workshop at the Old Power Station shopping complex at Windhoek’s southern industrial area.
“It has a long history, dating back to 2013, with lots of ups and downs and lefts and rights and challenges, but that is all in the past,” Kruger said.
The brand resorted under the M+Z group, but was acquired by Kruger in 2021.
He said he and his team had many rough patches to ride.
Kruger initially operated under the name ‘Biker Barn’, but now trades as Harley-Davidson Windhoek.
“Harley-Davidson saw the need for Namibia, and that was just the next step for their clients and followers,” he said.
But the rough patches Kruger experienced are nothing compared to Harley-Davidson’s initial trials and tribulations 120 years ago, he said.
“It is all about a new look and vibe, and we are here to focus on the customers and brand,” Kruger said about the new showroom and workshop.
He said the Sportster S will soon be seen in Namibia too.
“The future is bright, and we are taking it on with both hands,” he said.
Apart from selling and servicing bikes, the store also sells bikers’ apparel and boasts an airbrush spraypainter who custom spray paints Harleys.