Harley-Davidson® successfully concluded its first ever Asia Harley Days® festival, with a roar of engines and thundering music on November 6, 2022. The event was attended by more than 1600 festival goers from all over Asia including Thailand, South Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, India, Guam and Singapore, as well as 80 H.O.G.™ (Harley Owners Group) chapters and motorcycle clubs from these countries and territories.
Beyond Asia, riders came all the way from Belgium and Australia to join the festival as well. The two-day moto-music festival ran from November 5-6, 2022 at Triple Tree Beach Resort, Cha-am beach, Thailand and featured a power-packed program that included English and Thai music concerts by renowned bands, breath-taking stunts, test rides and bike competitions, fun games and contests.
Asia Harley Days included the iconic H.O.G. parade on 5 November, which was organized exclusively for H.O.G. members and Friends of H.O.G. The parade kicked off with a traditional ceremony to pay respect to the 7 Kings of Thailand, followed by H.O.G. logo formation. More than 350 riders came from Rajabhakti Park, Hua Hin, to join the parade and ride to the festival venue at Triple Tree Beach Resort, Cha-am. The parade was flagged-off by Lieutenant General Pit Chotisut, Director of Army Tourism Promotion Agency and Major General Somporn Donsingha, Commander of Royal Thai Army Sergeant School, Hua Hin. The parade was led by Dimitris Raptis – Vice President, Asia Pacific, Harley-Davidson, along with Sajeev Rajasekharan, Managing Director, Asia Emerging Markets & India, Harley-Davidson.
Mayor of Cha-Am, Mr. Nukul Pornsomboonsiri, was guest-of-honour at the traditional Thai-style opening ceremony held at the festival venue of Triple Tree Resort, Cham-am Beach. Throughout the evening, thousands of festival attendees relished the electrifying music performances by well-known bands such as Ebola, Evolu5ion, DJ Alpha, DJ Riviere and Silly Fool. Apart from the music performances, the attendees enjoyed many other activities such as breathtaking gymkhana stunts, slow racing and test rides. Fun contests such as best beard, best tattoo, fashion icon, highest number of Harley-Davidson patches and best slogan. The iconic Custom Kings contest was one of the major attractions of the festival.
On the second day, festival goers enjoyed performances by leading bands Silly Fools, Dead Rabbit, Black Rose, DJ Kenny & DJ Karn, as well as June & Sanpond Violin and Saxophone dual. Attendees were also entertained by many other activities such as Championship Extreme stunts and food extravaganza. In the evening, awards were handed out to various winners of the on-spot contests and first ever Asia Harley Days Hall of Fame receipients, where over 50 select riders and dealer groups were recognized for their contribution and achievement to the community. The event was hosted by Guitar – Saruda Chusri and popular Thai artist, Guy – Rachanont Suprakob.
Presenting sponsor for the event was Krungsri Auto, while other sponsors included Snap On, Singha Drinking Water, Mueng Thai Assurance, Betagro, Sheraton Huahin Resort & Spa, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Hua Hin Toursim and Thai Airways. Asia Harley Days will be an annual event from Harley-Davidson in the region and announcement for the 2023 edition will be made soon.