Harley-Davidson, the new "Battle of the King" presented at EICMA 2016

Harley-Davidson – Harley-Davidson is the example of custom par excellence. Before the wave of star tuners, thundering exhausts, microscopic fenders and aftermarket mirrors, only the Milwaukee brand was the true star of the custom world. But Harley Davidson still wants to be the queen of custom and does so with the third edition of the "Battle of the Kings" contest reserved for dealers who want to become "Custom King".

Anyone who wants to do so will have to modify a motorbike from the Sportster, Iron 883, Forty-Eight and Roadster families. The contest will take place between October 2016 and November 2017 and will involve the staff of official Harley-Davidson dealerships. First there will be a national competition to elect the "Custom King" of each country. The final battle will pit the best customizers from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The award will be presented at EICMA 2017.

“The “Battle of the Kings” competition is constantly expanding and growing every year: in 2016 it will see the participation of 211 dealers, compared to 150 the previous year.” he said Mike Johnstone, Director of Marketing Operations Harley-Davidson EMEA. "The inspirational motorcycles generated widespread public acclaim, receiving more than 65.000 votes for the 2016 competition and highlighting the breadth of customization and design talent within our dealer network. This year we wanted to challenge Harley-Davidson dealers to show off their personal style and creativity in customizing a model chosen from Iron 883, Forty-Eight or Roadster, with the aim of fully demonstrating the level of versatility and uniqueness that can be achieved using the models from the Dark Custom Sportster range."

"The technicians of our dealerships are undisputed "Custom Kings" and are the experts to turn to for everything related to the world of customizing. Harley-Davidson has a long history of customizing motorcycles that blend style, functionality and affordability. Given its strong network of customizing experts and a fleet of components and accessories of over 10.000 pieces, we are eager to see this year's nominees.” concluded Johnstone. More competitors, more countries and more bikes. We'll see who wins.

We at Motorionline had a chat with Giacomo Marzoli, Marketing Manager Italy, who made us understand that 2016 was a very positive year for the Milwaukee brand in Italy. "In Italy, they are doing very well with the touring.” Marzoli begins. “2016 was a pretty good year. We can not complain. Obviously the custom world is our home. With the new Battle of the king we are proving it. Competition doesn't scare us, on the contrary it stimulates us. We have always done custom and we do it well. So, we see this as a very strong stimulus."