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The Enthusiast®
The Enthusiast® is/was a consumer magazine published monthly by the Harley Davidson Motorcycle company and is said to be "the longest consistently-published motorcycle magazine in the world." The first issue was published in 1916 and each issue contained photos and riding stories of interest to riders in addition to features on events and advertising of new models and accessories available from the company.
After Elvis bought a new Harley Davidson in January of 1956 they saw fit to put him along with his KH on the cover of the May 1956 issue along with a short article inside about his interest in Harley and his rise to fame. The photo shows him in the vicinity of his former home at the time on Getwell Road in Memphis. He is pictured in his leather jacket waving his "Lite Weight" cap.
The look, though some speculate may have been inspired by Marlon Brando, was in fact common for riders and had been for some time. Prior to the popularity of helmets and, more importantly, helmet laws, most riders wore caps or at least some kind of head gear. Harley Davidson itself over time offered several variants of the cap(s) that Elvis owned and had been popular with riders at least as early as the '40s. The style Elvis is most often pictured with, even when not riding was offered by Harley Davidson as an accessory called a "Lite Weight" cap and retailed at the time for $1.95, easily identifiable with its radiant star emblem. By the summer of 1956 he also owned and wore the winged HD Logo cap which sold for $2.50. These were offered at times in both black and tan with black or white visors depending.
The leather jacket, though often associated with a "badboy" image, no doubt because of its adoption for its rebelliousness look by non riders since the '50s, is actually utilitarian by design and worn by riders for that reason. Until recently, it offered the best protection for riders against the elements, especially if/when they go down. Asphalt is very unforgiving. Harley Davidson had been offering them well before Elvis bought one and still do. Even to this day leather is probably the most popular riding attire. When he purchased his next Harley, a 1957 FLH in November of 1956, Elvis was also pictured with it in the December issue of The Enthusiast®.
A sample copy of the magazine used to come with the purchase of the bike along with a free subscription when you sent in the registration card.
In 1968 when filming the NBC-TV special, a leather suit was made for him to perform in by the designer who though he dressed like that regularly in the '50s. In reality he was rarely, if at all, pictured in leather when he wasn't riding, about to or just finished. The caps though apparently caught his interest and he wore them often whether he was riding or not, though by the '60s the Harley Davidson caps were replaced by yachting caps, trading wings and wheels for lifesavers and anchors.
In 2009, The Enthusiast was incorporated into the Harley-Davidson Harley Owners Group (HOG)® magazine which itself was reinvented with a new design and content direction to appeal to a wider audience. With a circulation of more than 800,000, the magazine is widely considered one of the most valuable benefits of membership in the Harley Owners Group®. Elvis himself, continued to own and ride Harleys and remained a card carrying member of the American Motorctycle Association until his death.
page added November 17, 2013
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All photos on this site (that we didn't borrow) unless otherwise indicated are the property of either Scotty Moore or James V. Roy and unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. |
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