There is nothing like a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. To ride one is to glide through freedom, power, and beauty, with the wind through your hair and the road at your feet.

What a great feeling of endless possibilities. As a Harley rider you become a part of the heritage and community of a pure American icon.

"Harley has always stood for individuality with attitude," said writer Patrick Hook.

Using a blueprint of an engine bolted to a bicycle frame drawn by William S. Harley in 1901, Harley and brothers Arthur, William, and Walter Davidson worked together in a small backyard shed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Passionate about motorcycles and raised with the railroad do-or-die work ethic, the four friends, just in their twenties, built their company, from its 1903 prototype into a powerful brand and what many today call the world's greatest motorcycles.

As Che Guevara said about the ride in The Motorcycle Diaries, "We seem to breathe more freely, a lighter air, an air of adventure."

Despite global recessions and economic slowdowns, people continue to buy Harleys--206,309 new units were sold in the U.S. in 2008. The average purchaser was a married male between the ages of 35 and 54, with a median household income of about $84,300.

"For some there’s therapy. For the rest of us there’s motorcycles," said Grace Verderosa, a technical designer and Harley rider.

To ride is to live.