TODAY'S TMJ4

Milwaukee Harley Rally Underway

By George Mallet

MILWAUKEE - It started September 3 and continues through September 6. The Milwaukee Harley Rally is underway in a city that loves the sound of a four-stroke combustion engine vibrating a steel frame.

Friday afternoon found a large crowd of bike enthusiasts gathered at Milwaukee Harley-Davidson on West Silver Spring Road. There were strippers washing bikes and a rock band blasting, but the bike enthusiasts were more concerned with their motorcycles.

A crowd of onlookers swarmed around Jeff Weber's monochrome masterpiece called "The Bullfighter." That's the way it always is. "Oh everybody's out there taking pictures, wanting to know if I built it," said Weber as a passerby took a close look at the super-fat front tire on the bike that looked like something out of a science fiction movie.

And while there were a lot of people showing off their impressive bikes, there were also fans with no bike at all. Dillon Moore doesn't own a bike. But his new baby was dressed head to toe in Harley garb.

"I don't have a bike," Dillon said as he bounced his baby in his sleeveless arms.

"But you have a Harley baby," TODAY'S TMJ4 suggested.

"Yes I do," Dillon said with a smile.

There were a lot of Harley babies at the Milwaukee Harley Rally. Six-year-old Claire Pitrof got her first Harley ride Friday night from Slinger to Milwaukee for the rally. She clearly subscribes to the notion that four wheels may move the body, but it takes two wheels to move the soul.

"It's better than a car ride," she said with a smile as she put her sunglasses on. "You get to see the scenery more clear."