By Stephen Evans BBC North America Business Correspondent

More women are becoming Harley enthusiasts

Depending on your point of view, the world's biggest gathering of men in mid-life crisis is about to get underway in Milwaukee.

Or it's a 100th birthday party for one of the great icons of America.

Or it's a celebration of the death-defying revival of a company once doomed to, literally, the scrap-heap.

In fact, it's probably all of these things.

There's no doubt the centenary of Harley-Davidson in its home town in Wisconsin will be a pageant of black leather and grey hair.

There will be thousands upon thousands of bikers clad in the classic Easy Rider bandana with wrap-around shades.

Packing a paunch

The leather jackets will also hide a fair acreage of paunch because the age of the average Harley-Davidson owner is 46, eight years older than the average rider of a Japanese or German bike.

It will be predominantly male, though the wave upon wave of chrome roaring back to the celebrations, with that unique "potato, potato, potato" throb from the v-shaped engines, will be peppered by some female riders.

A guide to Harley-Davidson and its motorcycles during the past 100 years In pictures

Increasingly, the bikes are becoming a vehicle of choice for young, professional women who like the tough image.

And the company does now sell bridal wear including, according to its website, a "women's leather bustier", a "women's bridal hat - lace trimmed" and a "silk bandana".

And image is important for Harley-Davidson.

Twenty years ago, the company was on the verge of extinction.

American nostalgia

It was founded in 1903 when 21-year-old William S. Harley joined his 20-year-old friend, Arthur Davidson, to make a racing bike in a 10 foot by 15 shed on which was scrawled "Harley-Davidson Motor Company".

By the early 1980s, it was about to go the way of many American manufacturing companies.

A failure to invest and innovate was pushing it into oblivion.

The company was founded in a shed by two friends

Quality was an issue.

It was saved by its strong brand loyalty plus good, old-fashioned protectionism against Japanese imports from President Ronald Reagan.

In 1981, 13 Harley executives bought the company they worked for.

One of them was the current chairman and chief executive, Jeffrey Bleustein, and he and his colleagues realised that brand loyalty was strong and could be played upon.

The bike was part of America so improving its quality would appeal to that James Dean/Easy Rider nostalgia.

They founded the Harley Owners Group, capitalising on the HOG nickname for the bike from the 20s.

And the free-market American president offered some very un-free-market help by slapping a tariff on imports of Japanese competitors.

The five-year breathing space the protection offered was enough for Harley to rev up and get back on the road.

Heavy cruising

Today, it is thriving. This centenary year has pumped up demand, though it was rising nicely before 2003.

The company has been shrewd by not taking on the Japanese sports and off-road bikes but keeping focussed on what makes Harley-Davidson distinctive.

Most of its models are heavy, cruising bikes, designed for highway driving.

They are the kind of bikes that appeal to Air Force generals, Wall Street bankers and Hollywood moguls as well as all those men - and increasingly women - with a nostalgia for a free-wheeling world far from a desk.

In Milwaukee this weekend, there will be a celebration of roaring defiance - by men who don't want to grow old and by a company that refused to die.

And who can doubt the worth of that?

Your comments:

I was so smitten with the idea of owning a Harley that I joined the Army so that I could get one cheaply while stationed overseas. Of course best laid plans don't always happen and I never got one. I still like the look of Harleys but realise that nearly every other motorbike on the road outperforms them in some way and that owning a Harley is purely a statement about a lifestyle. I'm still biking now - 27 years later...
Berny Breen, UK

My grandfather died in 1976. I remember him as the man who drove a Harley in the early thirties in Indonesia where he was working in the oil business. I still see his eyes when he mentioned that Harley. My children see the same when I talk about my Harley Heritage. Is is probably the same experience of magic I share with my grandfather.
Jan-Willem welbergen, Netherlands

I drive a Japanese Sportsbike, but whenever I get the urge to have that authentic Harley driving experience, I can always punch some holes in my exhaust pipe, and loosen all the screws on my bike. Happy Birthday Harley
patrick, usa

To me, Harley-Davidson means overweight, underpowered motorcycles with appalling handling and shockingly useless brakes, ridden by brand-afflicted fashion victims and made by a company more interested in selling branded belt buckles and after-market bolt-ons than making good motorcycles. That the company has survived at all is more indicative of the blinkered views of its customers than the quality of the products. H-D do make a few good quality modern motorcycles with decent handling and brakes, but it speaks volumes that they sell them as Buells rather than Harley-Davidsons.
John W. List, UK

Harley means posing. The bikes are outdated, slow, heavy and often unreliable but since the main customers have changed from hells angels to hollywood stars it's all been about style. Harley riders think they're above all other riders on the road to the point that they come across as plain ignorant (unless you happen to be on a harley as well.) Overhyped and over priced.
Lee, uk

At 46, buying a Harley (Road King Classic) has not only relieved the stress of navigating the Motorway system to work, it has brought me new friends in the Harley Owners Group, meant more time spent enjoying life with my wife, and given our two children something to moan about (and I quote) .."you've spent our inheritance , what about our University course fees ?!!!". Jan and I recently spent a fantasic three weeks in the company of two other Harley riding couples, riding from the Midlands, through France and Spain to Barcelona for the 100th Anniversary celebrations. Highlights included spending one night under the stars, riding in the parade around Barcelona and tackling the wonderful roads through the Pyrenees. I can't describe how jealous I am of the members of my local Harley Owners Group who have made it to the USA for the Anniversary celebrations.
Spiyda, UK

My Dad had a heart-attack 4 years ago at the tender age of 50. Since then his outlook on life has changed, and both he and my mum want to spend as much time together as they can. Dad bought his Harley Fat Boy just over a year ago and it has given my parents a new lease of life and an interest they can share. The social scene is great, and they have met up with old friends who now also the same appreciation in their latter years. Dad had always been a high performace bike rider in his 20s and 30s, but I think his 50s have provided the opportunity to slow down and enjoy the wind through his somewhat thinning hair - loose nuts and bolts and noisy exhaust included!!
Zoe, UK

I don't own one and can't see the attraction at all but my brother was smitten until he hired one for a day. He said it was like 'pushing a garden shed down the road'. Anyway, he was cured, and didn't buy one!
Liz, UK

The great thing about motorcycling is the diversity. If you want to ride a Japanese plastic rocket, that's ok. If you want to ride classic British bikes - even better! Harleys are just another equally welcome part of the mosaic to all free spirited motorcyclists. The answer to the question "what does it mean to you?" however is true for all motorcycling..."If you have to ask..you will never understand".
Alex, UK

When I got expelled from college for streaking down main street in Durango Colorado in 1965 and my landlord kicked me out of my house and the draft board was hot on my heels, I withdrew to Colorado Springs to collect myself for my next move. I bought a 1961 Sportster XLCH with the remainder of my tuition money. It was a symbol of freedom and defiance and I returned to Durango and started a month long party that seemed like a lost chapter out of Animal House. When riding it into living rooms, kegs of beer and all night parties soon followed. No one got hurt. Mythology got written and to this day I still dream about that bike and how much fun I had and how much hell it raised.
Charlie Hendershott USA

I have owned a Harley for ten years now and clocked up 60k miles on it. It's never let me down and it's fun to ride - which I'm guessing is why I like it so much. I don't do the image thing, I don't wear the Harley jackets, teeshirts and boots - I just like riding the bike. If you want a souless utility bike, buy a japanese bike. If you want something a little different - buy a Harley.
Dave, England