Good summary in that R&T article, thanks for the link. I'd take issue with the statement that Harley "created a movement with its macho, brawny bikes," however. Harley copied and marketed the bad boy image created by the outlaw clubs that Harley's minions in the AMA had labeled "one percenters," and sold that image to accountants, dentists, midlevel executives, and suchlike suburbanite wannabes with pockets deep enough to sink $30,000-plus in the accessories needed for weekend cosplay.
Of course some poor boys got sucked in too. I recall one especially telling incident at my local indie shop. It was a Saturday with the usual Spring rush going on. A young kid rolled up on a recent looking 883 Sportster, wearing all the Harley drag and body art that probably cost more than the old Yamaha I was riding. He got the attention of one of the co-owners of the shop, and asked "Can you adjust my clutch?" The owner, being up to his ass in alligators, said "Do it yourself." The kid stood there looking kind of stricken, and I felt sorry for him, so I said "Let's have a look." Sure enough, clutch cable adjustment worked just the same way it had on the 1956 KH flathead that I'd owned many decades past. I showed him needed to be done. Then came the moment of truth: "Would you do it for me?" I told him I'd borrow the tools for him, but I wouldn't do the work. Then he had to whine: "Why not?" I just looked him up and down, from the Harley designer boots to the Harley designer open short-sleeve leather vest, to the Harley designer do-rag, and I couldn't resist: "If I had to explain, you wouldn't understand."
Now that’s funny!